Oregon occupier LaVoy Finicum shot dead by the FBI is hailed as a hero during Utah funeral attended by hundreds of people from across the country
‘My dad was murdered defending the liberties so that we may be free of bondage,’ daughter Brittney Beck said
Finicum, 54, was shot during a confrontation with FBI agents last month
Ammon Bundy’s father Cliven, who had an armed standoff with authorities in 2014, was at the funeral
Four occupiers are still holed up at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
CLEMENCE MICHALLON
DAILYMAIL.COM
6 February 2016
The Oregon occupier who died last month during a confrontation with FBI agents and state police officers was hailed as a hero during his funeral at a Mormon church.
The ceremony for Robert LaVoy Finicum, 54, attracted hundreds of supporters from across the country to Kanab, Utah, on Friday.
‘My dad was murdered defending the liberties so that we may be free of bondage,’ his daughter Brittney Beck said.
Finicum’s death has become a symbol for those decrying federal oversight on public lands in the West and elsewhere, and has led to protests of what they call an unnecessary use of force. But authorities say the 54-year-old was reaching for a gun during the confrontation.
At the funeral, Finicum’s family invoked their faith and quoted scripture as they described him as a man of conviction and courage.
One of his daughters, Thara Thenney, said her father was ‘defiled, mocked and eventually slain’.
‘He had never, not once, abandoned his trust in the Lord,’ she said.
A man in the crowd shouted out ‘murder.’ Outside, trucks with American flags filled the parking lot. One had a flier with a picture of Finicum and the words ‘Murdered by the FBI.’
‘He’s a hero to me, honest. His heart is for everybody,’ said former occupier Ben Matthews of Port Huron, Michigan.
Ammon Bundy’s father, Cliven, a Nevada rancher who was at the center of a 2014 armed standoff with federal authorities over grazing rights on government land, also attended the ceremony.
The day’s events were billed as ‘LaVoy Finicum’s Stand for Freedom.’
After the funeral, people lined the streets as dozens of riders on horseback paraded past, following a riderless horse.
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