Veterans for Trump co-chair claims Oregon protester unarmed with hands raised when fatally shot by FBI
Tea Party activist Jerry DeLemus, back in New Hampshire after meeting with the armed protesters who occupied a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon, claims the group’s spokesman was unarmed and trying to surrender when he was gunned down by law enforcement officials.
DeLemus, the co-chair of Donald Trump’s “Veterans for Trump” coalition has been close to leaders of the protest since 2014, when he commanded the armed militia that supported Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy in his confrontation with federal officials.
Earlier this month, the Rochester ex-Marine headed to Oregon in what he described as an attempt to “defuse” the confrontation between the armed occupiers and federal officials. He told Reuters that the armed occupiers are “peaceful” and “constitutionally just” activists who are fighting the federal government’s “thug-like, terroristic” actions.
During his visit, which DeLemus documented in a series of videos he posted on YouTube, he met with FBI officials outside the wildlife refuge and offered to serve as a mediator. “I think I can negotiate those guys off,” he told the Special Agent in Charge.
The FBI declined his offer. “I’m really upset that I haven’t heard back from them,” he told The Oregonian before heading back to New Hampshire.
DeLemus and Trump
In interviews before the fatal shooting, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would have ended the occupation sooner. “You cannot let people take over federal property,” he told the New York Times. “You can’t, because once you do that, you don’t have a government anymore. I think, frankly, they’ve been there too long.”
DeLemus was optimistic that he could change Trump’s mind. He told Reuters that he planned to discuss “the true nature of the standoff in Oregon” with Trump in an attempt to persuade the candidate to back the group. “It’s my intention to ensure that he has the whole story,” DeLemus said. “I think it’ll really arouse him, and once he understands, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him heading out West.”
The fatal encounter
Tuesday afternoon, one of the protesters was shot and killed in a confrontation with the FBI and Oregon State Police. LaVoy Finicum, who had served as unoffical spokesman for the group, died after fleeing a traffic stop on an isolated highway.
Supporters claimed Finicum was gunned down as he attempted to surrender. The “FBI shot unarmed LaVoy Finicum in the face killing him with his hands raised,” DeLemus tweeted just hours after the deadly confrontation. His source was 18-year-old Victoria Sharp, who was in the vehicle during the deadly encounter. Finicum was “just walking with his hands in the air and they shot him, and they shot him dead, and then after he was down on the ground they shot him three more times,” she insisted.
The FBI declined to provide details of the encounter, but an unnamed law enforcement official told CNN that the SWAT team opened fire when “Finicum reached down toward his waistband where he had a gun.”
The SWAT team reportedly captured the shooting on camera. “FBI and Oregon police officials are discussing possibly releasing the video,“ CNN reported, "in part to counter claims by supporters that Finicum was gunned down while trying to surrender.”