Oregon refuge leader, six other defendants, found not guilty of federal conspiracy - Entrepreneur Generations

David Fry, one of the defendants,
was released after the verdict.
(The Oregonian photo by Stephanie Yao Long)

The leader of the January armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon and six other defendants were acquitted on Thursday, Maxine Bernstein reports for The Oregonian. "The verdicts finding Ammon Bundy, older brother Ryan Bundy and five others not guilty of a federal conspiracy drew elation from defense attorneys who spent five weeks arguing that the armed takeover amounted to a time-honored tradition of First Amendment protest and civil disobedience."

"Prosecutors had argued the case was simple: The refuge occupiers took control of a wildlife refuge that wasn't theirs," Bernstein writes. "The heavily armed guards that manned the front gate and watchtower during the 41-day takeover, in an of itself, was 'intimidating,' and prevented officers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management from carrying out their work. But defense lawyers said they believe the jury held true to the judge's instructions, and couldn't find beyond a reasonable doubt that their 'intent'' was to prevent the federal employees from going to work."

from The Rural Blog http://ift.tt/2e4MkCk Oregon refuge leader, six other defendants, found not guilty of federal conspiracy - Entrepreneur Generations

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