Oregon jury goes rogue
FIND GUN-TOTING FED LAND OCCUPIERS NOT GUILTY — EVEN THOUGH THEY BRAGGED ABOUT IT!
CHAOS BROKE out in an Oregon courtroom Thursday moments after seven anti-government occupiers on trial for a weeks-long takeover of a wildlife refuge were acquitted on federal conspiracy and weapons charges.
The rifle-toting protesters led by conservative ranchers Ammon and Ryan Bundy pushed their way onto the Malheur National Wildlife refuge near Burns, Ore., in January and stayed for 41 days.
The jury found the cowboy hat-wearing Bundy brothers, along with five other defendants, not guilty of conspiring to prevent federal employees from doing their jobs through intimidation, threat or force and possession of guns on U.S. land.
A “stunning victory for rural America” is how Neal Wampler, one of the defendants, described the decision.
After the verdicts were read Thursday, cries of joy erupted from supporters as people streamed out of the courthouse.
“More than we could have hoped for,” one of Ammon Bundy’s lawyers, Morgan Philpot, told The Oregonian.
But inside, the drama of the month-long trial wasn’t quite over. One of Ammon Bundy’s lawyers, Marcus Mumford (bottom), was tackled as he argued in court his client should be released immediately.
District Judge Anna Brown said Bundy will stay in custody to face charges in Nevada stemming from an armed standoff at his father Cliven Bundy’s ranch two years ago.
U.S. marshals deployed stun guns on the irate attorney and wrestled him to the floor during the heated argument as he shouted at the judge.
The jury could not reach a verdict on a single count of theft against Ryan Bundy, who is also under federal indictment in Nevada. Cliven Bundy, also a rancher, is famous for leading anti-government protests. The Bundy brothers and the other co-defendants took over the Malheur National Wildlife refuge in rural Oregon Jan. 2 in protest of prison sentences handed down to two local ranchers convicted of setting fires. The standoff drew national attention, dominating headlines with fears the occupation would end in bloodshed. Ammon Bundy testified that the occupiers carried guns because they would have been arrested otherwise. They also had to protect themselves against possible government attack, he said. The plan was to eventually turn the land over to local residents, according to him.
The Bundys and others were eventually arrested in a Jan. 26 traffic stop outside the refuge that ended with police fatally shooting occupier Robert (LaVoy) Finicum. Most occupiers left after his death, but four holdouts remained until Feb. 11.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said she was disappointed by the verdict.
“The occupation of the Malheur Refuge by outsiders did not reflect the Oregon way of respectfully working together to resolve differences,” she said.
The U.S Attorney in Oregon, Billy Williams, defended the decision to go to trial.
“We strongly believe that this case needed to be brought before a court, publicly tried, and decided by a jury,” he said.
FBI special agent Greg Bretzing said law enforcement worked tirelessly to resolve the armed occupation peacefully.
“We believe now — as we did then — that protecting and defending this nation through rigorous obedience to the U.S. Constitution is our most important responsibility,” Bretzing said.