Bundys, other refuge protesters arraigned over armed Oregon occupation

Reuters

9 years ago

Inmates (clockwise from top left) Ryan Bundy, Ammon Bundy, Brian Cavalier, Jon Ritzheimer, Peter Santilli, Shawna Cox, Ryan Payne and Joseph O‘Shaughnessy are seen in a combination of police jail booking photos released by the Multnomah County Sheriff‘s Office and Maricopa County Sheriff‘s Office (top R) on January 27, 2016.(REUTERS/MCSO/Handout via Reuters)

Ammon Bundy speaks with reporters after meeting with Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward, at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters near Burns, Ore. on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. The pair met about 10 miles from the refuge. Bundy, who is the son of Nevada Rancher Cliven Bundy, is occupying the refuge with anti-government protesters. Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @csstevensphoto

Ryan Bundy is shown by the entrance of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters near Burns, Ore. on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. Bundy, who, along with his brother Ammon, is occupying the refuge with anti-government protestors, many of which are armed. The two are sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy. Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @csstevensphoto

Leader of a group of armed protesters Ammon Bundy talks to the media at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, January 8, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

Lake Mead is seen in this undated photo. (Rene Germanier/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Ammon Bundy speaks with reporters at a news conference by the entrance of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters near Burns, Ore. on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016. Bundy, who is the son of Nevada Rancher Cliven Bundy, is occupying the refuge with anti-government protestors, many of which are armed. Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @csstevensphoto

The leaders of a six-week armed occupation at a U.S. wildlife refuge in rural Oregon are to be arraigned on Wednesday on charges of conspiring to impede federal officers policing the compound during a fight over federal control of land in the West.

Ammon Bundy and other anti-government protesters arrested in connection with the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon were set to appear in U.S. court in Portland on Wednesday, Bundy’s attorneys said in a statement.

Four of the 16 protesters facing one conspiracy charge each have asked the court to wave their appearance at the arraignment, affirming their intention to plead not guilty to the charges, court documents show.

The 41-day standoff ended on Feb. 11 when the final four protesters surrendered to authorities following a dramatic exchange with mediators.

On Jan. 26, Bundy, his brother Ryan and nine other protesters had been arrested on a snow-covered roadside while on their way to speak at a community meeting in John Day, Oregon. A spokesman for the group, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, was shot dead in the stop.

The Bundys and the others face one count each of plotting to prevent by “force, intimidation, and threats” agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from performing their duties.

A three-page indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Portland earlier this month, says the defendants brandished firearms and refused to leave the refuge, threatening violence against anyone who attempted to remove them. It also says they warned the sheriff of “extreme civil unrest” if their demands were unmet, among other acts of intimidation.

The Malheur takeover, which began on Jan. 2, was sparked by the return to prison of two Oregon ranchers convicted of setting fires that spread to federal property near the refuge. The occupation also was a protest against federal control over millions of acres of public land in the West.

The cost of the standoff likely will run into the millions of dollars with local and state agencies looking to the federal government – and the arrested occupiers – to shoulder the bulk of the bills.