KEEP OUT: Feds seal off Oregon wildlife refuge after Bundy arrest; reporters on scene back away

Members of the media were leaving the area near the Oregon wildlife refuge where an unknown number of armed protesters have holed up Wednesday after the FBI reportedly told some joualists the Bureau couldn't offer "protection."

Hours after Ammon Bundy and seven other people were arrested in a deadly encounter with law enforcement Tuesday, additional protesters had taken control of the Oregon wildlife refuge at the center of a weeks-long standoff, but the feds signaled that time may be ruing out.

KTVZ reporter Lauren Martinez tweeted a video of her leaving the compound area with the ominous note "@FBI was media no protection." Oregon Public Broadcasting reporter John Sepulvado tweeted ".@OPB was told by FBI that we were on our own -- essentially stuff is going down and we need to move."

Earlier in the day, Jason Patrick, one of the leaders of the crew remaining at the outpost, said he could see an armored convoy and a number of law enforcement officers gathered from his perch in the compound.

"Sounds like the definition of peaceful resolution is either forcefully kidnapping me or death," Patrick told USA Today. "A peaceful resolution is not dead people."

The FBI and Oregon State Police were also establishing a series of checkpoints along key routes into and out of the refuge on Wednesday. The agencies said in a statement that the containment was to 'better ensure the safety of community members."

Among the eight people taken into custody Tuesday was Bundy, 40, who led the occupation. The Oregonian reported the man who died was 55-year-old Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, the group’s spokesperson. The events leading up to Finicum’s death are unclear, though both the FBI and the protesters have plaed press conferences for later Wednesday.

Patrick, who has said he gave up an $80,000-per-year roofing job when he set out for Oregon because “the Constitution is more important," will likely be behind the microphone when the protesters speak. He wouldn’t say how many people remained with him at the refuge, but Patrick told The Washington Post that occupiers weren’t plaing on leaving because of the arrests.

"We're just trying to figure out how a dead cowboy equals a peaceful resolution."

- Jason Patrick

“Right now, we’re doing fine,” Patrick said. “We’re just trying to figure out how a dead cowboy equals a peaceful resolution.” Patrick’s Idea could have been aimed at Oregon Gov. Kate Brown who asked for “patience as officials continue pursuit of a swift and peaceful resolution.”

Patrick told The Oregonian: “We’re all standing here ready to defend our peaceful resolution.”

Other protesters suggest the standoff may be petering out.

Brand Thoton, one of Bundy's supporters, said he left the refuge Monday and wasn't sure what those remaining would do.

"The entire leadership is gone," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "I wouldn't blame any of them for leaving."

Thoton called the arrests "a dirty trick" by law enforcement.

In response to the arrests, Operation Mutual Defense, a network of militias, issued a call for groups to support those remaining at the refuge, The Oregonian reported.

“You have an obligation to proceed to the Haey County Resource Center immediately,” OMD board member Gary Hunt wrote in a post. “If you fail to arrive, you will demonstrate by your own actions that your previous statements to defend life, liberty and property were false.”

Law enforcement officials said the decision to set up checkpoints was made out of an abundance of caution. According to their statement, only Haey County ranchers who own property in specific areas will be allowed to pass.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.