His charges stem from an armed 2014 standoff with federal officials trying to round up cattle grazing illegally near his ranch in Nevada. In fact, all the evidence suggests that Bundy will continue to act lawlessly, will not abide by court orders, and will use violence to ensure that federal laws are not enforced as to him. This indictment refers to the Bundy’s first foray into anti-government militancy, in Nevada two years ago.
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Cliven Bundy was arrested last week in Portland, where he flew in support of his sons Ammon and Ryan, who both allegedly participated in another, more recent armed standoff against federal authorities at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge’s headquarters in Harney County, Oregon.
Cliven Bundy and his sons have been indicted on federal charges and are being held without bond.
“Raised in the wild, Bundy’s cattle are left to fend for themselves year-round, fighting off predators and scrounging for the meager amounts of food and water available in the hard and arid terrain that comprises the public lands in that area of the country”.
The government is now questioning Bundy’s ranching skills.
Bundy’s lawyer, Noel Grefenson, questioned why it had taken so long to bring charges against his client.
Together, the five men are facing 16 felony charges for the 2014 OR standoff, the event which emboldened the Bundy’s to seize the wildlife refuge.
They’re accused of planning, organizing and leading the 2014 assault and recruiting hundreds of others in an armed force to thwart the seizure and removal of Cliven Bundy’s cattle from public lands.
Bundy “continued in his scofflaw ways, ignoring BLM [Bureau of Land Management] regulations and restrictions pertaining to his use of the public lands, allowing his cattle to run wild and refusing to pay for the forage he leached off the taxpayers”.
Federal prosecutors say attempts to use force against officers of the law should be punished. According to FBI surveillance reported in the Justice Department memo, there were Bundy supporters with rifles on high ground serving as lookouts, and snipers aiming at federal agents from bridges. Among other crimes, the group was charged with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, assault on a federal officer, obstruction, and extortion. Authorities said the other men were charged as leaders and organizers who conspired with Bundy.
“The presence of many gunmen in and near the area of the Bundy Ranch, the armed checkpoints and patrols, the presence of assault weapons in the militia camps, including (by some accounts) a.50-caliber machine gun, further increased the difficulty of conduct a physical investigation of Bundy Ranch or the impoundment site”, the detention memo said.
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A federal grand jury has handed down what the Guardian called a “slew of felony charges” stemming from that 2014 incident. In the post, Cliven Bundy “suggests” that Harney County ranchers Steven and Dwight Hammond, who are now in jail for setting two fires on the public land where they grazed their cattle, seek protective custody in county jail as a way to avoid serving their federal sentences. In mid-January, the elder Bundy praised his sons’ armed occupation.
