In a press release, Assemblywoman Michele Fiore claims that FBI agents in Oregon have been posing as militia amidst the Oregon standoff at the wildlife refuge. Fiore and the Coalition of Western States have released a statement indicating that Chris Briels, the Burns Fire Chief since 1984, is so upset over the development that he has resigned. The former fire chief’s verbal statement indicates that he actually resigned over the way the judge treated him after he discovered the undercover FBI agents.
Former Fire Chief Chris Briels stood next to Ammon Bundy, the leader of the group that has occupied Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, when he announced his resignation, according to KATU News . Briels is a member of the Community Committee for Public Safety, a local group that plans to work to reclaim local rancher’s land rights when the protesters eventually leave the wildlife refuge.
“That might say that I just quit this town,” Briels says in a press conference of his resignation as fire chief. “I did not just quit this town. But I will not work for a government or a person that I do not believe in and have faith in… I will not work for somebody that I don’t trust. I will stand before you and tell you the truth. Do not ever ask me a question if you don’t want the answer.”
Harney Co. fire chief resigns, says he sides with armed protesters #LiveOnK2 #OregonStandoff https://t.co/1otC7yOYl3 pic.twitter.com/gmOOUngZ1k
— KATU News (@KATUNews) January 14, 2016
“I’ve been told by [Judge] Steve [Grasty], to distance myself from this committee of safety. I’ve been told that we don’t know what we’re doing. I’ve been told that my life is in danger. I’ve been told all kinds of things. I will not be told what to do. I have my own mind, and I will use my own mind… and I feel that the people in this county, in this state, in this United States have the right to free speech and the right to assemble and the right to figure out – if there’s a problem – what can be done about it.”
The former fire chief says his door is still open if a rancher needs his help with fire prevention.
Then, the former fire chief relayed the story of the FBI agents who were presumably acting undercover, though accused by the Nevada assemblywoman of posing as militiamen. He says that the other day, someone walked up to him and poked him in the chest and told him that he needed to figure out what his “cohorts” were doing at the armory. Concerned about people at the armory, given an earlier report from Sheriff Dave Ward of increased harassment in Harney County, he says that he followed the people from the armory, stopped them, and asked them what they were doing. He ended up having dispatch run the license plate, which came back registered to the FBI.
According to the press release , the fire chief actually retired in 2006, but the county asked him to stay on as the county fire marshall. Fiore says in that statement that the sheriff’s office and Judge Grasty had been telling people of the community that the men were part of the militia group involved with the Oregon standoff at the wildlife refuge after people complained of being followed and harassed.
Oregon sheriff says authorities taking steps to end standoff at wildlife refuge https://t.co/almpKnrjSl pic.twitter.com/onuMs4i1cm
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 7, 2016
Bundy Ranch alerted its Facebook followers of the development in Oregon on a post. That post had nearly 3,000 shares before noon on Thursday.
#Oregonstandoff : County won’t host meeting led by Bundy – Fire Chief Quits https://t.co/fKTXaVLVJL pic.twitter.com/I8Ufq8EvzC
— Jim Clancy (@ClancyReports) January 14, 2016
At least one respondent to that post was a voice of opposition in the crowd of people speculating about a false flag conspiracy.
Erin K. Costello of New York responded to the Bundy Ranch post saying, “Yes, it’s true that law enforcement, local and federal, have tried to pass themselves off as those they are investigating. It happened with the Occupy movement, the Ferguson protests, and Baltimore as well. I also know the militia has been warned to watch out for the possibility of agents attempting to pass themselves off as potential militia members. These tactics are not new or surprising. It’s called undercover work.”
The Pete Santilli Show , on the other hand, alleges, without providing evidence in the report, that the FBI “is known to covertly stage possible false flag scenarios and Santilli has therefore been openly calling for the Sheriff to ask the FBI to leave Harney County.”
Santilli alleges that “the Constitutional corruption of Judge Steven E. Grasty” is what caused Briles to submit his resignation. The former fire chief, however, indicated that he was upset and resigned because Judge Grasty told him he had no right to question anyone about what they were doing at the armory.
Briles says the judge told him he had no business trying to figure out what was going on with the men who appeared to be nosing around at the armory. The judge allegedly told him to distance himself from the Community Committee for Public Safety, and Briles took that as a suggestion to not practice his right to assembly.
The former fire chief didn’t indicate that he believed the FBI agents were conducting a false flag operation, even though the alternative media appears to be spinning the story that way. Watch the press conference for yourself below.
“Do I have a right to ask what’s going on in my community?” the former fire chief asked the crowd at the press conference, indicating that his resignation is in response to being told to keep to himself and be quiet.
“I was born in Denver, Colorado,” the former fire chief said. “The only place they have ostriches is at the zoo. I never learned to stick my head in the sand. And I stand before you right now, I will not stick my head in the sand.”
A spokeswoman for the Association of Oregon Counties said that Judge Grasty told her former Fire Chief Briels’ resignation will be presented to the county court for approval later in January.
[Image via Pete Santilli Show | YouTube]