OREGON STANDOFF FBI AGENT TRIAL:  OREGON TROOPERS, FBI AGENTS DISH THEIR STORIES IN COURT

"He seemed a little overboard with his emotions...almost seemed like a rookie to me."

Oregon State Police SWAT Trooper Bob Olson describes FBI Agent Joseph Astarita's demeanor at the site of LaVoy Finicum's killing during  Astarita's trial 7/31/2018

"They testified today in court that there were over 100 militia......That's completely false information.  That never even happened."

Jeanette Fincium (LaVoy's widow) speaking with talk show host Bryan Hyde 7/31/2018

A set of witnesses today was led off by Bob Olson of the Oregon State Police.  He was a SWAT trooper on the the scene right after LaVoy Finicum was killed on January 26, 2016 along Route 395 in Harney County, Oregon.

Olson recalls seeing 2 or 3 brass colored rifle casings by the side of an OSP truck that later disappeared.    Olson himself fired 4 40mm rubber tipped rounds at the back passenger side of LaVoy Finicum's truck because he said he wanted to break the window.

Later FBI Special Agent Ian McConnell was on the stand.   McConnell, not to be confused with the FBI informant Mark McConnell,  spoke with Astarita shortly after the shooting stopped and those still alive from Finicum's truck were arrested.

It was McConnell who heard from Astarita answers to his question about anyone shooting with phrases that sounded to him like this:

"Hey bro, I'm good"

"You don't got to ask me that"

McConnell described the response as a 'pet peeve' of his.

Another FBI agent Christopher Scott, detailed out different language than that and how he got involved in the conversation with Astarita explaining that administratively questions about firing shots could be asked.  Astarita replied to him regarding the matter:

"No, we're good"

FBI Agent W. Joseph Astarita is on trial for lying about firing two shots on January 26, 2016 during a "felony traffic stop" of Oregon Standoff protesters where LaVoy Finicum was killed by Oregon State Police and Ryan Bundy was injured apparently by Agent Astarita's bullets that he denies firing.

Whatever they were all saying, it appears that among all the law enforcement witnesses there was a pattern of justifying the violence that happened that day by continuing to spread the falsehoods and fantasy of a "militia" threat associated with the non-violent protesters they attacked that day.

That's the impression of LaVoy Finicum's widow, Jeanette, who spoke with a radio talk show host at the trial's lunch break.

In a video posted late yesterday (Monday July 30th)  Jeanette Finicum sees the defamation of her husband's character through the claim that he is a "militia leader" and so on coming not just from the responses of the witnesses, but from the questions of both prosecution and defense lawyers.    Its a process she described as:

"Demonizing"

"Label Lynching" 

Video link:  Jeanette Finicum 7/30/2018 Video

An FBI Agent named Lincoln Lukich recalled on the stand that Agent Astarita asked him in the aftermath:

"Have you seen anything on the ground?"

Tweeting from the trial "OregonLive" reporter Maxine Bernstein reported that when he was asked if that was odd Lukich answered followed by a look straight at the jury:

"I did not"

There is a fight going on in this trial between Oregon police and the FBI over what happened when LaVoy Finicum was killed and Ryan Bundy injured during the attack on the protesters of January 26, 2016.

This came out when FBI agents testified about one of them cussing at the OSP trooper who fired the 40 mm rubber tipped round at the first stop of LaVoy's truck.   The FBI Agent said his response to the shot was "WTF was that".    Another FBI Agent Justin Elkins called the shot "totally unexpected" and said it escalated the situation.

One could argue it scared LaVoy and the passengers in his truck, the use of that round of ammunition at the first stop.  It made them fear for their lives?  The shot was fired as the FBI was ordering Ryan Payne to get out of the truck.  Payne bolted and was arrested at the first stop while LaVoy sped off with three others inside.

OSP SWAT Trooper Bob Olson recounted his involvement in the arrest of Ryan Bundy and discovery of his injury.  Olson said he cut open Bundy's shirts as he was handcuffed on his knees.

He found what appeared to be a wound from a bullet entry.

Newly revealed dash cam video from an OSP vehicle showed Astarita walking over and appearing to look at Bundy's shoulder.  Astarita also knocked off Bundy's cowboy hat.

Olson said:

"Astarita smacked his hat off his head"

He went on to say that Astarita didn't need to do that.

Links below...….

Jeanette Finicum radio interview mid-day 7/31/2018 (starts at 31:05 into video)

Maxine Bernstein "OregonLive" story 7/31/2018


(EDITED, EXPANDED LATE JULY 31st)