Three of last four occupiers surrender at Oregon wildlife refuge

Reuters
Anti-militia protestors picket outside the Harney County Courthouse in Burns. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - Three of the last four armed protesters occupying a national wildlife refuge in Oregon surrendered on Thursday, but the final holdout vowed to remain holed up until "my grievances are heard."

Tensions were high at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in remote eastern Oregon, where the standoff began 41 days ago as a protest over federal land control in the West, according to an Internet broadcast of a phone call between the occupiers and sympathizers.

(Reporting by Shelby Sebens in Portland, Oregon; Additional reporting by Joseph Ax and Barbara Goldberg in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)