Near the conclusion of the showdown at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge last week, as the final straggling rebels raised their hands in surrender, Cliven Bundy, the architect of false-government-defiance in the name of rancher’s rights, was arrested in Portland, Oregon, while trying to join his anti-gov. cowboy buddies.
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“The rule of law has been reaffirmed with these charges”, U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden said in a statement.
Most serious among them are assault on a federal law enforcement officer, and extortion.
Bundy faces charges of conspiracy over his standoff with federal officials two years ago.
On Thursday, a federal prosecutor in OR asked that Cliven Bundy be transferred to Nevada to face the charges, and a magistrate judge ordered the move, according to court records.
According to the indictment, Santilli tried to “incite listeners” to travel to the Bundy Ranch for unlawful purposes. The Bureau of Land Management organized an operation to remove the cattle.
Ammon and Ryan Bundy and Payne and Santilli were previously arrested in connection with the recent armed protest over public lands in Oregon.
Cliven Bundy is pictured in this undated booking handout image provided by the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, February 11, 2016. The FBI on January 4 sought a peaceful end to the occupation by armed anti-government militia members at a United States federal wildlife reserve in rural OR, as the standoff entered its third day.
Nevada FBI agent Laura Bucheit said that the Bundy indictments send a “resounding message” to Americans who want to engage in “violent acts” that the federal agency will enforce existing laws in an “unwavering” fashion.
Bundy’s attorney, Noel Grefenson, said his client could not be a danger if authorities waited to charge him for 22 months.
“It’s important for the public to remember that there is a constitutional presumption of innocence in America, ” Arnold said in an email.
“A government charge is proof of nothing”, Arnold wrote.
“Today marks a tremendous step toward ending more than 20 years of law breaking”, said Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze in a statement, referring to Cliven Bundy’s longstanding dispute with his agency.
In 2014, at the time of his alleged crimes, more than 1,000 head strayed as far as 50 miles from his ranch and into the Lake Mead National Recreational Area, “getting stuck in mud, wandering onto golf courses, straying onto the freeway (causing accidents on occasion)”, authorities said in documents.
Hundreds of thousands of acres of federal land called the Gold Butte surrounds the ranch. Payne, 32, allegedly recruited others and played a lead role in an armed assault, the government said. Ammon and Ryan Bundy were among the protesters at the refuge.
Several of the offenses carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to a quarter million dollars.
Four counts of using and carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
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And the indictment charges allow prosecutors to seek the forfeiture of at least $3 million in property upon conviction of some of the charges.
