Trump pardons ranchers convicted of arson

President Donald Trump has pardoned Oregon ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond, convicted for arson in 2012. The Hammonds claim that they lit fires to control invasive plants on their land, which eventually spread to government-owned land. Prosecutors claimed that they lit the fires to cover up game violations. Their sentencing in 2016 prompted the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by Ammon Bundy and a collection of militia members and ‘sovereign citizens,’ which led to a 40-day standoff with law enforcement. In a statement released on Tuesday, the White House said "Justice is overdue for Dwight and Steven Hammond, both of whom are entirely deserving of these Grants of Executive Clemency."