Legislator Plans To Meet With Freemen Rep. Ohs Says He’s Still Hopeful Standoff Will Be Ended Peaceably

State Rep. Karl Ohs, R-Harrison, said Sunday he plans to meet with the anti-government freemen early this week, possibly Tuesday.

“My meeting this week will be to continue on the things we talked about last week,” Ohs said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

He declined to divulge the content of the talks.

Ohs last met with the freemen on Thursday for about two hours.

It was the first negotiations with the fugitives in more than a week.

“Everybody seems to be doing fine,” Ohs said.

He said he did not sense any division among the 18 people believed to be in the compound, surrounded by the FBI since March 25, when two freemen leaders were arrested.

“Whenever I talk to them, they seem to be pretty much of one mind,” Ohs said.

But he believes a peaceful solution is still possible as the standoff enters its eighth week.

“I wouldn’t keep going up there if I didn’t hold out hope that it actually would end,” he said.

On Sunday, the 49th day of the standoff, children were playing outside on the 960-acre ranch and a man on horseback rode up to a new sentry point the freemen set up a day earlier.

A couple of cars moved around on the compound.

Some of the freemen are wanted on state and federal charges ranging from writing millions of dollars in worthless checks to threatening to kidnap and kill a federal judge.

Neighboring ranchers say the group has been stockpiling food, weapons and other supplies for months.

The freemen have refused all proposals to surrender.