Over the weekend two police officers were shot and killed in Palm Springs, California. The suspect is 26-year-old John Felix who was taken into custody early Sunday morning after a standoff with police that lasted for several hours. The officers were responding to a disturbance call when the suspect allegedly started firing at the officers.

One of the officers killed was 63-year-old Jose Vega who had been in the force for 35 years and was two months away from retirement. The other was 27-year-old Lesley Zerebny who had just come back from maternity leave after giving birth to a daughter four months earlier. A third officer was injured but released from the hospital the same day.

According to a neighbor who spoke with the Associated Press, Felix’s father told her, “My son is inside and we’re scared, he’s acting crazy.” He added that they had called the police and that the son said he was going to shoot them. According to Police Chief Bryan Reyes, Felix refused to open the door for the officers and threatened to shoot through it. As they tried to speak to him he opened fire. More officers in tactical gear and an armored vehicle arrived and Felix barricaded himself inside the house. After a failed attempt to try to locate his exact position using robots, officers sent in a chemical agent that finally made him surrender. When he came out, he was wearing light body armor and carrying ammunition.

John Felix was a gang member who lived with his parents. He previously spent four years in prison for a gang-related murder attempt in 2009, for which he took a plea deal and admitted to assault with a firearm and connections to a gang. Felix was arrested three years ago at the same house as the one where the incident on Saturday occurred. He will be charged with two counts of first-degree murder as well as several additional felony counts.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement on Sunday:

Our nation’s heart is broken yet again by the appalling act of violence that claimed two brave law enforcement officers on Saturday. Officers Jose Gilbert Vega and Lesley Zerebny were at opposite ends of their careers, but they shared a steadfast devotion to the people they had sworn to serve.

According to AP, it had been 54 years since the last uniformed police officer killing in Palm Springs. Officer Vega was supposed to have the Saturday off but worked anyway. Officer Zerebny had returned early from maternity leave. It was just a matter of bad timing and bad luck that made the difference between life and death.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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The trial in the Bundy brothers’ Oregon standoff case–when armed activists led an occupation of a wildlife refuge for 41 days–is getting closer. On Wednesday jury selection started and the first statements are scheduled to begin on September 13. The case already has plenty of attention online.

They’ve been charged with conspiracy to impede federal officers and possession of firearms in a federal facility. In total 26 people were charged but only seven are going to trial now. Seven more are going to trial early next year and the rest have already pled guilty.

The Shoes

Journalists were live-tweeting from court on Wednesday, fascinated with the nature of the case. The Bundy brothers’ lawyer had argued that his clients need to be allowed to wear cowboy boots, because they are cowboys.

2a. Mumford first giggled a bunch about the jail issued shoes, calling them “urban loafers.” Jdg Brown: “I do not find it comical at all”

— Leah Sottile (@Leah_Sottile) September 7, 2016

2c. Ammon Bundy: “I prefer to be wearing boots.”

— Leah Sottile (@Leah_Sottile) September 7, 2016

The Background

It all started when two farmers, a father and son, were convicted for arson on government land in 2001. Dwight and Steven Hammond claimed they started a controlled fire on their land to get rid of weeds and brushwood that could cause wildfires, but that they lost control over the fire. They turned themselves in in January of this year and were given the minimum sentence of five years, but this caused some local supporters to start protesting. The leaders of the protests were the sons of Cliven Bundy, who had a separate previous standoff with federal authorities in Nevada. Bundy claimed the government was just trying to punish the Hammonds for not selling their land. The government, on their hand, said the Hammonds tried to cover up poaching activity with the fire.

Currently on trial (and pictured below) are Ammon Bundy, Ryan Bundy, Shawna Cox, David Lee Fry, Jeff Wayne Banta and Neil Wampler. Kenneth Medenbach is missing from the picture below.

Jury selection begins for #OregonStandoff trial #LiveOnK2 https://t.co/9swhvvHq6o pic.twitter.com/tLzyfXXsAR

— KATU News (@KATUNews) September 7, 2016

The protesters didn’t give up, and instead occupied a federal building until they got what they wanted. The group, led by the Bundys, started calling themselves Citizens for Constitutional Freedom and one of their viewpoints was that the government owns too much land and misuses that land. The fact that the group was opposed to the government and was armed led some to call them domestic terrorists. But they continue to paint themselves as cowboys and freedom fighters.

A picture from the courtroom illustrates the jury selection.

NOW: 31 potential jurors vetted by Judge Brown. Asked how much media exposure they had to the case. #Oregonstandoff pic.twitter.com/V1kEyyP4LN

— Eileen Park (@EileenParkTV) September 7, 2016

Most of the arrests were made during a traffic stop on January 26, in which the spokesperson for the new movement, LaVoy Finicum, was fatally shot.

What’s Next?

The trial is expected to take even longer than the occupation did. The protesters claim they were just using their First Amendment rights to peacefully protest, and their Second Amendment rights to carry licensed guns. The brothers’ father, Cliven Bundy, is also facing trial in Nevada, because of another standoff near his cattle ranch in 2014. That trial will take place in February in Nevada.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Bundy Brothers’ Trial is About to Start: Here’s What You Need to Know appeared first on Law Street.

Today in the category of “news I thought was a joke but actually is real” we have people watching a puddle in the UK via Periscope, a Canadian company that sort of solved that debate about how dogs wear pants, and Oregon terrorist Ammon Bundy compared himself to Rosa Parks. Happy Wednesday, everyone.

In case you aren’t caught up on your crazy people in Oregon news, here’s the skinny. Over the weekend a group of armed men took over a wildlife reserve in Oregon. Fellow Law Streeter Alexis Evans wrote a good rundown of exactly what’s happening there, but long story short: there’s a standoff in which the armed “militia members” are demanding vague things about the Constitution and federal land and no one really knows when this is going to end (although law enforcement is developing a plan to deal with the situation.)

The entire thing has been bizarre and upsetting to say the absolute least, but it got even more bizarre and upsetting last night, when the ringleader of the group Ammon Bundy tweeted this:

We are doing the same thing as Rosa Parks did. We are standing up against bad laws which dehumanize us and destroy our freedom.

— Ammon Bundy (@Ammon_Bundy) January 6, 2016

That’s right–he compared their armed takeover of a federal building to Rosa Parks, who is basically the poster lady for peaceful resistance. Bundy’s group has made it clear that they’re willing to be basically the opposite of peaceful, given that they’ve said that, “if force is used against us we will defend ourselves.” Unsurprisingly, people are not happy with Bundy’s delusional comparison, and took to Twitter with some sarcastic and poignant responses.  

Newly discovered photo of the #RosaParks bus-jacking of 1955… #OregonUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/zlgKuluHye — Goldie Taylor (@goldietaylor) January 6, 2016

#AmmonBundy should bone up on his history; particularly in the area of civil rights. #RosaParks didn’t seek change via a gun-toting militia.

— Elgin Charles (@ElginCharles) January 6, 2016

Did someone named Rosa Parks get a $500000 government loan, arm herself, take over federal property & demand snacks? https://t.co/HE9RqazRj6 — sfpelosi (@sfpelosi) January 6, 2016

A list of people who should compare themselves to Rosa Parks: 1. Rosa Parks

— Virginia Montanez (@JanePitt) January 6, 2016

White people, we need to finally all agree that there is no context in the universe where we can compare ourselves to Rosa Parks. Just stop. — Andrew, 2016 Edition (@Truly_Defective) January 6, 2016

Cliven Bundy: “You know, black people was better off being slaves.” Ammon Bundy: “Shut UP, dad, we’re TOTES Rosa Parks!”

— GAIL SIMONE (@GailSimone) January 6, 2016

Rosa Parks and Ammon Bundy actually have a lot in common both human same number of arms and legs weakness for hats — Adam Serwer (@AdamSerwer) January 6, 2016

So, Ammon Bundy did accomplish one thing with his Rosa Parks comparison–he made himself even less likable. 

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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