Judge scolds defendant at Bundy retrial, leaves court

A Las Vegas courtroom erupted in drama Thursday when a federal judge ordered a defendant in the Bundy Ranch standoff trial to get off the stand, struck his testimony, dismissed jurors and abruptly left the bench.

Jurors looked stunned as Eric Parker returned to the defense table with his head hung, and then he buried his face in his hands, according to one of the lawyers in the case.

“He put his head down on the counsel table and appeared to be crying,” defense lawyer Shawn Perez said. “My observation of the jury was they were looking at everybody in the courtroom and going, ‘What just happened?’ “

Perez, who represents Richard Lovelien of Oklahoma, one of four defendants being retried for their roles in the 2014 Bundy Ranch standoff, said everyone in the courtroom — from jurors to lawyers to observers — was stunned into momentary silence.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Perez said Thursday in a phone interview with The Arizona Republic. “It would not surprise me if there is a call for a mistrial.”

Parker, of Idaho, was testifying in his own defense just before 3 p.m., when U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro stopped him from talking and said she was going to strike his words from the record. She then told Parker to step down.

Perez said Navarro asked the four defense attorneys if they were prepared to call additional witnesses, ordered the parties to return to court Monday morning and told jurors they could leave.

Perez said the judge left the courtroom before jurors filed out.

“You could see the jurors were visibly upset,” Perez said. “One juror turned ghostly white.”

Across from the aisle from the defense, federal prosecutors appeared as troubled by the developments as the defense, Perez said. Even if for different reasons.

Acting Nevada U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre, who is leading the prosecution, could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon. A spokesman for his office said Thursday they would not comment on the case.

Parker, Lovelien and Steven Stewart and O. Scott Drexler, both of Idaho, are accused of conspiracy, extortion, assault and obstruction for helping rancher Cliven Bundy fend off a government roundup of his cattle in what became known as the Battle of Bunkerville.

A jury in April deadlocked on charges against the four men. It convicted two other defendants on multiple counts but could not agree on conspiracy charges against any of them, a key component of the government’s case.

The Bundy Ranch standoff is one of the most high-profile land-use cases in modern Western history.