Member of Oregon militia that seized wildlife refuge becomes group’s first arrest after he drives ‘stolen’ government vehicle to supermarket

A member of the group of armed men who have seized a U.S. wildlife refuge in Oregon in an anti-government protest has been arrested after driving a government vehicle to a local supermarket, officials said.

Police arrested Kenneth Medenbach, a 62-year-old resident of Crescent, Oregon, after he drove a vehicle owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the Safeway in Burns on Friday, the Harney County Sheriff’s office said in a statement.

The arrest was the first made since the group took over buildings at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on January 2 in the latest conflict over the U.S. government’s control of land in the West.

Law enforcement officials had so far kept their distance from the site, located about 30 miles south of the small town of Burns in Oregon’s rural southeast, in an effort to avoid a violent confrontation.

Authorities said they recovered two vehicles stolen from the wildlife refuge, which had previously been reported to the sheriff’s office.

Medenbach was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Medenbach could not be reached for immediate comment and it was unclear if he had retained an attorney.

According to federal court records Medenbach is already facing charges in U.S. District Court in Medford after authorities said he illegally camped on federal land between May and November last year.

‘The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is grateful for the quick actions from law enforcement,’ said USFWS spokesperson Megan Nagel.

‘We will continue to work with law enforcement to recover vehicles bought and paid for by the American people to care for their national wildlife refuge.’