Acquittal of Oregon occupiers sparks fears
WASHINGTON • “I had been telling my client you can count on being convicted,” said Matthew Schindler, a lawyer for one of the men on trial for the armed takeover of Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. “You don’t walk into a federal court and win a case like this. It just doesn’t happen.”
But win they did on Thursday, and even Schindler thought it “off the charts unbelievable,” he told The Seattle Times.
Now U.S. park officials are now concerned for the safety of rangers and other staff in the wake of the not-guilty verdict.
The six-week armed occupation of the refuge began as a protest against the imprisonment of two Oregon ranchers convicted of setting fires and morphed into a protest against the federal government’s ownership of Western lands.
It ended on Jan. 26, when police stopped and arrested the leader of the armed occupation, Ammon Bundy, and some of his followers driving to a community forum. The group’s spokesman, Lavoy Finicum, was shot and killed by police when he swerved to race past a roadblock and, according to police, reached for a weapon.
The trial for Bundy, his brother Ryan and five others took six weeks. The verdict — not guilty of federal conspiracy charges — came in five days. While Ammon and Ryan Bundy face charges in Nevada for a 2014 standoff with Bureau of Land Manager officers at the family’s ranch, and seven additional defendants face their own trial, the others walked free.
While many of Bundy’s 26 co-defendants pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to impede federal officers from performing their duties — a charge that has also been used to prosecute extremist left-wingers and Earth First protesters — six others remained steadfast over their innocence.
“I fear this ruling will embolden other militants to use the threat of violence and I worry for the safety of employees at our public landmanagement agencies,” said John Horning, executive director of WildEarth Guardians, in a statement. “It is entirely possible there will be threats or intimidations from militants that believe such actions are justified by this verdict.”
Jennifer Rokala, executive director of the Center for Western Priorities, said the decision puts park rangers and scientists at great risk just for doing their jobs and will “undoubtedly embolden extremist groups.”
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., agreed. “While in our judicial system it’s important to respect a jury’s decision,” he told KOIN TV, “I am troubled by this outcome. The notion that an armed occupation could take over a citizenowned facility and cause extensive damage, and yet face no consequences within our legal system, is deeply concerning.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center estimates there are now some 1,000 antigovernment groups across the United States.