Anti-federal Nev. standoff duo cleared

ANTI-GOVERNMENT protesters who wielded assault-style weapons in a standoff against federal agents in Nevada have avoided any convictions.

Ricky Lovelien, from Montana, and Steve Stewart, from Idaho, were acquitted Tuesday of all charges including assault on a federal officer, extortion and using a firearm in a violent crime in Bunkerville, a small town northeast of Las Vegas near the ranch of Cliven Bundy.

Scott Drexler and Eric Parker, also from Idaho, were acquitted of most charges they faced.

Bundy gained national attention for the 2014 armed standoff against the federal Bureau of Land Management, which came after a years-long dispute over his use of federal land for his cattle.

Prosecutors painted the defendants, who traveled to the area to support the rancher, as members of a self-made militia threatening federal agents with their arms, though their lawyers have said they did not pose a threat.

The standoff ended when the government released cattle it seized from Bundy. THE EAST VILLAGE man who raised the ire of his neighbors by displaying a pair of Confederate battle flags claims his love of the banners has nothing to do with race or the history of the South.

“Absolutely not,” a defiant William Green told the Daily News on Tuesday when asked if he would classify himself as a racist.

The 43-year-old said the association of the rebel flag with secession and slavery is just a tale being told by select media outlets.

“That’s a fad something that’s being created by MSNBC,” he told The News.

For years, Green kept the Confederate flags across the windows of his E. Eighth St. apartment.

The display of banners was backlit by spotlights from inside Green’s apartment at night, incurring the wrath of his neighbors.

Green also has hung a 13-star American flag and four Israeli flags in his windows.

He said he was out of town when residents began throwing rocks at his sixth-floor windows Friday night, drawing a large police response.

The flags have not appeared in Green’s windows since Saturday.

Green attempted Tuesday to explain his rationale behind hanging the controversial flags.

“I have a firm belief in Scottish enlightenment and the blue and white ‘X’ on the flag is Scottish enlightenment,” he said.