Refuge occupiers (Photos via Multnomah Co Jail).png
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A federal jury has found Ammon Bundy and his six co-defendants not guilty on all charges for taking over a federal wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon earlier this year.
Standoff leaders Ammon and Ryan Bundy and five others were charged with conspiring to impede federal workers from their jobs at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Several also were charged with possessing a firearm in a federal facility.
All seven defendants were found not guilty Thursday on all charges. The jury had no verdict for Ryan Bundy"s theft of government property charge.
Ammon Bundy"s lawyer, Marcus Mumford, is now in US Marshal custody after repeatedly yelling his client was free to go after the verdict was read in a federal courtroom Thursday afternoon.
The standoff began Jan. 2 and lasted nearly six weeks, bringing new attention to a long-running dispute over control of federal lands in the U.S. West. The confrontations reignited clashes dating to the so-called Sagebrush Rebellion of the late 1970s, when Western states such as Nevada tried to win more control of vast federal land holdings.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown released a statement shortly after the verdict was read, saying she was "disappointed."
U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams issued a statement Thursday saying that his office had strongly believed the case needed to be brought before a court and decided by a jury. Williams said while he had expected a different outcome he respects the jury"s decision.
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