A jury acquits
the leaders of an armed group who seized a national wildlife refuge in rural Oregon.
PORTLAND, Ore. — The leaders of an armed group who seized a national wildlife refuge in rural Oregon were acquitted Thursday in the 41-day standoff that brought attention to a longrunning dispute over control of federal lands in the West.
A jury found brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy not guilty of possession of firearms in a federal facility and conspiring to impede federal workers from their jobs at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, 300 miles southeast of Portland where the trial took place.
Five co-defendants also were cleared of the charges.
Despite the acquittal, the Bundys were expected to stand trial next year in Nevada on charges stemming from another standoff with federal agents.
The brothers are part of a Nevada ranching family embroiled in a fight over the use of public range, and their occupation drew an international spotlight to a uniquely American West dispute: federal restrictions on ranching, mining and logging to protect the environment. The federal government said it tries to balance industry, recreation and wildlife concerns to benefit all.
The armed occupiers in Oregon were allowed to come and go for several weeks as authorities tried to avoid bloodshed seen in past standoffs.
The confrontations reignited clashes dating to the so-called Sagebrush Rebellion of the late 1970s, when Western states such as Nevada tried to win more control of vast federal land holdings.
The group began occupying the bird sanctuary in remote southeastern Oregon on Jan. 2.
They objected to prison sentences handed down to Dwight and Steven Hammond, two local ranchers convicted of setting fires. They demanded the government free the father and son and relinquish control of public lands to local officials.
The Bundys and other key figures were arrested in a Jan. 26 traffic stop outside the refuge that ended with police fatally shooting Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, an occupation spokesman.
Most occupiers left after his death, but four holdouts remained until Feb. 11, when they surrendered after a lengthy negotiation.
Authorities had charged 26 occupiers with conspiracy. Eleven pleaded guilty, and another had the charge dropped. Seven defendants chose not to be tried at this time.
Their trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 14