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.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up
Explore More
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.