The memo also cites an incident late last spring when a three-person nongovernment crew under contract with BLM to study springs, seeps and cattle troughs on public lands near Bundy’s ranch heard two series of gunshots at night near their campsite (Greenwire, June 12, 2015).
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“This indictment sends a resounding message to those who wish to participate in violent acts that our resolve to pursue them and enforce the law remains unwavering”, said Nevada’s FBI Special Agent in Charge Laura Bucheit.
The charges Cliven Bundy now faces are related to the standoff two years ago in Nevada, which followed a 20-year legal dispute over Bundy’s refusal to pay grazing fees for his use of federally owned land.
In addition, it states the defendants also recruited and led hundreds of other followers in using armed force against law enforcement to prevent the seizure and removal of Cliven Bundy’s cattle from federal public lands.
The case is now being investigated by the FBI and Bureau of Land Management.
Bundy was arrested last week when he arrived in OR to support his sons, who are accused of leading a weekslong occupation at a national wildlife refuge.
The federal officials backed off, citing safety concerns, and Bundy continued to graze on the land and kept the cattle.
“The indictment charges that Cliven Bundy was the leader, organizer, and chief beneficiary of the conspiracy”, the USA attorney’s office said in a statement on Wednesday.
Last week, federal prosecutors in Nevada charged Bundy with crimes related to his longstanding conflict with the Bureau of Land Management.
During arguments in the courtroom, Steven Myhre, first assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada, said Bundy was arrested in Portland because he usually moved around his ranch with bodyguards.
“Bundy claims he has strong anti-federal government views, proclaiming that the federal government can not own land under the U.S. Constitution”.
After that, Bundy was rarely seen in public without a coterie of armed guards, according to the federal complaint, making apprehending him a unsafe prospect.
“It’s important for the public to remember that there is a constitutional presumption of innocence in America”, he said. “That’s what courts and trials are for”. “He does not recognize federal courts – claiming they are illegitimate – does not recognize federal law, refuses to obey federal court orders, has already used force and violence against federal law enforcement officers while they were enforcing federal court orders, almost causing catastrophic loss of life or injury to others”, federal prosecutors said in court papers filed Tuesday. In response, anti-government groups and other supporters rallied to Bundy’s defense.
Santilli’s court-appointed lawyer Thomas Coan has argued in federal court in Portland that his client, a “shock jock, ” is being persecuted for his political speech and bravado in his online broadcasts.
The most serious charges in the Nevada indictment, interfering with interstate commerce by extortion and interstate travel in aid of extortion, carry maximum sentences of 20 years in prison each.
All were charged with conspiracy, carrying a firearm in relation to a violent crime, obstruction of justice, extortion, and assault and threats against federal law enforcement.
Tuesday afternoon Cliven Bundy made his second court appearance in less than a week, where the judge ruled that he was too risky to be released from jail and back into the public.
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All of the defendants listed in the indictment are now being held in Oregon.
