Oregon militants acquitted of conspiracy
in wildlife refuge seizure
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[October 28, 2016]
By Scott Bransford
PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - A federal court
jury delivered a surprise verdict on Thursday acquitting anti-government
militant leader Ammon Bundy and six followers of conspiracy charges
stemming from their role in the armed takeover of a wildlife center in
Oregon earlier this year.
The outcome marked a stinging defeat for federal prosecutors and law
enforcement in a trial the defendants sought to turn into a pulpit for
airing their opposition to U.S. government control over millions of
acres of public lands in the West.
Bundy and others, including his brother and co-defendant Ryan Bundy,
cast the 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge as a
patriotic act of civil disobedience. Prosecutors called it a lawless
scheme to seize federal property by force.
Jubilant supporters of the Bundys thronged the courthouse after the
verdict, hailing the trial's outcome as vindication of a political
ideology that is profoundly distrustful of federal authority and
challenges its legitimacy.
"We're so grateful to the jurors who weren't swayed by the nonsense that
was going on," defendant Shawna Cox told reporters. "God said we weren't
guilty. We weren't guilty of anything."
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As the seven-week-long trial in the U.S. District Court in Portland
climaxed, U.S. marshals wrestled to the floor Ammon Bundy's lawyer,
Marcus Mumford, as he argued heatedly with the judge over the terms of
his client's continued detention.
The Bundys still face assault, conspiracy and other charges from a
separate armed standoff in 2014 at the Nevada ranch of their father,
Cliven Bundy, triggered when federal agents seized his cattle for his
failure to pay grazing fees for his use of public land.
The outcome of the Oregon trial clearly shocked many in the packed
courtroom. Attorneys exchanged looks of astonishment with the
defendants, then hugged their clients as the not-guilty verdicts were
read amid gasps from spectators.
Outside the courthouse, supporters celebrated by shouting "Hallelujah"
and reading passages from the U.S. Constitution. One man rode his horse,
named Lady Liberty, in front of the courthouse carrying an American
flag.
The verdict came after four days of deliberations. One juror, a former
federal employee, was dismissed over questions of bias on Wednesday and
replaced by a substitute.
The 12-member panel found all seven defendants - six men and a woman -
not guilty of the most serious charge, conspiracy to impede federal
officers through intimidation, threats or force. That charge alone
carried a maximum penalty of six years in prison.
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![](../images/102816pics/news_b5.jpg)
(clockwise from top left) Ryan Bundy, Ammon Bundy, Brian Cavalier,
Peter Santilli, Shawna Cox, Ryan Payne and Joseph O'Shaughnessy,
limited-government activists who led an armed 41-day takeover of the
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, are seen in a combination of
police jail booking photos released by the Multnomah County
Sheriff's Office in Portland, Oregon January 27, 2016. Multnomah
County Sheriff's Office/Handout via Reuters/File Photo
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The defendants also were acquitted of illegal possession of firearms
in a federal facility and theft of government property, except in
the case of Ryan Bundy, for whom jurors were deadlocked on the
charge of theft.
The takeover of the wildlife refuge was initially sparked by outrage
over the plight of two imprisoned Oregon ranchers the occupiers
believed had been unfairly treated in an arson case. But the
militants said they were also protesting larger grievances at what
they saw as government tyranny.
The standoff led to the shooting death of one protester, Robert
"LaVoy" Finicum, by police shortly after the Bundy brothers were
arrested, and left parts of the refuge badly damaged.
More than two dozen people, in all, have been criminally charged in
the occupation, and a second group of defendants is due to stand
trial in February.
Mumford told reporters he believed Ammon and Ryan Bundy would remain
in custody for the time being but may be transferred to Nevada.
Four co-defendants were free on their own recognizance during the
trial. A fifth, David Fry, the last of the occupiers to surrender in
February, was released hours after the verdict.
(Reporting by Scott Bransford in Portland; Writing by Steve Gorman;
Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Simon Cameron-Moore)
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