Brown argued to Lynch and Comey that because the occupation is on federal land, it is the federal authorities’ responsibility to lead law enforcement’s response to the occupation.
{{quotebox|“For the citizens of Harney County and indeed all Oregonians, I must insist on a swift resolution to this matter. Efforts to negotiate have not been successful, and now it is unclear what steps, if any, federal authorities might take to bring this untenable situation to an end and restore normalcy to this community.}}
LaVoy Finicum, a spokesman for the Malheur occupiers, was murdered by Brown's state police and Comey's FBI agents.<ref>https://heavy.com/news/2016/01/lavoy-finicum-dead-dies-rip-funeral-youtube-school-family-ammon-bundy-arrested-malheur-standoff-wife-jeanette/</ref>
===2020 Antifa riots===