Trump pardons ranchers in case that inspired 2016 occupation

(Mark Graves | The Oregonian | The Associated Press) Protesters roam the Malheur National Wildlife headquarters in Burns, Ore., on Sunday, Jan 3, 2016. Armed protesters took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday after participating in a peaceful rally over the prison sentences of local ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond. The decision to send the man back to prison generated controversy and is part of a decades-long dispute between some Westerners and the federal government over the use of public lands. Washington • President Donald Trump is pardoning two cattle ranchers convicted of arson in a case that case sparked the armed occupation of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon.

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