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Militia threat shuts down Oregon statehouse amid walkout

Posted June 21, 2019 7:00 am

By SARAH ZIMMERMAN and GILLIAN FLACCUS

A TV reporter interviews self-employed logger Bridger Hasbrouck, of Dallas, Ore., outside the Oregon State House in Salem, Ore., on Thursday, June 20, 2019, the day the Senate is scheduled to take up a bill that would create the nation's second cap-and-trade program to curb carbon emissions. Senate Republicans, however, pledged to walk out so there wouldn't be enough lawmakers present for a vote on House Bill 2020, which is extremely unpopular among loggers, truckers and many rural voters. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus) The Associated Press

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The president of the Oregon Senate ordered the state Capitol to close on Saturday due to a "possible militia threat" from right-wing protesters as a walkout by Republican lawmakers over landmark climate change legislation dragged on.

Republican state senators fled the Legislature - and some, the state - earlier this week to deny the majority Democrats enough votes to take up the climate bill, which would dramatically reduce fossil fuel emissions by 2050. It would be the second program of its kind in the nation after California if passed.

Gov. Kate Brown then dispatched the state police to round up the rogue lawmakers, but none appeared in the Capitol on Friday and the stalemate seemed destined to enter its third day with a week left in the legislative session.

Right-wing groups posted their support for the GOP lawmakers Friday on social media - in one instance offering to provide escorts to them should the state police come for them.

A group of local Republicans were set to protest inside the Capitol on Saturday when lawmakers were present, and anti-government groups threatened to join prompting the statehouse shutdown.

One of the groups, the Oregon Three Percenters, joined an armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016. Dozens of people occupied the remote Oregon refuge for more than a month to protest federal control of Western lands. The standoff began to unravel when authorities fatally shot the group's spokesman and arrested key leaders as they headed to a community meeting.

"The Oregon State Police has recommended that the Capitol be closed tomorrow due to a possible militia threat," Carol Currie, spokeswoman for Senate President Peter Courtney, said in an e-mail to the AP late Friday.

The governor's office also confirmed the threats.

Oregon State Police, in a statement, said it has been "monitoring information throughout the day that indicates the safety of legislators, staff and citizen visitors could be compromised if certain threatened behaviors were realized."

Also late Friday, Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek, both Democrats, condemned comments made by Sen. Brian Boquist, a Republican from Dallas, Oregon, that urged the state police to "send bachelors and come heavily armed" when they come to bring him back to the Capitol.

"His comments have created fear among employees in our workplace," the leaders said in a joint statement. "We will always defend free speech and welcome frank policy discussions, but threats like these are unacceptable."

Boquist has not responded to multiple requests for comment. A spokeswoman for Senate Republicans did not respond to queries about the statehouse closure.

Democrats have an 18 to 12 majority in the chamber, but they need 20 members present for a quorum. One GOP senator recently died and has not yet been replaced.

Under the proposed cap-and-trade bill, Oregon would put an overall limit on greenhouse gas emissions and auction off pollution "allowances" for each ton of carbon industries plan to emit. The legislation would lower that cap over time to encourage businesses to move away from fossil fuels: The state would reduce emissions to 45% below 1990 levels by 2035 and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

Those opposed to the cap-and-trade plan say it would exacerbate a growing divide between the liberal, urban parts of the state and the rural areas. The plan would increase the cost of fuel, damaging small business, truckers and the logging industry, they say.

Democrats say the measure is an efficient way to lower emissions while investing in low-income and rural communities' ability to adapt to climate change. It has the support of environmental groups, farmworkers and some trade unions.

California has had for a decade an economy-wide cap and trade policy like the one Oregon is considering. Nine northeastern states have more limited cap-and-trade programs that target only the power sector.

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Follow Sarah Zimmerman on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/sarahzimm95 and Gillian Flaccus on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/gflaccus

File - In this Feb. 7, 2019, file photo, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown speaks to reporters in front of pictures of previous state governors in Salem, Ore. Gov. Brown deployed the state police Thursday, June 20, 2019, to try to round up Republican lawmakers who fled the Capitol in an attempt to block a vote on a landmark climate plan. Minority Republicans want the cap and trade proposal aimed at dramatically lowering the state's greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to be sent to the voters for approval instead of instituted by lawmakers. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky, File) The Associated Press

Student leaders with the lobbying group Renew Oregon, which helped craft landmark climate change legislation currently under debate in Oregon, pose to show their T-shirts after a news conference in Salem, Oregon, on June 20, 2019. Minority Republican senators walked out Thursday to block a vote on the proposal, which would be the second of its kind in the nation. That prompted Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, to activate the state police to bring absentee senators back against their will. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus) The Associated Press

A diesel truck that belongs to a self-employed logger is parked in Salem, Ore., on Thursday, June 20, 2019, the day the Senate is scheduled to take up a bill that would create the nation's second cap-and-trade program to curb carbon emissions. Senate Republicans, however, pledged to walk out so there wouldn't be enough lawmakers present for a vote on House Bill 2020, which is extremely unpopular among loggers, truckers and many rural voters. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus) The Associated Press

Loggers protest outside the Oregon State House in Salem, Oregon, on June 20, 2019, the day the Senate is scheduled to take up a bill that would create the nation's second cap-and-trade program to curb carbon emissions. Senate Republicans, however, pledged to walk out so there wouldn't be enough lawmakers present for a vote on House Bill 2020, which is extremely unpopular among loggers, truckers and many rural voters. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus) The Associated Press

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