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Thursday, April 1, 2021
East Oregonian
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Insurrection: FBI arrests hunting ranch employee
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scrutiny from agents and
prosecutors nationwide for
the group’s central role in the
insurrection.
Flynn was confused. In
the two months Klein had
worked at the ranch, not once
had he mentioned anything
about the Capitol, Flynn said.
Time on the ranch
Flynn met Klein in late
January. The 21-year-old
came to the ranch search-
ing for work and a change of
pace. Klein had been living in
Portland, where he stripped
roofs by day and worked at
a Domino’s Pizza at night,
Flynn said.
Fly n n obl iged. He
described Klein as a hard-
working and upbeat employee
with “good core values” who
customers complimented for
his manners. Flynn said he
appreciated Klein’s conser-
vative Christian upbringing.
“I think the reason he
really liked it over here was
because he lived in Port-
land and he’s homeschooled
and from a very conserva-
tive family of missionaries,”
Flynn said, adding that Klein
had frequently voiced irrita-
tion at the Black Lives Matter
protests in downtown Port-
land. “I think he had a hard
time understanding that this
is how people are and this is
how people live. You don’t
have to like what they do or
like what they say, but you
have to respect their opinion.”
Until February 2020,
Klein was living in South
America. About 12 years
prior, Klein’s parents had
moved the family from Pend-
leton to Aluminé, Argentina,
on a mission sponsored by
the Berean Baptist Church,
Willamette Week reported
on March 31.
Klein worked as a trans-
lator for his parents while
Jonathan Levinson/Oregon Public Broadcasting, File
Hundreds of pro-Trump demonstrators, Proud Boys and militia members gathered for an
“American Lives Matter” rally at the statehouse in Salem on Sept. 8, 2020. The group, many
of whom were armed, attacked a number of counterprotesters with mace, bats, and paintball
guns. Jonathanpeter Klein wears an orange gaiter in this photo.
in Argentina and Chile.
His parents currently live
in Baker City, according to
court records.
During Klein’s time at the
ranch, Flynn said they would
discuss things like the Port-
land protests, adding that he
tried to “help (Klein) under-
stand that we’re all on this
Earth together. Whether you
like how people think or not,
they’re entitled to their opin-
ion.”
Over the two months Klein
worked at the ranch, Flynn
taught him to train dogs and
guide hunts through the vast
rolling hills that encompass
the ranch, full of elk, deer and
a wide variety of birds. The
preserve is roughly the size of
New Jersey or Rhode Island,
according to its website.
The Capitol riot
Federal officials, court
documents and ensuing
news articles have described
in detail the Klein brothers’
alleged connection to the
U.S. Capitol riot.
Jonathanpeter Klein’s
defense attorney, Michelle
Sweet, did not respond to
email requests for comment
prior to press time.
In late December 2020,
the brothers bought plane
tickets using cash and flew
from Portland to Pennsylva-
nia two days prior to the riot,
according to an indictment
unsealed and reported by
news outlets last week.
A photo taken on Jan. 5
in Washington, D.C., shows
Jonathanpeter Klein wearing
a shirt saying “Proud Boys
PDX,” according to the FBI.
Prosecutors say the broth-
ers were among the initial
groups to breach the Capitol
around 2 p.m., as reported by
The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Court documents describe
how the brothers also helped
other rioters gain access to
the Capitol Building’s Upper
West Terrace.
Prosecutors allege the
brothers then entered and
exited the building before
moving to the north side,
where they forced open
a door using a wrench. A
detention memo from Assis-
tant U.S. Attorney Paul T.
Maloney states law enforce-
ment were then “tasked with
protecting the Capitol and
its inhabitants prepared to
fend off yet another wave
of attacks from the unruly
crowd.”
“The defendants’ actions
created a dangerous scenario
that directly interfered with
law enforcement’s efforts to
secure the building,” Malo-
ney wrote in the memo.
“That they did so as part
of a second or third wave
of attacks — with knowl-
edge of the mayhem that had
already unfolded at the Capi-
tol — shows their reckless
disregard for others and the
danger posed by these two
actors.”
Two days later, the two
brothers flew back to Port-
land, according to court
records.
On March 19, a grand
jury in Washington, D.C.,
indicted both brothers,
accusing them of conspir-
acy to defraud the United
States, aiding and abetting
in the obstruction of an offi-
cial proceeding, obstruction
of law enforcement during
civil disorder, destruction
of government property,
and entering and remain-
ing and disorderly conduct
in a restricted building or
grounds.
Court documents filed
by federal prosecutors also
show that the two brothers
have been involved previ-
ously in protests with the
Proud Boys in Salem and
Portland, for which Matthew
Klein has pending gun
possession charges in Mult-
nomah County.
In the indictment, photos
show Jonathanpeter Klein
wearing body armor and
wielding a baseball bat and a
paintball gun during violent
protests at the Oregon Capi-
tol on Sept. 7, 2020.
Prosecutors also say
Jonathanpeter Klein shot at
“unidentified targets” with
the paintball gun amid a
fight with Black Lives Matter
protesters, as first reported
by Willamette Week.
Videos from news outlets
that day also show Klein
appearing to chase a Black
Lives Matter protester,
and prosecutors allege that
Matthew Klein was also
there at the protest, accord-
ing to Oregon Public Broad-
casting.
On Saturday, March 27,
a federal magistrate judge
ordered the Kleins be held in
custody pending trial. They
are currently being held
at the Multnomah County
Detention Center, where they
are expected to remain until
their next scheduled hear-
ing on Thursday, April 1,
with a federal district judge
in Washington, D.C., which
will be conducted by video.
Back at the ranch
Jonathanpeter Klein’s
attorney had previously
urged that her client be
released to work at Ruggs
Ranch back in Morrow
County pending trial. Flynn
would serve as a third-party
guardian, the attorney said,
adding he had helped Klein
“kind of straighten his mind
out,” as reported by The
Oregonian/OregonLive.
“Kids think different
at that age,” Flynn said.
“They’re not totally mature.
They have different thoughts
and ideas about life and I just
(wanted to) influence him
with my opinion.”
Flynn said that, had the
judge not denied the request
for Klein’s release, he would
have accepted the role as
third-party guardian. To
Flynn, Klein was just in need
of some positive influence.
“From what’s transpired,
obviously the kid potentially
made some bad choices,” he
said.
While chatting with the
FBI on his property, Flynn
said an arresting officer told
him that Klein seemed like
a “very nice kid, very polite
kid,” and that he would put in
a good word with the prose-
cuting attorney.
“I was sitting there when
he called the prosecuting
attorney,” Flynn said. “I
watched him on the phone
and he told him that he was
a very nice kid, very polite,
very genuine.”
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Lisa Hauner, a librarian with the Oregon Trail Library District,
poses for a portrait at the district’s Irrigon branch on March
16, 2021.
Library: ‘She was
very eager to learn
and accept this new
work assignment’
Continued from Page A1
degree at Blue Mountain
Community College. While
giving horseback riding
lessons to the child of an
Oregon Trail Library District
employee, she learned about
an opening at the library and
was encouraged to apply.
At the time, Hauner,
herself, was a patron of the
temporary Irrigon library,
which was housed in a
converted school bus. In
addition, as a community
member, she enthusiastically
supported plans for a perma-
nent library building in the
community.
After stepping into the
district’s director position in
the summer of 2015, Street
found an excess of library
materials that had yet to be
shelved. She processed what
she could by adding copies
to existing records. Street
said employees within the
SAGE Library System — a
consortium of public, school,
academic and special librar-
ies throughout 15 counties in
Eastern and Central Oregon
— were extremely helpful
with cataloging the backlog.
Street then asked Hauner
if she was interested in pursu-
ing the training to become a
cataloger. Street reconfigured
the staffing schedule to allow
her to pursue that goal.
“She was very eager to
learn and accept this new
work assignment,” Street
said.
Case, who has been on
the board since 2015, said
Street and the rest of the
library district board are
very supportive of growth
opportunities for employ-
ees. She said it made sense to
support Hauner in obtaining
the special designation.
“From the time I started, I
remember Lisa talking about
getting her Cataloger I certi-
fication and she persisted and
got it done,” Case said.
Hau ner could n’t be
happier. And she plans to
continue to learn and grow
with technology and access
to materials with the ulti-
mate goal of assisting library
users.
“My patrons are my world
and finding them the things
that make their eyes light up
and entertain them for the
affordable price of free makes
for a very good feeling at the
end of the day,” Hauner said.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Students in Michael Bittorf’s AP English class settle into class at Pendleton High School on Wednesday, March 31, 2021.
High school: ‘It feels like COVID didn’t even happen’
Continued from Page A1
DISTRICT ANNOUNCES START DATE FOR FULL-TIME SCHOOL
new normal.
“Some people say it’s
awkward, but I don’t feel
like it’s awkward,” she said.
“It feels like COVID didn’t
even happen.”
Although classes feel
more engaging than they
do online, senior Jordyn
Murphy said she would
have been fine with finish-
ing out the year online
considering the school
year will be over in a few
months.
Nevertheless, she said
students are starting to plan
events like homecoming to
finish out the year. Pend-
leton High School Princi-
pal Melissa Sandven added
the school is also planning
to hold a more traditional
graduation ceremony at the
Round-Up Grounds rather
than the drive-thru event
for the class of 2020.
Sandven said she’s
been pleased with the way
in-person classes have
started and has been pleas-
antly surprised by the way
students have adapted to the
school’s new protocols.
As the state loosens its social distancing rules
for schools, the Pendleton School District is
expanding its elementary school offerings to
include all students, every day.
In a press release, the district announced it
would start offering full-time school on April
12, with a daily schedule of 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
“I believe it is in the best interest of our
students and families that our students
spend as much of the remainder of the 20-21
school year with their teachers in school
buildings,” Superintendent Chris Fritsch said
in a statement.
The district listed out its reasons for making
“We thought that we
would have to tell the kids
to put on their masks,” she
said. “We thought it would
be a problem. But it hasn’t
been.”
To avoid congregating
large throngs of students,
each grade level is assigned
a different entrance to
arrive at and a different
waiting area before classes
start. School staff wait by
the doors to greet students
and hand them a bagged
meal if they want it.
Sandven said there were
another change to its schedule, arguing
that students learned better and felt safer
at school while most school staff are now
vaccinated against COVID-19.
April 12 will mark the first day K-5 students in
Pendleton will have full-day, in-person classes
since March 2020.
Although changes are being made to the
elementary schedule, the district did not pro-
vide any updates on students at the middle
and high school levels. Secondary students
are currently attending school on alternating
days under a hybrid model.
— Antonio Sierra, East Oregonian
still things to work on.
Some teachers are teach-
ing in person while record-
ing themselves online for
students learning from
home, a task that can be
difficult to balance.
Some students have
opted to stay online rather
than come to school in
person, but an overwhelm-
ing majority of students
and parents are opting
for a return to traditional
instruction.
Sandven said about 90%
of Pendleton High School’s
students are returning to
in-person school, and as
the school settles into its
new routine, some of the
teens that initially opted for
online classes have changed
their mind.
The Pendleton School
District already had its
reopening plans in place
for the high school and
Sunridge Middle School
by the time the Oregon
Department of Education
announced it was further
loosening its COVID-19
restrictions.