Feds Intercepted Oregon Occupation Leaders as Part of Plan: Official

Authorities seeking to end a nearly month-long protest at an Oregon wildlife refuge realized there was only one way to bring the drama to a close: Arrest the leadership.

The decision to carry out the arrests of Ammon and Ryan Bundy was set into motion when the defiant leaders left the refuge Tuesday to attend a community meeting in the town of John Day, a senior law enforcement official told NBC News Wednesday.

The FBI and state police staked out a spot along the route to stop the caravan. At first, both vehicles complied with an order to pull over, but then the lead vehicle took off, the law enforcement official said.

It didn't get very far, hitting a snow bank. Anti-government rancher LaVoy Finicum, the official said, jumped out of that vehicle "brandishing a firearm." He was shot and killed.

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