Ammon Bundy, in front, leader of an armed anti-government militia, returns to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters near Burns, Oregon Jan. 5, 2016, following a news conference. The occupation of a wildlife refuge by armed protesters in Oregon reflects a decades-old dispute over land rights in the United States, where local communities have increasingly sought to take back federal land. (Credit: ROB KERR/AFP/Getty Images)
In a stunning loss for federal prosecutors, the leaders of a 41-day armed standoff at a national wildlife refuge in Oregon last year were acquitted of federal charges Thursday.
Brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy and five others had been charged with conspiracy to prevent federal employees from doing their jobs by occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon’s sparsely populated high desert in early 2015.
A jury found them not guilty, setting off celebrations outside the federal courthouse in Portland. A man waved the American flag at passing traffic as someone blew a horn in celebration and a man trotted by on horseback while holding a flag.
“I think the jury saw through this and saw these were well-meaning, well-intentioned individuals,” occupier David Fry’s attorney, Per Olson, told reporters, according to a livefeed broadcast from outside the courthouse by the Oregonian newspaper. “They all came out here for a good purpose, because they cared.”
Click here to read the full story on LATimes.com.
In this composite with handout images provided by the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, top, left to right, Ammon Bundy, Ryan Bundy, Ryan Waylen Payne, Brian Cavalier, and bottom left to right, Peter Santilli, Joseph Donald OShaughnessy, and Shawna Cox pose for booking photos after being arrested by U.S. Marshalls Jan. 26, 2016 in Oregon.
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