A protester occupying a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon, Mark McConnell has gone to YouTube to defend the government in their shooting of LaVoy Finicum.
Finicum and several others were on their way to a town meeting on Tuesday night when they came upon a government roadblock intended to stop and arrest them.
LaVoy Finicum, who eyewitnesses say was shot in the face by law enforcement while his hands were in the air, was killed in the incident.
Finicum’s daughter, who was not present, says LaVoy, who was the spokesman for the group, claims her father was initially shot in the face and then shot another three times when his body hit the ground.
That account is challenged by Mark McConnell, who showed up at the refuge to serve as Ammon Bundy’s bodyguard.
Although McConnell was not a witness to the shooting, his car was stopped and he was detained at the start of the incident.
Mark published a video on YouTube saying that Finicum sped away from the roadblock and charged law enforcement, leading to his death.
While McConnell was one of the protesters occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, he was released from custody and remains uncharged.
The release gave McConnell to go to social media with his version of the events.
Weeks ago, a local government official resigned in protest after he caught government agents posing as members of a militia.
McConnell somehow managed to keep his name out of media reports throughout his time in the refuge.
While there is no evidence to suggest that McConnell is a government employee, the strong claims made by other eyewitnesses give reason to doubt the motivations of Mark McConnell in his defense of the government.
Watch the video here and comment below: