In an baffling turn of events, in July 2025, nearly a decade after the 2016 Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation in Oregon, FBI Director Kash Patel awarded the Shield of Bravery to FBI Hostage Rescue Team members, including agent W. Joseph Astarita, involved in the fatal shooting of Robert “LaVoy” Finicum. Finicum, a Southern Utah rancher and spokesperson for individuals who occupied the Malheur Wildlife Refuge headquarters in protest of the federal arrest and imprisonment of Dwight and Steven Hammond. At the time he was driven off the road and killed by Oregon State Police, Finicum was on his way to a speaking engagement in Baker, Oregon and had several passengers with him in his pickup. The apparent murder of the rancher, husband and father echoed the 1992 murders of Randy Weaver’s wife and his 14 year old son, and sparked outrage among citizens throughout the nation.
The FBI’s ceremony, revealed by The Oregonian on August 16, 2025, sparked controversy due to false claims that Finicum rammed an FBI vehicle and fired at police, which trial evidence contradicted. Finicum’s family, led by his widow Jeanette, criticized the FBI for rewriting the narrative without a trial, and has demanded transparency and truth and corrective action by the Trump Administration. The controversial Astarita, was acquitted in 2018 of lying about firing two errant shots at Finicum’s truck, was among those honored, reigniting debate over the incident.
~Ed~
Background
After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Joseph Astarita sought to follow in the footsteps of his father, an FBI agent, joining the bureau and later earning a spot on the New York office SWAT team.
But he dreamed of joining the elite Hostage Rescue Team, and after a failed effort, he landed with the unit on his second try in April 2015.
Now (then) Astarita (faced) prison, the ultimate disgrace for an agent sworn to uphold the law. He was indicted on charges of lying and obstruction of justice after a deadly clash with a well-known anti-government activist. His federal trial (started that) Tuesday in Portland, Oregon, and (was) expected to last several weeks, putting a spotlight on the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team.
Prosecutors (said) Astarita, 41 (at the time), tried to cover up the firing of two shots during the arrest of the activist, LaVoy Finicum, during the confrontation at a remote federal wildlife refuge in January 2016 in Oregon.
Finicum was part of a small group of armed militants who had been protesting at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon. Led by two brothers from a Nevada ranching family, Ammon and Ryan Bundy, they were protesting the imprisonment of a pair of ranchers convicted of lighting fires that burned federal land.
Video footage recorded by a passenger (Shawna Cox) in Finicum’s truck showed that the shots were fired after he stepped out. Prosecutors believe only Astarita could have fired those shots, basing their case on surveillance videos and photographs.
Astarita … maintained his innocence, and many of his hostage rescue teammates (believed) him. His lawyers, who declined to comment, … wrote in court documents that Astarita had training that helped keep him from firing the shots, a point they (were) likely to emphasize at trial.
“He is one of the nation’s most elite, well-trained and disciplined shooters,” they wrote. “He would not have fired in these circumstances. And if he had, he would not have missed.”
But why would Astarita lie about the shooting? Prosecutors (had) a theory: Because agents are prohibited from firing into vehicles except under certain circumstances, admitting he shot at Finicum might have cost Astarita his coveted spot on the hostage rescue unit.
The trial (came) at a difficult time for the FBI, which (had) been repeatedly maligned by President Donald Trump for investigating whether any of his associates colluded with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election. A conviction would be a black eye for the bureau and in particular the hostage team, which (have) been involved in some of the country’s most sensitive counterterrorism operations.
The FBI director, Christopher A. Wray, praised the hostage team during an appearance (that) last month before Congress, noting it had recently carried out more than two dozen missions. Created in 1983, the rescue team also has worked closely overseas with U.S. military commandos.
(That) month, the judge dismissed two of the charges against Astarita, handing his defense a partial victory. But the judge also refused to allow defense lawyers to question an Oregon State Police trooper at the scene about who fired the shots. He thought one of his fellow troopers fired into Finicum’s truck but did not witness it. The judge said the trooper could testify only about what he saw.
Little evidence (tied) Astarita to the shooting. Authorities never found the bullets or the casings, and neither the troopers nor the agents saw Astarita discharge his gun. Grainy surveillance footage taken from an FBI plane (showed) agents milling around after the shooting. One (could) be seen bending over and possibly picking up something.
The case essentially (boiled) down to a computer model that (pointed) to Astarita as the possible shooter based on the trajectory of the bullets. Astarita’s lawyers (called) the model flawed, saying it is impossible to determine his exact position during the shooting.
They also (believed) that a state trooper standing near Astarita was most likely responsible.
During the confrontation, a pair of troopers fired a total of six shots. One shot three times into Finicum’s truck as it barreled down the road before crashing into a snowbank. Both troopers then opened fire on Finicum, 54 (at the time), as he exited the truck, hitting him three times.
The trooper who fired at the truck, a veteran of the Oregon State Police and now a captain, was involved in at least three other shootings and cleared in all of them. Defense lawyers (were) expected to question the captain, but he (was) not (to) be identified by name during the trial because of threats made on his life, the judge said. The shooting of Finicum was one of the more dramatic episodes of a 2016 standoff between federal officers and the anti-government ranchers and militiamen who had taken over the wildlife refuge.
The 2016 occupation quickly morphed into a broad protest for anyone angered by perceived federal overreach, and Finicum became one of the most recognizable faces of the occupation.
An Arizona rancher with 11 children, he had his own conflicts with the federal government, and he roamed the refuge’s many buildings with a broad cowboy hat and a pistol on his hip.
At the time, sitting in the basement of one of the refuge buildings, he told a New York Times reporter that he was sure the takeover would not end with his imprisonment.
“I would rather die than be caged,” he said.
Days later, Finicum and several of his allies took a car from the refuge to a neighboring community where they planned to spread their message of protest. But state and federal officials blocked the route, and Finicum leapt out of the car and began to run.
Official video released later showed him reaching toward his chest as he was shot. Authorities contend that they believed he was reaching for a loaded weapon inside his jacket while Finicum’s supporters say he was surrendering.
(That) month, Trump pardoned the imprisoned ranchers, Dwight L. and Steven D. Hammond, and they flew home on a private jet owned by an oil products executive who had lobbied for their release.
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FBI Agent Faces Trial Over Deadly Clash in Oregon
Posted 12:38 p.m. Jul 24, 2018 — Updated 12:38 p.m. Jul 24, 2018 By Adam Goldman, New York Times
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