Trial on ranching standoff a test of federal government control

LAS VEGAS — The ability of the federal government to enforce its land policies in the West will be tested as a trial begins this week of a Nevada rancher accused of leading a 2014 armed standoff with federal agents in a dispute over cattle grazing.

Federal prosecutors in Nevada have twice before failed to win full convictions at trial of men who had guns during the tense confrontation involving hundreds of protesters who stopped government agents from rounding up cattle belonging to Cliven Bundy.

In opening statements Tuesday, prosecutors will accuse Bundy, 71, sons Ryan and Ammon Bundy, and co-defendant Ryan Payne of enlisting a self-styled militia to defy government authority.

The standoff near Bunkerville, Nev., became an iconic moment in a decades-long turf battle between the government agency assigned to manage vast tracts in the Western U.S. and ranchers whose cows graze the land.

Bundy argues that his family has used the same public range for more than a century — even before the 1934 Taylor Grazing Act set federal land policy. He maintains the land belongs to the state, not the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Defense attorneys say the four men didn’t conspire with anyone, didn’t wield weapons and didn’t threaten anybody. They cast the standoff as a peaceful protest before government officials abandoned the cattle round-up and went home.

“I think they’ll lose again,” Bundy attorney Bret Whipple said, pointing to the scorecard after trials that ended in April and August: two defendants acquitted; two defendants convicted of some charges; two defendants now free after pleading guilty to misdemeanors to avoid standing a third trial. No one was found guilty of conspiracy.

Acting U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre, the lead prosecutor, declined to comment outside court last week.

During previous trials, he has accused the Bundys of trying to instigate a “range war” against the government. He said federal agents were enforcing federal court orders after Bundy racked up more than $1.1 million in unpaid fees and penalties letting his cattle graze for decades in what is now Gold Butte National Monument.

The Bundys and Payne have been jailed since 2016.

Each man refused to enter a plea, saying he didn’t recognize the authority of the government.

JOHN LOCHER/AP 2015 Cliven Bundy is accused of leading an armed standoff.