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A group of Utahns that traveled to eastern Oregon where about 20 armed protesters have been holed up for a week on a federal wildlife reserve got into the occupied facility Friday and spent much of the day there in discussions with the dissidents.
Steve Maxfield, a leader of the Utah group and one-time independent candidate for lieutenant governor, said he's optimistic the protest will end without bloodshed.
"We did have a meeting with Ammon and Ryan [Bundy], and basically all the key players" where the discussion got into "motivation and intent," said Maxfield.
The Bundys are the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who, along with armed supporters, forced a standoff with federal authorities in 2014 over unpaid land-use fees.
The protesters are unsure where the standoff will go from here, Maxfield said. For most, however, "their top priority right now is nobody gets hurt."
The scene was not what he expected based on media reports, he said, with one of the protester's grandkids paying a visit and people generally anxious to keep the tone low-key.
"One thing I have recognized out here is fear," he said. "That fear is universal. It's on all sides of the issue and as long as that fear is present you really can't get to the conversation you need to have."
The eight people in the group — including Maxfield and Todd MacFarlane — a Kanosh attorney representing one of the protesters — and Janalee Tobias, a gun-rights and community activist from South Jordan, were due to return to Utah on Saturday.
Maxfield believes one thing that would help move the situation to a peaceful resolution is "some type of group declaration of why they're doing what they're doing better than they've done and articulate things they see that could maybe correct these things... reasonable steps," he said.