28 Facts About LaVoy Finicum

Robert LaVoy Finicum was one of the American militants who staged an armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in January 2016.

When LaVoy Finicum's truck was finally stopped by a roadblock, he exited the vehicle into deep snow and was fired upon, but the officers missed.

LaVoy Finicum then made two motions to his jacket while yelling at police that they would have to shoot him, which they did.

LaVoy Finicum died on scene and officers later found a loaded weapon in his pocket.

LaVoy Finicum said this took away his family's main source of income.

In less than six months, LaVoy Finicum accrued more than in fees and fines, which he refused to pay.

In 2016, LaVoy Finicum was erroneously mentioned in court filings in the government's felony case against William Keebler, who planted a bomb at a BLM cabin near LaVoy Finicum's ranch earlier that year.

However, the government later filed a corrected complaint and an FBI agent testified that LaVoy Finicum had not actually been there.

LaVoy Finicum's widow said Keebler had been at their ranch on other business that day, and said that her husband had no knowledge of Keebler's bombing plans.

LaVoy Finicum was a spokesman for the armed militants who occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in early 2016.

LaVoy Finicum was dubbed "Tarp Man" by MSNBC for sitting outside at night in a rocking chair, holding a rifle on his lap, and sometimes covering himself completely with a blue tarpaulin for additional protection against the elements.

LaVoy Finicum was driving his white 2015 Dodge Ram pickup truck, followed by a dark-colored Jeep.

The videos captured police identifying themselves as Oregon State Police and ordering LaVoy Finicum to turn off his engine.

About seven minutes after stopping his truck, LaVoy Finicum drove away at high speed with his three remaining passengers.

About 1 mile later, LaVoy Finicum rounded a bend and spotted the roadblock.

LaVoy Finicum's truck plunged into deep snow, narrowly missing an FBI agent.

When LaVoy Finicum's truck became stuck in the snow, he immediately left the vehicle, with his hands raised shouting "go ahead and shoot me"[1], just as two shots were fired by an FBI agent.

Meanwhile, LaVoy Finicum moved about in the snow, alternating between holding his hands above his head and seemingly reaching into his jacket, where officers later found a loaded semi-automatic weapon.

LaVoy Finicum received the handgun as a gift from his stepson.

Investigators with the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, assigned to process the scene of LaVoy Finicum's shooting, were accounting for the two known sets of shots fired by the OSP officers during the event when they discovered a bullet that struck the roof of the truck at a different trajectory.

Deschutes County Sheriff's Office investigators, along with the district attorneys of Malheur and Harney counties, declared that LaVoy Finicum's shooting death was "justified and necessary".

LaVoy Finicum was represented by a public defender and his trial began in Portland in late July 2018.

Cliven Bundy was quoted as saying that LaVoy Finicum was "sacrificed for a good purpose".

At a news conference, officials initially declined to comment on the LaVoy Finicum shooting because the encounter was still under investigation, but they later released surveillance video of the incident, which officials said shows LaVoy Finicum reaching for a handgun after feigning surrender.

However, LaVoy Finicum's family continued to dispute the nature of the shooting, claiming that he was shot in the back while his hands were in the air, and denied the FBI's assertion that LaVoy Finicum was armed at the time of his death.

The LaVoy Finicum family commissioned a private autopsy, but declined to make the results public.

LaVoy Finicum retained a California-based attorney, who represented Ryan Bundy, for the case.

On January 26,2018, LaVoy Finicum's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the United States district court in Pendleton, Oregon.