Oregon standoff leader: We're prepared to defend ourselves

The leader of an armed standoff at an Oregon wildlife refuge issued an ominous warning to law enforcement agencies Wednesday that any attempts to evict his band could lead to bloodshed.
"We have remained peaceful," tweeted Ammon Bundy. "If the authorities raid us unnecessarily we can't guarantee that continues. We are prepared to defend ourselves."
Bundy, whose group Citizens for Constitutional Freedom took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, has taken his battle to Twitter, which briefly shut down his account Tuesday. The @Ammon_Bundy account re-emerged a couple hours later.
Law enforcement presence in the area around the refuge has not been heavy, and media and local residents have had unfettered access to Bundy at daily news briefings. Gov. Kate Brown issued a statement Tuesday saying state police presence in the area was being "enhanced."
"Although the FBI is the lead agency responding to the situation, my top priority is the safety of the people of Harney County and the city of Burns," she said. "The Oregon State Police has enhanced its presence in the area, augmenting local and federal public safety resources and assisting with community outreach. I look for a swift resolution that allows Harney County life to return to normal."
Earlier Wednesday, Bundy compared the ranchers' occupation of a federal wildlife refuge to the civil rights battle waged by Rosa Parks.
"We are doing the same thing as Rosa Parks did," Bundy, a Nevada rancher, tweeted. "We are standing up against bad laws which dehumanize us and destroy our freedom."
The occupation reached a fifth day Wednesday with no end in sight to the conflict that started as a peaceful protest in support of two local ranchers sent to prison for setting fires on federal land. Bundy and more than a dozen supporters took over a bunkhouse and say they won't leave until Dwight and Steven Hammond are freed from federal prison.
Bundy also wants federally owned land in Harney County returned to the people who live here, saying his group was sifting through property records to find instances of federal officials seizing land from private owners.
LaVoy Finicum, spokesman for Bundy's group, told CNN on Wednesday that he did not know the occupation was going to take place when he arrived in the area Saturday for a protest in support of the Hammonds. He said he, Bundy and others met before that protest and decided they needed to do something more. Now he says he is ready to stay for as long as it takes to win their demands. Bundy has said he is ready to stay for years if necessary..
"This isn't going to end until we get our public lands back," Bundy tweeted Wednesday