During a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives on June 26, Representative Greg Walden (R-Hood River) urged President Trump to pardon Dwight and Steven Hammond of Harney County.

“Today I rise and raise an issue that would, quote, ‘shock the conscience’. Those are not my words, those are the words of a distinguished federal judge when he refused to sentence two ranchers in my district to five years in prison. This Friday, the youngest of those two ranchers will mark his fourth year in prison for starting a fire. By the way, fire on the range is a management tool, and they were using it for that purpose,” said Walden.

“They were tried. They got convicted. But they never should have been sentenced to this,” continued Walden. “The Obama Administration came back and resentenced them to five years for 139 acres. We burn hundreds of thousands of acres every year. The government starts fires that burn onto private land, and nothing seems to happen. It is time for the president to review this situation and to grant a pardon to Steven and Dwight Hammond — pull them back together with their families. They have served long enough. This is an issue that shocks the conscience. It’s time for real justice, and President Trump can administer that.”