A press conference in Pasadena, California for the upcoming PBS "Frontline" documentary, "American Patriot," featured Raney Aronson-Rath, executive producer of "Frontline"; producer Richard Rowley, producer; Sarah Childress, "Frontline" senior digital reporter; and Karen Duffin, "This American Life" producer. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
By January 15, 2017
PASADENA, California - Oregonians have had more than a year to follow the story of Ammon Bundy, leader of the 41-day armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in early 2016. Bundy, his brother Ryan Bundy, and a group of followers seized control of the refuge, located 30 miles south of Burns, as a protest against what they considered unjust federal land policies.
The conflict, and the larger story of the Bundys and their cause, have been extensively covered by The Oregonian/Oregonlive. The case will get more national exposure with "American Patriot," a documentary coming to PBS' "Frontline," on April 4.
During a question-and-answer session here at the Television Critics Association 2017 winter press tour Sunday, Raney Aronson-Rath,executive producer of "Frontline," and reporters involved in the "American Patriot" documentary talked about the film.
Still in production, the documentary will examine the battle between the Bundy family -- including Ammon and Ryan's Nevada cattle rancher father, Cliven -- and the government, as well as the larger so-called "patriot" movement, and its anti-government beliefs.
A clip from the documentary showed Bundy being interviewed at the Multnomah County Detention Center, and pro-Bundy demonstrators outside the building.
Bundy says their Second Amendment rights to bear arms didn't exist so they could "go hunting."
They knew, Bundy says, that if they had weapons, government forces would "respect us and allow us to speak." If they didn't have arms, Bundy says, they would have been tased, or sprayed with Mace.
Their message, Bundy says, "was too important," and that's why his supporters had guns.
In the discussion that followed the brief clip, Richard Rowley, producer of "American Patriot," said the film looks at the question of what it is to be American, what patriotism is, and the "clash of narratives" about the country and its direction.
When reporters suggested that the title "American Patriot" seemed sympathetic to anti-government groups and self-styled militias, Rowley said it was important to listen to those groups, while also talking to the FBI and other government sources, for a nuanced investigation.
The election of Donald Trump, Rowley said, demonstrates that there has been "a major blind spot" about movements playing a role in shaping the country.
"It's our reporting mission," Rowley said, to go into that blind spot and try and understand the economic and cultural forces that are animating anti-government groups.
The Bundys are the narrative spine, Rowley said, for a broader look.
When asked if "American Patriot" ran the risk of seeming to "normalize" beliefs and behavior of the Bundys and those who support them, Aronson-Rath said the "Frontline" mission is to report stories from multiple points of view, not giving people a megaphone, but having a dialogue.
Paying attention to the polarization in the country is important at this point, Aronson-Rath added.
"American Patriot" is also a collaborative project with the public radio program, "This American Life."
Karen Duffin, who works for "This American Life," said the radio story is not as focused on the Bundys, but more on the broader "patriot" movement. Duffin has talked to militia groups in six or seven different states, she said. She compared the groups' belief that government has overstepped to a religion. For many so-called "patriots," Duffin said, "their Bible is the Constitution."
And guns play a role, as well, Duffin said, adding that one of the groups she's been speaking to isn't going to Trump's inauguration because it's not in an open-carry state.
Rowley said it took weeks to convince the Bundys and their supporters to talk with them. The first response from most of the people in the movement that they talked to, Rowley said, was to think the documentary crew was from the FBI.
The Bundy saga continues, in the wake of the stunning jury verdict in October in Portland, when the Bundys and five others were found not guilty of a federal conspiracy.
The Bundy brothers now face federal charges in Nevada, stemming from a 2014 armed standoff with federal agents near Cliven Bundy's ranch in Nevada, over unpaid grazing fees. The trial is expected to start in early February in Las Vegas.
"We're still shooting" the documentary, Rowley said.
Stay tuned for more coverage of the Television Critics Association 2017 winter press tour.
-- Kristi Turnquist
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503-221-8227
@Kristiturnquist
Title of article should say anti-corrupt government groups.
This situation is another result of Massive Federal Government Overeach! This escalation was created not by the Bundys or Hammonds but by an Egomaniac employee of the Federal Bureau of Land Management named Daniel Love! Dan Love has a history of abusing his authority. This whole situation could have been avoided if not for Love’s bullying tactics.
We are prosecuting hard-working honest family men! The presiding Federal Judges are Obama appointees who have presided over “kangaroo courts” not allowing jury’s to hear all defense evidence. Judge Navarro in Las Vegas has been especially blatant in the two trials she has presided over. The jury on this second trial have many questions and are in their 4th day of deliberation! Today we will know if 5 men go home or to prison! These are the kind of men we trust as neighbors.
Shame on the media for not reporting this story accurately!