Bundy ally gets 68 years for role in 2014 standoff

LAS VEGAS — A participant in the 2014 armed standoff between federal agents and supporters of rancher Cliven Bundy was sentenced to 68 years in prison Wednesday despite pleas from his lawyer for leniency related to his deteriorating health.

Gregory Burleson, 53, sat in a wheelchair while his attorney stood next to him in federal court and explained how his client’s blindness and age would make him vulnerable in prison. Federal officials say Bundy has illegally grazed his cattle on federal land for years. When agents rounded up some of his cattle, Burleson and others, some of them armed, came to his defense at his ranch near Bunkerville, Nev.