Police have arrested one of the Oregon wildlife refuge protesters

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
(Image credit: Rob Kerr/AFP/Getty Images)

Oregon police arrested one of the protesters occupying a federal wildlife refuge when he drove into town Friday, charging him with stealing a government vehicle.

Kenneth Medenbach, 62, is the first person to be arrested in connection with the armed takeover, which started two weeks ago, The Oregonian reports. In November, Medenbach was released from custody after being charged with illegally camping on federal property on the condition that he would not occupy federal land.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.