The Seattle Times reported that the interaction grew so heated that Mumford was shouting in the court room before he was ultimately “tackled” by the U.S. marshals and eventually ordered into custody.
I wonder if the defendants’ lawyer won’t joint the crew on their next outing. If there’s one thing good thing to come from this disaster it’s that it might convince even more non-Trump Republicans to vote for the voice of sanity.
Perhaps the jurors should have the Bundy’s overtake their own property…kick then out and occupy their home for months…i mean, their intentions were not mean, eh?
Bundy testified in his defense, spending three days amplifying his belief that government overreach is destroying Western communities that rely on the land.
He said the plan was to take ownership of the refuge by occupying it for a period of time and then turn it over to local officials to use as they saw fit.
Bundy also testified that the occupiers carried guns because they would have been arrested immediately otherwise and to protect themselves against possible government attack.
So much for the rule of law.
If they were black they’d be dead!
Prosecutors had tried, according to news reports, to provide evidence that the Bundy brothers had conspired and planned the refuge takeover in advance while the defense alleged it was spontaneous and nothing more than civil disobedience.
So why were they charged with conspiracy instead of the various illegal things their so-called “civil disobedience” entailed?
We all witnessed it. There is absolutely no way these people are not guilty. They believe us all to be fools? I have lost all faith in our judicial system. So disgusted it’s beyond words. Our country really is collapsing all around us.
This an early April fools joke, right?
I’d like to think they’re trying to keep a bigger fire tamped down, which is okay by me.
What does the Bundy family have at this point? If they stop grazing what’s left of their cattle on federal land…
do they have any cattle left?
Appeal! … and somebody PLEASE file a civil suit. That could hurt them even more than imprisonment.
Pretty sad when a crew of maniacs can threaten the lives of employees and create a mess costing in the millions (what a waste of taxpayer $) and get off. Something’s wrong here.
I see problems ahead as this verdict fuels the courage of every idiot sagebrusher in the west. Dems need to take back the Senate (in order to work with the President to deal with the upcoming supreme court vacancies) or there will be issues and decisions made regarding public lands (BLM,NFS, not necessarily NPS) that will change the western landscape forever.
So apparently it’s okay to brandish weapons and threaten law enforcement … if you happen to be white and you wear a cowboy hat. If the Bundys and their lot were black, LE would have executed all of them within about 2 hours of the start of the “occupation.” This is the least funny joke I have ever encountered.
I literally want to slap the crap out of each jury member right now. I cannot imagine what reasons a jury could find to acquit them. We saw them, on TV, for weeks, WITH GUNS, for weeks, WITH GUNS, on Federal land pointing them at police and threatening them.
Seriously, people are lapping up the stupid sauce.
Things like this have me worried that Trump winning the election is a possibility, regardless of polling. Stupidity seems to be expanding like a pandemic.
Something isn’t right here. Sounds like the prosecution failed in its task to prove. A civil suit may be in order but what is wrong with the prosecution?
Yes, but also with possessing firearms on federal property with the intent to commit violence and destruction of government property. I can see that the jury might dismiss the conspiracy charge (I wouldn’t, since it was obvious they did conspire) but there are pictures of them with guns and the damage was obvious. Parts of the refuge are still not open. It was jury nullification.
They wont be so happy when they get hit with the civil suit for the damage to federal property. Only a preponderance of the evidence required there. See O.J.
According to the FBI press release, the prosecution failed to prove conspiracy and that the charge of theft was hung.
I’m guessing without the conspiracy the weapons charge becomes a 2nd amendment thing.
Here’s hoping the prosecution has learned a thing or two from this and adds a few more charges in Nevada…
News Release from FBI - Oregon
/Posted on FlashAlert: October 27th, 2016 5:24 PM/United States Attorney’s Office Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore. – A federal jury today delivered its verdicts against
seven defendants charged with conspiracy, possession of firearms on
federal property, and theft during the 41-day armed occupation of the
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Jurors found Ammon Bundy, Shawna Cox,
David Lee Fry, Jeff Wayne Banta, Kenneth Medenbach, and Neil Wampler not
guilty on all counts. Jurors found Ryan Bundy not guilty on charges of
conspiracy and possession of firearms, but were unable to reach a
verdict on the charge of theft.Co-defendants Jason Blomgren, Brian Cavalier, Blaine Cooper, Eric
Flores, Wesley Kjar, Corey Lequieu, Joseph O’Shaughnessy, Ryan Payne,
Jon Ritzheimer, Geoffrey Stanek, and Travis Cox previously pled guilty.
Co-defendants Dylan Anderson, Sandra Anderson, Sean Anderson, Duane
Ehmer, Jason Patrick, Darryl Thorn, and Jake Ryan will stand trial
beginning February 14, 2017. Charges against co-defendant Peter Santilli
were previously dismissed.“While we had hoped for a different outcome, we respect the verdict of
the jury and thank them for their dedicated service during this long and
difficult trial,” said Billy J. Williams, United States Attorney for the
District of Oregon. “We strongly believe that this case needed to be
brought before a Court, publicly tried, and decided by a jury. Despite
the verdict reached, I want to personally thank all of the law
enforcement personnel who worked tirelessly to bring about a peaceful
resolution to the Malheur occupation. I also want to thank the residents
of Burns, Hines, and Harney County and members of the Burns Paiute Tribe
for their patience and resolve throughout this process.”“For many weeks, hundreds of law enforcement officers – federal, state,
and local – worked around-the-clock to resolve the armed occupation at
the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge 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,” said Greg Bretzing, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI
in Oregon. “Although we are extremely disappointed in the verdict, we
respect the court and the role of the jury in the American judicial system.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Geoffrey Barrow,
Ethan Knight, and Craig Gabriel, Assistant United States Attorneys for
the District of Oregon.
The defense clearly did a great job with jury selection. They did, however, have a very friendly jury pool. This case was tried in rural Oregon, where there are lots of folks sympathetic to the Bundys’ positions. They managed to get rid of the person who at some point worked for the BLM and was therefore “biased” (and likely was going to hold out on the acquittal verdict and may have wondered aloud about how the rest of the panel could possibly think these guys were not guilty), but all the ranchers and farmers and libertarians who have the same interests as the Bundys, not so much.
It on the good news side, the BLM should be able to sue them in civil court for destruction of property and seek damages.
I’m embarrassed for my state. This is just going to encourage these types of idiots.
Unbelievable.
Let’s hope that the Nevada trial delivers justice.