A Nevada lawmaker whose political life has been largely animated by concerns over individual liberty and gun rights emerged as an unlikely figure in negotiating the final stage of the standoff in eastern Oregon on Thursday.

Panicked talks between the federal authorities and four holdouts at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge seemed headed toward a dire, perhaps violent, end, when the lawmaker, Michele Fiore, got involved the night before.

The authorities were struggling to persuade the group to surrender during a tense negotiation that was broadcast live online for tens of thousands of listeners and derailed over and over by screams of despair and recrimination from the occupiers.

The holdouts wondered if the agents circling them were planning to gun them down.

“They’re here to kill us,” one said on the phone.

Then a new voice piped in — Fiore, 45, had been patched into the conversation from the Portland airport. She had just landed as part of a trip intended to show support for the protesters.

Stay calm, she told them. “The world is watching.”

Before long, the occupiers agreed to turn themselves over to FBI agents Thursday — accompanied by Fiore and evangelist Franklin Graham.

Who Is Michele Fiore?

Fiore is a second-term assemblywoman representing Nevada’s fourth district. But she might be best known nationally for a Christmas card.

On Dec. 1 she posted a picture of her family on Facebook that showed each member, donned in matching red and blue, with a firearm. Fiore held a 12-gauge shotgun.

“It’s up to Americans to protect America,” the accompanying text read. “We’re just your ordinary American family.

“With love & liberty, Michele.”

Fiore first made her foray onto the political stage in 2010, as the Tea Party was rising to prominence, by running for Congress. She lost badly, but won an open Assembly seat in 2012. She was re-elected two years later.

In December, she announced her candidacy for a seat in Congress.

What Is Her Link to the Standoff in Burns?

Fiore has been a well-known supporter of the family of Cliven Bundy, the rancher who had a standoff with the federal government in 2014 over cattle grazing in Nevada. The FBI arrested Bundy late Wednesday in Portland.

Last March, as the stalemate stretched on, she introduced a bill that would prohibit the federal government from owning or managing land in Nevada without the state’s permission.

Later, she debated MSNBC’s Chris Hayes live from the Bundy family ranch, where she said she had been for nearly a week.

Asked by Hayes whether she recognized the authority of the federal government, she said: “I recognize the authority that they believe that they have. I just question it.”

Since the anti-government action began in Oregon on Jan. 2, she has repeatedly expressed sympathy for the land-use stances that have radicalized the group, led in part by two of Bundy’s sons, Ammon and Ryan.

In recent weeks, Fiore has communicated with members of the armed occupation in Oregon, her executive assistant, Cassidy McGowan, said Thursday.

McGowan said the assemblywoman was able to change the tenor of the standoff because of her unique connection with the occupiers.

“Part of their concern was if they got arrested they’d just be forgotten about,” McGowan said. “And she was able to reassure them that will not happen. ‘I will fight for you. I will fight to make sure that this ends safe. We are here. We care.’”

What Are Her Political Views?

Fiore appears to lean strongly libertarian.

Her social media accounts are suffused with protestations over claims of government overreach and posts about gun control, an issue she often addresses with images of herself holding weapons.

Her public comments have sometimes drawn outrage and, in one case concerning her views on cancer, bafflement.

What Else Is There to Know About Her?

Fiore was born in Brooklyn as the only child of a single mother, and she has lived in Las Vegas since 1993, according to her online campaign profile.

She has two adult daughters and four grandchildren.

She once had movie aspirations. In the early 2000s, she financed, wrote and starred in the film “Siren,” about a homemaker who tries to make it as a rock star.

Fiore once owned a home health care company called Always There 4 You. Her businesses have sometimes run into problems with government regulators and tax collectors.

In November, Nevada revoked the company’s license, accusing Fiore of refusing to allow inspectors to enter the business, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. McGowan, her assistant, disputed that account, saying Fiore had closed the business before the state’s action.

In late 2014, Fiore faced scrutiny in the Las Vegas news media over a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service. The agency had issued more than $1 million in tax liens against her businesses, the Review-Journal reported. She, however, claimed to be in compliance.

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