Should Hammonds Lose Grazing Permits?
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A federal judge in Portland, Oregon, is considering whether federal authorities should revoke grazing permits it granted to two Oregon cattle ranchers who were pardoned by President Donald Trump. Dwight and Steven Hammond were convicted of arson for setting a fire on federal land that burned about 140 acres. They were ultimately sentenced to five years in prison. A protest over their case led to the 2016 armed occupation of a wildlife refuge near Burns, Oregon that ended with one death. Trump pardoned the Hammonds last year but environmental groups sued when the U.S. government renewed their grazing permits.