Jurors on Thursday acquitted the leaders of an armed occupation at a federal land reserve in rural Oregon that stretched on for over a month at the beginning of this year.
For six weeks, Ammon Bundy led the armed standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, along with his brother Ryan and other followers. Ammon and Ryan Bundy, along with five others, were charged with conspiring to impede federal workers from their jobs and with possessing a firearm in a federal facility.
All seven defendants were acquitted on both the conspiracy charge and the weapons charge.
Neil Wampler:'It's a tremendous victory for rural America – disastrous,humiliating defeat for corrupt fed govt.' pic.twitter.com/ogM4JzEPKY
— Maxine Bernstein (@maxoregonian) October 28, 2016
In total, 26 people have been charged in connection with the occupation. Eleven have pled guilty, while others are slated to face trial next year.
The facts of the Bundy case were not in dispute, given that the occupation of the preserve — including the presence of firearms and the impediment to federal workers, who were forced to stay home from their jobs (many on administrative leave), was widely documented at the time.
Federal prosecutors presented their case over two weeks, displaying more than 30 guns that were seized after the standoff. According to NBC news, an FBI agent testified that 16,636 live rounds and 1,700 spent casings were found on the reserve.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the 41-day occupation cost the federal government $4.3 million. Many of the costs — including local school closings, extra security and counseling personnel, and extra police presence — fall on the shoulders of Harney County, the rural jurisdiction that houses the Malheur wildlife preserve.
Ammon Bundy, in his testimony, expounded at length on government overreach and his belief that federal control of lands like the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, a popular bird sanctuary, was destroying western culture. The defendants also argued that they never specifically discussed their intention to impede federal workers from doing their jobs. Three of the seven defendants, including Ryan Bundy, chose to represent themselves.
Defense attorneys, according to the Washington Post, often called the armed occupation a “Martin Luther style sit-in.”
After the acquittal was handed down, supporters reportedly streamed out of the courtroom and declared the day a victory for the Bundys’ anti-government political cause and message.
https://slack-redir.net/link?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fjtierney6%2Fstatus%2F791796843940241408
The Bundys are still expected to stand trial next year in Nevada for charges relating to a different armed occupation: a high-profile 2014 standoff at their father, Cliven Bundy’s, Nevada ranch.
Marcus Mumford, Ammon Bundy’s attorney, argued several times that his client was free to go following the trial, despite the federal judge saying Bundy must be returned to federal custody to face the charges in Nevada.
According to local reports, Mumford’s protests that his client must be freed “grew louder and louder” until the attorney was tackled and tasered by the court’s U.S. Marshals.
Ammon Bundy's lawyer J Philpot says co-counsel Marcus Mumford was tased by marshals in courtroom #oregonstandoff pic.twitter.com/juu2uZHMB0
— Maxine Bernstein (@maxoregonian) October 27, 2016
Marcus Mumford was just tackled to the ground by at least 5 us marshals after kept arguing that Ammon Bundy was free to go #oregonstandoff
— Maxine Bernstein (@maxoregonian) October 27, 2016
After Mumford was restrained, the judge ordered the courtroom to be cleared. A member of Mumford’s legal team confirmed to The Oregonian that he had been taken into custody.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown tweeted that she was disappointed in the verdict but respected the jury’s decision.
“The occupation of the Malheur Refuge by outsiders did not reflect the Oregon way of respectfully working together to resolve differences,” she said. “I appreciate the due diligence of our federal partners and stand with the communities of Harney County and the residents of Burns.”