Once again it appears as though prosecutors are going to face an uphill battle in Nevada in attempting to secure a conviction for the men who held federal agents at gunpoint in a tense standoff in 2014. Cliven Bundy, a 71-year-old state’s rights advocate, was tired of paying grazing fees and that resulted in an armed confrontation with federal agents.
Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro in Las Vegas declared a mistrial in the case against Bundy.
Prosecutors hoped to secure a conviction and prove the men broke the law when they faced down federal agents trying to remove their cattle. The Bundys owed over $1 million in grazing fees.
ARMED AND DANGEROUS
Many ranchers in the western parts of the country chafe at having to pay the feds a fee to graze their cattle. They think that land should be available for private use. Bundy and his sons, 44-year-old Ryan and 42-year-old Ammon, and Ryan Payne called up their supporters, and many showed up armed to the teeth to stop the feds from removing the cattle from the land.
This resulted in a tense standoff between agents and supporters of Bundy and state’s rights.
The men were arrested and charged with conspiracy for attempting to stop agents from seizing the cattle, carrying and using a firearm, and threatening a federal officer among others. All 15 charges are felony charges.
PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT
Sadly, it appears that the prosecutors, in this case, dropped the ball.
Navarro did not dismiss the case outright just yet. She said she might after a hearing set for January 8th. She severely criticized prosecutors for suppressing information vital to the case.
The trial was expected to last four months.
This mistrial comes a year after a jury acquitted Ryan and Ammon Bundy of all charges related to the stand-off in Oregon in 2016. There, the men occupied a U.S. wildlife refuge in the eastern part of the state demanding that the feds turn over that public land to local control.
MISTRIAL: WHAT THE HELL?
With people being killed by police while unarmed and crawling on the floor begging for their life, it is baffling that these men not only lived through the experience, but they appear to be getting away with it.
Navarro noted that she was dismayed that prosecutors neglected to turn over a 3,300 page FBI and Bureau of Land Management document. They were supposed to turn in the pages by October 1st and didn’t do so until October 10th.
Prosecutors also insisted that there were no snipers positioned in the woods. This has been shown to be false as well.
The judge said that the case was full of:
“…Widespread bad judgement, bias, and misconduct during the planning and operation of the cattle roundup, as well as likely policy, ethical and legal violations among senior and supervisory staff.”
The Bundys, of course, are delighted by the news. Cliven Bundy remains in federal custody in protest.
Ammon Bundy said:
“I believe there is no jury in this counry that will convict us. We have someething most powerful, and that’s the truth.”
Featured Image Via YouTube Video.
