Nevada Bundy Prosecution Collapses

Here, in the biggest case in the country, with the prosecution spending untold millions of dollars and the judge imposing rules of evidence which almost choked the defense from speaking, the Justice Department was unable to get convictions.

The Federal Government Spent a Quarter-Billion Dollars
but Couldn’t Convict the Bundys of a Single Crime

By Roger I. Roots, J.D., Ph.D.

January 12, 2018

In 2013 the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) obtained federal court orders authorizing the agency to “seize and remove to impound” hundreds of Cliven Bundy’s cattle on the public ranges around Bunkerville, Nevada.   The agency interpreted these court orders broadly, and descended on the area in April 2014 with some 200 body-armor-wearing agents, semiautomatic weapons, sniper teams, undercover informants, and surveillance cameras aimed at the Bundy residence.

The BLM brought more than corrals and horse trailers.  They brought backhoes, dump trucks and earth-moving equipment to tear up water lines and other infrastructure that had been built by Bundy and his ancestors over decades.  Defying county officials, the federal officers chose calving season—the very time when cows and newborn calves are most physically weak and vulnerable—to execute the court orders.  They orchestrated a paramilitarized roundup operation using helicopters to terrify the cattle into stampeding to the point of exhaustion in extreme heat. At least 40 cows either died from the ordeal or were shot by BLM employees and contractors.

The Feds even used the impoundment order to establish “First Amendment Zones” limiting freedom of speech in a 600,000-acre area to two small isolated parcels in the desert.  It was almost certainly the largest infringement of First Amendment rights (by area) in American history.

When Bundy’s son Dave stopped on a state highway to photograph BLM snipers on local hillsides, BLM agents threw him down, ground his face into asphalt and falsely arrested him.  And when other family members stopped a BLM dump truck to inquire if the truck was carrying dead cows, BLM agents erupted in a flurry of violence.

In response, hundreds of citizens journeyed from all over the country to protest the BLM operation.  A few were armed.  Political officials from across the west denounced the BLM’s heavy-handedness.  As a direct result of the national outcry, the BLM halted their cattle impoundment.   And on April 12, 2014, the BLM agents withdrew from the area—seemingly at the direction of the U.S. Attorneys office.  It was apparently the plan of the Justice Department to entrap the Bundys into a criminal case by constructing a narrative that Bundy supporters “extorted” the cattle from the BLM by threats and “assaults” on federal officers.  (The corralled cattle would have died had not Bundy family members released them back onto the range.)

Federal prosecutors spent tens of millions to build an elaborate criminal case designed to imprison Bundy and his sons and supporters for life.  For two years, more than a thousand FBI agents combed through Facebook comments, posed as supporters or journalists, or surfed the internet to concoct a case against the Bundys.

Meanwhile Bundy’s sons Ammon and Ryan became active in protests against the government’s mistreatment of the Hammond family in eastern Oregon.  In January 2016 protesters occupied Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in a month-long demonstration.

Again the FBI spent millions in a show of force against the “domestic terrorists.”  The entire town of Burns, Oregon—30 miles from the Refuge occupation—was fortified with razor wire, chain-link fences and concrete barriers.  Military hardware rolled through the streets and buzzed overhead.  Undercover informants dressed as rednecks in pickups harassed the populace.  At a January 26, 2016 roadblock ambush, FBI and Oregon State Police opened fire on Ryan Bundy and shot 54-year-old LaVoy Finicum in the back as he stood surrounded in a roadside snowbank.

Leftist or socialist demonstrators would likely have been charged with misdemeanors over the Refuge occupation; but government officials viewed the 2016 “armed takeover” as an affront to all that government stands for.  Federal prosecutors alleged that the protesters had launched a conspiracy to impede federal officials from performing their jobs.

The Most Elaborate Prosecutions In American History

In their zeal to destroy the Bundy “movement,” teams of federal prosecutors launched the most elaborate federal criminal cases in American history.  Ammon and Ryan Bundy, militia spokesman Ryan Payne, and others were flown back-and-forth between Oregon and Nevada to face hearings in two, simultaneous criminal cases.  Jurors in both jurisdictions were bussed (supposedly for their safety) from secret locations every day.  In Nevada, not one but two helicopters followed overhead while defendants were transported between prison and court daily.  In all, the federal government has likely spent a quarter of a billion dollars reacting to, imprisoning, and prosecuting the Bundys and their fellow protesters.

In October 2016, jurors in Portland acquitted the Oregon defendants in the “trial of the century.”  U.S. marshals tackled and tased Ammon Bundy’s attorney in the courtroom.   Ammon and Ryan Bundy were denied release and transported to a Nevada prison to face the Nevada indictment along with Cliven, brothers Dave and Mel and a dozen others (while a half-dozen others awaited a second trial in Oregon).

Todd Engel

The Oregon ‘not-guilty’ verdicts gave hope to two-dozen other defendants, who mostly stuck to their guns (no pun intended) and refused to plead guilty or negotiate with prosecutors.  Courts were forced to split the Oregon case into 2 trial groups and the Nevada case into 3 trial groups.  The first Nevada trial (of “gunmen”), commenced in February 2017 with Eric Parker, Scott Drexler, Greg Burleson, Steve Stewart, Todd Engel and Rick Lovelien facing multiple serious charges.  Jurors couldn’t agree on most counts but convicted Engel and Burleson (mostly based on Facebook comments) of some accusations.  Burleson was sentenced to 68 years in prison.

Then came one of the most disgraceful “trials” in U.S. history.  Parker, Drexler, Stewart and Lovelien were retried in Las Vegas in August 2017.  The prosecution exploited every possible advantage, winning rulings from the judge which barred the defendants from even mentioning most of their possible defenses.  (They couldn’t even say that the BLM was overbearing or heavily armed, or even that there were government snipers above them.)  Jurors were treated to a one-sided display of 2014 photos showing the men with guns while overlooking BLM officers from a bridge on Interstate 15.  BLM witnesses—either exaggerating or lying—cried in the courtroom while claiming they saw the defendants pointing rifles at them.  (Not a single photo or video corroborates this—and there were hundreds of cameras recording almost everything at the time; there were even Nevada trooper dashcams capturing 80 percent of the movements of the defendants during the period.)

The judge even ordered Eric Parker off the witness stand for saying he looked “up and to the right” during the 2014 “standoff.”  Prosecutors strenuously objected (in a sidebar hearing) that such a statement might tell jurors that there were BLM snipers on a mesa above; and thus Parker was unable to rebut the government’s claim that he aimed his rifle down-and-to-the-left at a crying BLM agent (who was photographed very-much-not-crying at the time).

Defense lawyers were so stifled by the judge’s orders that they opted not to even make closing arguments—a gutsy move almost without precedent.  It was a cry for help to the jury.  And the jury heard it loud and clear.  On August 22, 2017, the jury fully acquitted Stewart and Lovelien, and acquitted Parker and Drexler of most counts.  (They hung on a small number of charges for the two men.)

The not-guilty verdicts sent shockwaves throughout the Judiciary and the Justice Department.  Here, in the biggest case in the country, with the prosecution spending untold millions of dollars and the judge imposing rules of evidence which almost choked the defense from speaking, the Justice Department was unable to get convictions.

When the “big trial” (involving Cliven, Ryan, Ammon, and Ryan Payne) began in October 2017, defense attorneys demanded to see evidence that had been withheld by the prosecution.  There were pictures (but no explanations) of immense piles of shredded documents left by the BLM at the scene in 2014.  And Ryan Bundy remembered surveillance cameras pointed at the Bundy house in 2014 yet Bundy had never been provided with the footage.

Prosecutors insisted they possessed no such evidence.  Even if there was a surveillance camera here or there it hadn’t recorded anything.  But such questions seemed to produce more startling disclosures.  Ultimately it was revealed that there had been an elaborate FBI surveillance operation which had been concealed from the defense.  And it seemed that prosecutors had been coaching witnesses to change their reports to censor out inconvenient facts.

By the third week of trial in November, Chief Judge Gloria Navarro—the very judge who had given prosecutors everything they wished for in the previous two trials—was visibly weary of the DOJ’s barbarous tactics.  A mistrial was declared just prior to Christmas, and all defendants except Cliven were released on conditions while lawyers argued over whether the case warranted another trial.  And on Monday, January 8, 2018, in a packed courtroom in Las Vegas, the Judge granted Ryan Payne’s motion to dismiss.  A “universal sense of justice has been violated,” proclaimed Navarro.   The judge said further that she was unaware of a more egregious case of FBI misconduct.

It should be noted that there are currently a half-dozen additional pending motions to dismiss, citing even graver prosecutorial misconduct.   It has recently come to light that lead prosecutor Steven Myhre was approached during the first Nevada trial by a government case investigator who informed the prosecutor that he was breaking the law by withholding evidence from the defense.  Myhre’s response, according to some reports, was to fire the agent and order him to keep quiet.  Even as Cliven Bundy was released from jail after serving 700 days, the case continues for others.   Stay tuned!

Cliven Bundy Family (photo credit: Morgan Philpot)

Dr. Roger Roots is an attorney for Cliven Bundy in two pending civil cases and has worked on both the Ryan Bundy defense team in Oregon and the Cliven Bundy defense team in Nevada. Roger is the only lawyer who observed all four Bundy trials beginning in October 2016. (He missed seeing only the second Oregon trial in February 2017 because it conflicted with the first Nevada trial.) Roger is also a founder of Lysander Spooner University, and author of The Conviction Factory: The Collapse of America’s Criminal Courts.

This is an updated article that was first published at LewRockwell.com

Featured photo: Roger Roots shares his photo, taken January 9th. The Cliven Bundy defense team included attorneys Bret Whipple and Larry Klayman.

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BREAKING: Judge Dismisses ALL Charges Against Bundy Family, Bars Retrial

The court"s decision marks an end to the federal case against the Bundy family for their role in the 2014 armed standoff over cattle-grazing rights in Nevada.

Bundy Prosecution Found Guilty

Some jurors said that if they had gone into deliberation at that point, the verdict would have been ‘not guilty’.

by Terry Noonkester  12-28-2017

The last days of the Bundy trial were no longer about the protest between the ranchers and BLM over grazing rights.  The courts attention was drawn to how the prosecution and the agency’s they represented have disregarded the Constitutional rights of the accused.

On December 20th, 2017, Judge Navarro presided over a hearing for the USA v Cliven Bundy trial to give her decision on the defense’s motions for dismissal due to prosecutorial misconduct.  The prosecutors committed Brady violations when they failed to turn over evidence favorable to the defense.

Judge Navarro spent nearly two hours detailing six Brady violations made by the prosecution team.  The team is comprised of Acting U.S. Attorney, Steven Myhre, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Daniel Schiess and Nadia Ahmed.  Myhre had been a federal prosecutor for more than 25 years. Navarro said the evidence withheld was “material” to the defense case and that each of the prosecution’s six “willful” violations resulted in due process violations.

One prosecution violation was in regard to the surveillance camera or cameras that captured images, and possibly audio, of the Bundy home, and at other times, surveillance of two other locations.  The defense had repeatedly asked for any documentation regarding the surveillance, but the prosecution denied the existence of these camera’s until a government witness, U.S. Park Service Chief Investigator, Mary Hinson, testified to their existence.

Another violation was about the existence of snipers positioned around the Bundy home.  The defense needed the FBI reports on these snipers to rebut the governments charges that claimed the Bundy’s and Ryan Payne made false claims that snipers were surrounding the Bundy home.

These FBI reports on snipers were denied and suppressed.  The records now show there were at least 197 paramilitary personnel at the Bundy Ranch in April 2014. There were pictures of snippers on the high ground near the ranch.  The paramilitary personnel were from the Las Angeles SWAT, The Las Vegas Metro SWAT and the FBI Hostage Rescue Team along with the BLM law enforcement and their ‘contract cowboys’.

There were several threat assessment reports made by the FBI throughout an extended timeframe of several years.  The prosecution claimed the Bundy family was assessed as being dangerous, but failed to make the reports available to the defense.  The Bundy’s and several supporters were denied bail because of these assessments until the prosecution’s witness, Mary Jo Rugwell, former head of  the BLM district office in southern Nevada, testified that the reports classified the Bundy’s as not a threat or as a low threat.  These assessments were then released to Judge Navarro, who then ruled that the defendants could be released from prison, to be monitored with ankle bracelets at host homes in Las Vegas. 

The defendants may have spent 20 months in prison because of false statements made by the prosecution.

There was also a BLM assessment that grazing had not harmed the desert tortoise.  This refutes the governments claims that the cattle roundup was done to protect the tortoise.

Navarro repeatedly referred to the date that production of the evidence was required as October 1st, 2017; the discovery date for this trial.  Although the withheld evidence was also needed by the defense in the first two Cliven Bundy et al trials, violations for those trials are not covered by violations confirmed in this trial.

Navarro declared a mistrial because of the government’s “willful failure to disclose information” to the defense. She said; “A fair trial at this point is impossible.”

Ryan Bundy asked the Judge if that meant all the defendants would be released.  She told him that he would have to go through Pre-trial Services to  get any modification of his release.  Ryan asked if Todd Engel, and Greg Burleson would be released.  She said that was not up to her, a jury had convicted them.  She made it clear that the first two Bundy Trials in Las Vegas were not covered by this mistrial.

The jury was then brought into the courtroom for the first time in 9 days,  Judge Navarro told them that there had been a lot of new evidence in the trial; 3,300 pages of new evidence.  The attorneys would need a lot of extra time to go through all the new evidence so the trial had to be declared a mistrial because it was going to take too long.  She thanked them for their services and sacrifices several times and dismissed them as jurors.  She never mentioned that the prosecution was the party late with the evidence, nor did she say anything about Brady violations.

The procedure to be followed now is for lawyers for the defense and the prosecution to file briefs explaining to Judge Navarro how they think the trial should be concluded.  The prosecution would normally try to convince the judge that the case should be retried. The defense wants the judge to dismiss the case with prejudice; meaning all charges would be dropped and the prosecution would be barred from trying the case again.  December 29th is the deadline for the lawyers to file their arguments regarding how the trial should end.  Navarro has set the date for her decision as January 8th, 2018 at the courthouse.

At the end of the hearing on December 20th, Navarro instructed the prosecution to go through all the evidence that was covered by a protective order and remove any evidence that does not need to be under such a restrictive court order.  The judge also requested that any unnecessary redactions be removed.  The only sanctions imposed on the prosecution from Navarro’s court will be the mistrial or dismissal of the case.  Navarro has also followed court protocol to set a “calendar call” for February 15th,  and a new trial date for February 26th, 2018; but these dates are not expected to be needed.

After the courtroom was adjourned, the defendants were able to visit with the jurors.  Ammon said all the jurors he talked to were friendly and some wished to visit the ranch.  Some jurors said that if they had gone into deliberation at that point, the verdict would have been ‘not guilty’, one saying that he could see what the government was doing to them.  The Bundy’s, their defense team, supporters and even a few jurors met outside the courthouse main entrance.  The jurors had been impressed by Ryan Bundy’s representation of himself, one of the jurors calling it ‘awesome’.

Bret Whipple, the attorney for Ammon Bundy said; “All we need to do is point out her findings that the evidence was ‘material,’ and the violations were ‘willful,’ and attach the Chapman case. In my mind that seals the deal…I’m confident we’ll get a mistrial with prejudice. One step at a time. We’re getting close.”  The Chapman case, like the Bundy case, was headed by Steven Myhre and ended in a mistrial due to the prosecutions failure to disclose exculpatory evidence.

Judge Navarro has not considered the new allegations about prosecutorial misconduct that were made public in an email leaked to Washington State Representative Matt Shea on December 14, 2017.  The email was written by the former lead investigator of the Bundy case within the BLM, Agent Larry Wooten.  Wooten wrote of cooperation between his supervisor and prosecutor Steven Myhre to withhold evidence and his own dismissal as case investigator after his own failed efforts to supply evidence to Myhre.

Larry Klayman, a former Justice Department prosecutor and the founder of Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch, sent a message to Attorney General Jeff Sessions on December 21, 2017. “In the last week, through an ethically troubled BLM whistleblower who came forward as a matter of conscience, Larry “Clint” Wooten, it was also disclosed that BLM and the FBI had put the Bundys on a “kill list,” mocked and disparaged their Mormon faith, and bragged about assaulting and waging a violent invasion of their land, as well as harming them.

To make matters ethically and legally worse, Myhre and his staff also suppressed this whistleblower report documenting BLM and FBI gross misconduct and indeed criminal behavior. In short, your prosecutors in Nevada not just condoned the hiding and destruction of evidence that could lead to my client’s acquittal, but they themselves engaged in obstruction of justice through a cover-up. Importantly, Myhre and his staff committed crimes in furtherance of attempting to falsely convict Cliven Bundy. Incredibly, if convicted on all counts, Cliven and his sons would be sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment.”

Klayman’s letter continued; “…it is incumbent that you also direct the Department’s OPR and the IG to now conduct an ethics investigation and mete out appropriate strong disciplinary sanctions against Myhre and his staff, as well as the involved complicit FBI agents”.  Klayman has requested an investigation of the Bundy prosecution several times in the last year, and filed formal complaints against Sessions, the Inspector General (IG), and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) when an investigation was not conducted in a timely manner.

Spokesman for the United States Justice Department, Ian Prior, said Jeff Sessions takes this issue very seriously and has personally directed a review and report of the case against Cliven Bundy.  When a judge makes a finding of misconduct by a prosecutor, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility investigates and determines if discipline is warranted. That can range from a reprimand to a suspension.  At this point, it is even possible for the government to call an end to the case.  It is disturbing that Sessions used the phrase “review and report” rather than investigation.

Not included in the violations committed by the prosecution are any issues that had not “ripened” when Judge Navarro declared a mistrial.  The ripeness refers to the readiness for litigation; “a claim is not ripe for adjudication if it rests upon contingent future events that may not occur as anticipated, or not occur at all”.  Although the ‘Wooten materials’ make many allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, there must be an investigation and possibly litigation before there can be sanctions or other punishments.

Also not covered is another violation in regards to testimony given by Mary Jo Rugwell regarding the Bundy’s water rights.  It seems Rugwell has perjured herself when she testified that she knew nothing about the Bundy’s water rights, but evidence was found that she had previously tried to have those water rights cancelled.

Defense lawyers said the violations in this Bundy trial are more extensive, involving thousands of pages of documents deliberately withheld.

At a roundtable discussion later in the day of the hearing, Ammon Bundy described how the prosecution of the Hammond family in Oregon paralleled the Bundy case in Nevada.  Ammon said the Hammonds did not have the benefit of a good defense team, so they are in prison.  He continued by saying that we need to act to get the Hammonds out of prison now.

Cliven Bundy is still ‘resisting release’ by not accepting an ankle bracelet monitoring device and a halfway house as a condition of release, and he is also insisting that all the men that came to his ranch in his defense be freed before him.

This article is offered to all other media under the Creative Commons License, when proper credit is given to Terry Noonkester, The Roseburg Beacon and Redoubt News.

PHOTO:  From left, Ryan Payne, Jeanette Finicum, widow of Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, Ryan Bundy, Angela Bundy, wife of Ryan Bundy and Jamie Bundy, daughter of Ryan Bundy, walk out of a federal courthouse Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Photo: AP)

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AG Sessions orders examination of Bundy case after mistrial over prosecution bungling

Government failed to turn over evidence.

 

By Valerie Richardson – The Washington Times – Thursday, December 21, 2017

Attorney General Jeff Sessions stepped into the Bundy prosecution after Wednesday’s mistrial, ordering a third-party examination of the case in light of the latest government snafu.

“The attorney general takes this issue very seriously and has personally directed that an expert in the [Justice Department’s] discovery obligations be deployed to examine the case and advise as to the next steps,” said Ian D. Prior, the department’s principal deputy director of public affairs, in a late Wednesday statement.

The decision to intervene came after Chief U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro declared a mistrial over the government’s “willful failure to disclose information” to the defense, saying it would have been “impossible” for the four co-defendants to receive a fair trial.

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SEE ALSO: Mistrial bolster’s Bundy’s claim of federal persecution, gives prosecutors black eye

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“Failure to turn over such evidence violates due process,” Judge Navarro said in the courtroom, the Arizona Republic reported. “A fair trial at this point is impossible.”

Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, his sons Ammon and Ryan Bundy, and Ryan Payne of Montana have been charged with 15 felony counts stemming from the 2014 armed standoff with the Bureau of Land Management at the Bundy ranch near Bunkerville.

The examination represents the first direct public intervention by the attorney general in the Nevada case, which began last year under then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

Read more at The Washington Times

Hat tip: Redoubt News

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Case against Cliven Bundy declared a mistrial

A federal judge declared a mistrial Wednesday in the case of a Nevada rancher accused of leading an armed standoff against the government in 2014, blaming prosecutors for withholding key evidence from defense lawyers, including records about the conduct of FBI and Bureau of Land Management agents.

Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro in Las Vegas dismissed a jury seated last month for the long-awaited trial of Cliven Bundy, his sons Ryan and Ammon Bundy and self-styled Montana militia leader Ryan Payne.

The decision is the latest in a string of failed prosecutions in Nevada and Oregon against those who have opposed federal control of vast swaths of land in Western states.

Jurors acquitted the two Bundy sons of taking over a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon for more than a month in early 2016 and amid calls for the U.S. government to turn over public land to local control.

In the Nevada case, Navarro faulted federal prosecutors for failing to turn over all evidence to defense attorneys.

“The government is obligated to disclose all evidence that might be favorable” to the defense, the judge said.

The case stemmed from an armed confrontation that capped a decades long dispute over Cliven Bundy’s refusal to pay grazing fees. The 71-year-old rancher says his family has grazed cattle for more than a century in the area and insists public land belongs to states, not the U.S. government.

Government agents began rounding up his cattle. The four on trial were accused of enlisting armed gunmen to force government agents to abandon the effort.

The judge had hinted last week that trouble was afoot. She sent the jury home to review sealed documents following closed-door hearings over complaints about the conduct of FBI and Bureau of Land Management agents during the standoff.

Jurors got a glimpse of the claims when Ryan Bundy, who represented himself, spoke at opening statements about seeing government snipers and surveillance cameras positioned on hilltops surrounding his family home in the days before armed supporters answered his family’s calls for help.

A whistleblower memo by a lead U.S. Bureau of Land Management investigator that was released last week alleges widespread bad judgment, bias and misconduct, as well as “likely policy, ethical and legal violations among senior and supervisory staff” in the days leading up to the standoff.

The memo said agents who planned and oversaw the cattle roundup mocked and displayed clear prejudice against the Bundys, their supporters and Mormons.

The investigator, Larry Wooten, said he was removed from the investigation last February after he complained to the U.S. attorney’s office in Nevada.

The judge freed the Bundy sons and Payne to house arrest during the trial after nearly two years in jail. Cliven Bundy refused the judge’s offer, with his lawyer saying the patriarch was holding out for acquittal.

Read more at FOX News

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: AP

 

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Trial of the Century — Ryan Bundy Opening Statement

“THIS IS WHO I AM, A MAN WITH A FAMILY AND I’LL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO PROVIDE FOR THEM. “

November 15, 2017.

Thanks to the jurors for being here. I told you a little about myself at voir dire, but I’d like to introduce myself a little more, and tell you about my heritage and how that affects my case. (Projects a picture of his family – AND leaves it up throughout his statement!)

This is my ID! Not my driver’s license. This is who I am, a man with a family and I’ll do whatever it takes to provide for them. I want you to picture in your minds…you’re out on the land… I’ll take you to our ranch, you can see all the beauty of the land, the fresh air, sunsets and sunrises, the brush, you’re on a horse in front of the cattle – place yourself there – feel the freedom – out of the congestion of the cars – that’s how I was raised, playing in the river, we were called river-rats and that is where my life began and I hope ends.

My family has been on that land 141 years, my pioneer ancestors settled there in 1877 – there was nothing there. They carved out a living… they brought a horse and wagon and some provisions… this case, the government mentioned is “not about rights”, but it is – those rights do mean something – rights are created through beneficial use.

When my ancestors arrived, undoubtedly the horse would need a drink, so they led him to the water and that is beneficial use. The horse and perhaps a cow that had been led behind the wagon need to eat some brush in the hills, that is beneficial use. That established rights. The water rights are real! So real, the State of Nevada has a water rights registry including livestock watering rights. A law was created to protect those rights. The water rights that my father owns were first registered in 1891 by the State of Nevada – the State of Nevada is important, a sovereign state, its own unit, which entered the union in 1864. It entered equal to the original states, it is its own entity and state laws are important.

Cliven Bundy

My family and I are charged with some grievous things and they are not true and evidence will show they are not; force, manipulation, extortion, violent—my family is not a violent family and I am not a violent man. For 20+ years we turned to local law enforcement. Rights are real property. The fact is that we create government to protect rights.

To have rights you must claim, use and defend… man only has rights he is willing to claim, use and defend. There is a difference between rights and privileges. Rights you own. Privilege is afforded. Like renting or owning a house. Government asserts there are no rights, only privileges and unless we pay, we can’t be there. The State of Nevada says differently. These are my father’s rights. Everything we have comes from the land. That is wealth, not the dollar bill. The things we use all come from the land. Who controls the land, controls the wealth?

We create government to preserve and serve us. These are some of the beliefs of my family. That we have said we will do whatever it takes to defend is not a threat, it is a statement. Being right here before you today is part of doing whatever it takes. The Founding Fathers pledged whatever it would take… their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor, to defend rights. With the evidence you will see that is what we were doing; there was no conspiracy to impede, to harm… but, to protect our heritage that our pioneer ancestors established. We were attacked, surrounded by what appeared to be mercenaries, snipers pointed directly at me. You will hear a report from a sniper that he was keeping watch of me in my van, with my wife and two of my daughters with me.

Our ranch – children are always welcome – it is a place to play, play in the river, the pond, chase or hunt rabbits, burn your toes in the hot sand in summer—always free. Never before did we feel like someone was always watching. In early spring of 2014 we felt like someone was always watching… the dogs were watching the hills, when you are always with a dog you get to know what they are saying with their bark… you can tell by their bark what they are seeing… surveillance cameras on one hill, but the dog looking at another and growling… (tearfully) This is not what America is supposed to be. Supposed to be a land of liberty. The Founding Fathers fought and bled so we wouldn’t have to and now we find ourselves in a similar situation.

They say this issue is over grazing fees… it’s terrible, terrible, he must be a freeloader – it’s only rhetoric – I’ll tell you why – You don’t pay rent when you own your home! We own those rights! Not the land, I know we don’t own the land, but access…you and others have rights on that land. We own water and grazing rights. We don’t pay rent for something we own.

The BLM was formed in 1960. Our rights were established in 1877, long before BLM. The original states own 100% of their land and all states were to come in on equal footing. The crux of the issue is, are we a state or not? They say grazing is a privilege they can revoke and charge fees. If it is only a matter of money it is no problem. In fact, Mr. Whipple showed a copy of a check made out to Clark County. If the whole purpose is to show we owe a fee, then we’ll pay to the proper owner of the land. That was not the only check written to Clark County, we sent several.

Also, in Clark County, there were 53 ranchers who owned rights. There is only a single one still out on the range. The BLM is not gaining revenue, it’s not important to them. My father could see they were there to manage him out of business. It’s not about grazing fees. In the BLM office there were signs that read: No more Moo by ‘92 and Cattle Free by ‘93! If it were only about the grazing fees, the fees would have been under $100,000 over 25 years. It is rumored, it may not be seen in evidence, but it is rumored that they spent $6 million on the operation. Who spends that and court costs rumored to be over $100 million to collect $100,000?

What is this about? The court orders. They say my father had an opportunity in the courts. The court wouldn’t consider state’s rights. They have forgotten they are servants of the people. We the people are the sovereign and ultimately, we the people are the government formed to meet needs that are better met by a group than by individuals. We are not slaves. We need to remember that. I think that’s forgotten. The definition of freedom is lost in America. When we have to have a license or ask permission to do everything, we are subjects.

(Photo: Shannon Bushman, used with permission)

Back to the charges – they claimed I went to Richfield and that the sheriff had to be called because we were causing such a ruckus—evidence will show otherwise—we boycott to influence to change ways – we protest to cause a change – these are first amendment rights – we do not get rights from the Bill of Rights – we have rights to begin with – it should be called the Prohibition of Government – we have freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, we can petition for a redress of grievances—rights we don’t want the government to mess with.

A redress is to find an answer, find a solution – one way to protest. The BLM put up first amendment zones – not much bigger than this courtroom – we called them pig pens – by creating that area, they were denying our right everywhere else – that’s what they used to arrest my brother – he was outside the pig pens. The first amendment has been protected over and over again in our history.

Davey Bundy

There’s lots of media in the gallery today, they wouldn’t be happy to have their right to free speech taken. First amendment was put in the Supreme Law of the land, the Constitution – they shall make no law restricting these things… as you saw in the video yesterday, my brother was not impeding, not blocking, he was on a state road, on its right-of-way, simply to take pictures with his iPad of them stealing our cattle – they attacked him, threw him to the ground, rubbed his face in the ground. (emotional)

The American public saw this and came not to impede or do harm. They came because they felt the spirit of the Lord, spirit of freedom and felt “we the people are not going to put up with that behavior”. It was not pointed out there were snipers on the hill, I witnessed that through binoculars and the evidence will show this.

Back to Richfield, Utah, evidence and witness testimony will show there was not a ruckus there that disrupted or shut down that auction. I called the sheriff – that’s the pattern – the local law enforcement and state brand inspectors in Nevada, Arizona and Utah and I had contact with the highway patrol, county commissioners in several counties and state officials – not all face to face, but some through phone calls. Is this what a criminal does? No. We were there protecting life, liberty, property.

Margaret Houston thrown to the ground, 2014

You saw the video of them hip chucking my Aunt Margaret, 50+ years of and just finished with cancer treatments, the mother of 11 children. They call these BLM guys law enforcement, but they are just BLM employees.

All authority comes from we the people, we delegate authority to the county sheriff who we elect and he hires deputies and we then have a sheriff’s department to protect our life, our liberty, our property. Choosing for yourself is freedom and we have no right to impede or harm others. That’s God’s law. Man-made law is to follow that.You saw the video of them hip chucking my Aunt Margaret, 50+ years of and just finished with cancer treatments, the mother of 11 children. They call these BLM guys law enforcement, but they are just BLM employees.

Man is supposed to be free, not controlled, serfs or slaves. Government is to be our servant. The government went in and shut down 600,000 acres – not one of us ever went into their enclosed area and never impeded them.

Even my brother driving into the dump truck… isn’t that impediment? The court order did not allow destruction of water infrastructure. What was a dump truck doing out there? Since that was beyond the scope of the supposed court order, we had a right to know. They could have stopped and answered our questions, but no, they set out attack dogs and Tasers and threw Aunt Margaret to the ground.

Every incident they are charging us with happened on property that belonged to the State of Nevada. Even if BLM had authority to close public land, they have no authority to close State of Nevada public land. The fence was on the State of Nevada land. Except by invitation, you will not see one of us breach that fence or impede the gather. We did not violate the court order. Dave went over the fence by the invitation of Dan Love and then the sheriff took over and asked for our help to take down the fence and then the cowboys, led by sheriff’s squad cars went to release the cattle. The sheriff honored his oath and did his job. He should have done it sooner.

I love my family. I love them. I love this land. I love freedom. I am from the State of Nevada. I’m a true Nevadan. I mentioned before that Nevada became a state on Oct. 31st and we always got out of school on that day… I always thought we got out because it was my birthday. I’m a true Nevadan. I believe you are, too, and love freedom as much as I do. Freedom’s not being lost overseas – it’s lost right here at home in our back yards, our front yards.

Until we are willing to do whatever it takes, liberty will be, is being lost. We are not anti-government! Government has its proper place and duties to perform. I want government to do its job. Nothing more. Nothing less. When government does more or less than its job, it becomes the criminal. When government damages our rights, it becomes the criminal. When someone harms or damages another’s life, liberty or property that is the definition of a criminal.

Extortion, violence, pointing guns – everything we are charged with, they were doing and thousands of people came running – the world knew about this – China, Ireland (they sent us a flag), New Zealand and other countries – why? Because America stood for freedom and has for years and the world is interested in seeing how America (emotional) will deal with freedom. The world wants to know. The American people said, “yes, we will stand for freedom. Government, you’ve gone too far and we will put a stop to it.”

The courts have a place. It is said that We the People are the fourth branch of government. I say we are the first. The legislature to make laws, the executive to execute laws and the judicial to judge. All three branches are to protect your rights, our rights, freedom, liberty. Government does not have the authority in and of itself – man creates government to fulfill and protect rights. We the people give government the authority through the Constitution. The tenth amendment insures state’s rights.

Evidence will show my father and my brothers are innocent men. We need you to put on that paper that we are not guilty. You are the twelve to represent us, peers, equals, people…we the People.

Guns…lots of guns…scary…camo…freedom of speech…also, the right to bear arms, the second amendment…a militia was necessary. What is a militia? It is defined in the law. U.S. Code defines militia: “all able-bodied men 17-45 years of age”. How many of you are a member of the militia? State of Nevada extended that and includes men up to the age of 64. How many of you now are a member of the Nevada militia? There is the organized militia, the National Guard and the unorganized militia – everyone else.

Why did the Founding Fathers include the second amendment? Was it for duck hunting? No…no! Militia is mentioned six times in the Constitution. Such a small document and few things are mentioned more than the militia; the central government of this union and yet media or whatever wants to put a bad face on militia. Why did militia come to Bundy Ranch? To peacefully assemble, redress of grievances.

No one was harmed except Davey, Ammon and Margaret. You will not see in evidence that we ever harmed anyone! They attack and we turned the other cheek. We were peaceful—insistent? Yes! And, Yes! Demanding. These men, these people did not come to seek an opportunity to point guns at the government. Hundreds, even thousands of people we didn’t know. That’s exemplary. These people came to do good. To protect me, to save my life.

Ryan Payne

I had a sniper pointing at me, 200 armed men surrounding my home, my family (tearfully) Ryan Payne has been portrayed as a bad man. Evidence will show otherwise. He saved my life. He saved my life. Others came. I didn’t even meet most of them until I was in jail with them, may have seen them in passing, but I didn’t know them until jail. I honor and thank them now! I thank all who came. We only have rights we are willing to fight for. You’ll see evidence that I was nearly always with the sheriff or a deputy – always in communication with them – I was side-by-side with Lombardo.

Thank you for coming, for being here. I will still do whatever it takes. This is not a threat, it is determination. I love my freedom. Listen to the still small voice to discern between truth and error. The indictment and grand jury testimony is full of lies. Truth has been blocked in previous trials. Listen closely – we will try to get you the truth. The truth will set me free and I’m counting on you to help me see that.

I invite you to our ranch. I recognize your right to use the land. We want you to come and enjoy it. I thank you for this time. Please find me not guilty and these other men not guilty. Stand up for freedom.

Thank you. Ryan Bundy

Bunkerville Standoff, 2014 (photo by Shannon Bushman, used with permission)

Photo credit, featured image: Ryan Bundy, son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, leaves the Lloyd George U.S. Courthouse with his wife, Angela, in downtown Las Vegas on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017. (Photo: reviewjournal.com)

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Did Bundy Owe Millions? See For Yourself!

BUNDY WAS TELLING THE TRUTH!

By Staff – 11/18/2917

The trial for the Nevada Ranch, Cliven Bundy, is underway in Las Vegas. Bundy is accused of refusing to pay over one million dollars in grazing fees to the Bureau of Land Management, resulting in a forced impoundment operation.

The impoundment, known as “Operation Gold Butte” caused hundreds of supporters from around the country to gather in Bunkerville, Nevada in April 2014.

The Main Stream Media has continued the narrative that Bundy owed over $1,000,000 in grazing fees, including FOX NEWS just this week. Bundy has repeatedly stated that this is untrue.

Documents filed in the case have been substantial and overwhelming for most people to sort through. However, the proof is there.

In a letter dated Jan 21, 2011, and filed in the case Dec 21, 2012, it clearly outlines what fees that the BLM felt was owed to them.

See Full page here.

 

See Full page here.

Total trespass fees were only $8,815.50.

Administrative Fees added to this are $283,776.00

Add a $10.00 Service fee and the total comes to $292,601.50.

This is well below the reported amount of over a million dollars!

Bundy was telling the truth!

The main stream media seems to think that the truth isn’t good enough and they must embellish the amount.

However, do not forget, the government has allowed these “mistakes” to go unchallenged in the public perception. This could be considered complicit in deceiving the public.

Though the grazing fees are not the central part of the trial, it certainly is a major point for the public.

The current trial of Cliven Bundy, two of his sons, Ryan and Ammon, as well as supporter Ryan Payne, began this month after multiple delays.

After two previous trials, the prosecution has yet to gain any substantial guilty verdicts and seem to be resorting to deception to gain their sought after prize. They have been caught several times withholding evidence and being less-than-truthful with the court.

Judge Gloria Navarro, who has previously shown favoritism towards the prosecution, has yet to sanction the government, dismiss the case, or at least declare a mistrial.

The trial is expected to last 3-4 months. There is another trial for more defendants due to start 30 days after the completion of this trial.

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Trial-of-the-Century Gets a Jury in Las Vegas

JURORS WILL RETURN TUESDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 7TH, FOR OPENING ARGUMENTS.

by Shari Dovale  November 2, 2017

The Trial-of-the-Century is fully underway in Las Vegas, Nevada. Four men face charges related to the Bunkerville Standoff in April 2014.

71-year-old Cliven Bundy, two of his sons, Ryan and Ammon, as well as Montana resident Ryan Payne are accused of being the leaders behind the standoff. This event saw the Bureau of Land Management, under discredited Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Dan Love, stop the court-ordered cattle rustling that had begun near the southern Nevada town.

Over four days this week, prosecutors and defense whittled a large group of prospective jurors down to 12 with 4 alternates. A diverse group, they are prepared to serve for an estimated four months.

Jurors will return Tuesday morning, November 7^th, for opening arguments. Meanwhile, the attorneys continue with a full schedule in preparation for the opening on Tuesday.

An evidentiary hearing will conclude Friday morning on a motion by Ryan Payne to dismiss the entire case based on an Office of Inspector General (OIG) report and it’s attachments.

Judge Navarro chose to delay the very important hearing in favor of jury selection, which gives every impression that she has already made up her mind to rule against the motion to dismiss. The best the defendants can hope for, under those circumstances, is a directed jury instruction.

The evidentiary hearing is based on the apparent destruction of important, and exculpatory, documents in the ‘Operation Gold Butte’ event, as named by the BLM. It is important to remember that Dan Love testified in this hearing, via SKYPE, from Salt Lake City.

When attorneys Bret Whipple (who represents Cliven Bundy) and Dan Hill (who represents Ammon Bundy) questioned Love regarding Love’s phone calls with the U.S. Attorneys Office during the standoff, prosecutor Steven Myhre sternly objected. Whipple asked if (then-U. S. Attorney) Daniel Bogden had instructed Love to release the cattle. Myhre objected, claiming the U.S. Attorney had no authority to issue such an instruction. However, Daniel Love stated that the order to surrender and release the cows was given immediately after he spoke to Bogden.

This revelation raises the question of whether the Justice Department deliberately entrapped the Bundys, and made a showing of releasing the cattle solely to set up the Bundys to be prosecuted. Was Love directed by the highest-ranking federal prosecutor in Nevada to release the cattle, so that the Justice Department could stage this elaborate criminal prosecution?

Further testimony by Kent Klemen further implicated the US Attorney’s office in the what appears to be quite the cover up. Kleman was in charge of the investigation of the shredded documents.

During Kleman‘s testimony, it was revealed that Acting US Attorney, Steven Myhre, not only asked Kleman to investigate this issue, but set the parameters and directed the course of the investigation. This puts a large “Conflict of Interest” stamp on Myhre’s forehead.

Myhre made repeated attempts to shut down this testimony, calling it ‘privileged’, yet it continued with more details.

It would seem that when the original motion was filed by the defense in October 2016, Myhre called Kleman at that time to determine what happened. Kleman then spoke with Myhre at least weekly for the next year, discussing all aspects of the investigation.

During the investigation, Kleman admitted that he did NOT talk to all the principals involved in the event. This investigator testified that he was told of a “hurried shredding event” yet never bothered to ask WHY they were doing the shredding, though he was told that Command Staff were assisting. In light of this knowledge, it is amazing that Kleman never bothered to ask WHO directed them to shred the documents.

The trial is estimated to last four months, with a few days off for pre-scheduled events, including holidays. The gallery is expected to be full with supporters traveling from around the country to witness the testimony, as well as several media outlets expected on key days.

A final trial for the remaining defendants is not expected to begin until 30 days after a verdict is reached in this trial.

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Photo credit: Redoubt News

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Nevada Rancher Cliven Bundy Goes On Trial For 2014 Armed Standoff With Federal Agents

Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy is officially set to go on trial this week for his role in leading a 2014 armed standoff against federal agents that became a rallying point for militia groups challenging U.S. government authority in the American West.  As Reuters notes, jury selection is slated to start later this morning in a U.S. District Court in Las Vegas after being postponed due to the mass shooting on October 1st that claimed 58 lives.

Jury selection in the latest trial was slated to begin on Monday morning in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas. The proceedings were postponed for three weeks after an unrelated mass shooting in Las Vegas on Oct. 1 in which 58 people were killed.

 

Standing trial with Cliven Bundy, 71, are the two sons, Ammon and Ryan Bundy, who led last year’s Oregon occupation, and a third co-defendant, Ryan Payne, a Montana resident linked by prosecutors to a militia group called Operation Mutual Aid.

 

A fourth co-defendant, internet blogger and radio host Peter Santilli, pleaded guilty on Oct. 6 to conspiracy and faces a possible six-year prison term.

Six lesser-known participants in the Nevada ranch showdown went on trial as a group earlier this year with two men found guilty.  One of the two men was sentenced to 68 years in prison and the other is still awaiting sentencing.  Two of the four remaining defendants were retried and acquitted, and two others pleaded guilty last week to obstructing a court order. Those two each face up to a year in prison when sentenced.

As you may recall, Bundy"s Nevada revolt was sparked by a court-ordered roundup of his cattle by government agents over his refusal to pay fees required to graze the herd on federal land.  Hundreds of supporters, many heavily armed, rallied to Bundy’s cause demanding that his livestock be returned. Outnumbered law enforcement officers ultimately retreated rather than risk bloodshed. No shots were ever fired.

The face-off marked a flashpoint in long-simmering tensions over federal control of public lands in the West and was a precursor to Bundy’s two sons leading an armed six-week occupation of a federal wildlife center in Oregon two years later, in 2016 (see: "Now Is The Time To Stand Up": Armed Activists, Militiamen Seize Federal Wildlife Refuge Office In Oregon).  Here"s a recap of the events leading up the Oregon standoff:

On Saturday, militants seized a remote government outpost following a protest by hundreds of angry citizens.

 

It all started back in 2001 when Dwight Hammond and his son Steven set fire to leased government land in what they said was an effort to beat back invasive plant species and - ironically - prevent wildfires. They set more fires in 2006 and were later convicted of arson.

 

 

Both men served time in prison but a judge eventually determined that their sentences were too light and ordered them back to jail.

 

"After the peaceful rally was completed today, a group of outside militants drove to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, where they seized and occupied the refuge headquarters. A collective effort from multiple agencies is currently working on a solution. For the time being please stay away from that area. More information will be provided as it becomes available. Please maintain a peaceful and united front and allow us to work through this situation," Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward said, in a statement. The elder Bundy weighed in as well, noting that the occuption isn"t “exactly what [he] thought should happen." "But I didn’t know what to do,” he added. “You know, if the Hammonds wouldn’t stand, if the sheriff didn’t stand, then, you know, the people had to do something. And I guess this is what they did decide to do. I wasn’t in on that.”

Ammon and Ryan Bundy, along with five other people, were previously charged with criminal conspiracy in the takeover of the Wildlife Refuge though that trial ended with the acquittal last year of all seven.

FBI Agent Charged With Lying About His Role In Shooting An Activist During Oregon Wildlife Standoff

A grand jury in Portland, Oregon has charged FBI Agent W Joseph Astarita with three counts of making false statements, alleging that he lied when he claimed he did not fire his weapon during the attempted arrest of LaVoy Finicum, a key figure in the Oregon militia standoff at the Malheur national wildlife refuge in 2016.

Astarita, who pleaded not guilty in federal court in Portland, was assigned to arrest the leaders of the Oregon standoff in January 2016 when Finicum drove off the road and into a snowbank, before attempting to flee on foot. During the ensuing confrontation, some of which was captured on film, Oregon state police officers shot and killed Finicum, an Arizona rancher, who police say was reaching for his gun. Police later said the shooting was “justified”. 

Here is the press release from the United States Attorney"s Office:

The indictment alleges that Astarita knowingly and willfully made false statements to FBI Supervisory Special Agents, knowing that the statements were false and material to the FBI’s decision not to investigate the propriety of an agent-involved shooting. Specifically, Astarita falsely stated he had not fired his weapon during the attempted arrest of Mr. Finicum when he knew he had in fact fired his weapon. Astarita also knowingly engaged in misleading conduct toward Oregon State Police officers by failing to disclose that he had fired two rounds during the attempted arrest.

Astarita was arraigned on June 28, 2017, in Portland. He entered pleas of not guilty to each county and was released pending future appearances.

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

For those who missed it, a portion of Finicum"s confrontation with police was caught on film and clearly shows that the first shots were fired while his hands were up in the air..."ironically", no pop stars made a "Hands Up, Don"t Shoot" video after this incident.

Last year, we covered the background on the incidents leading up to the Oregon standoff in a post entitled "Now Is The Time To Stand Up": Armed Activists, Militiamen Seize Federal Wildlife Refuge Office In Oregon.  It all started when Oregon resident Dwight Hammond set fires on land he leased from the government, an effort he said was intended to fight back the intrusion of invasive plant species and prevent wildfires.  Apparently the government did agree and threw Hammond in jail for arson.

On Saturday, militants seized a remote government outpost following a protest by hundreds of angry citizens.

It all started back in 2001 when Dwight Hammond and his son Steven set fire to leased government land in what they said was an effort to beat back invasive plant species and - ironically - prevent wildfires. They set more fires in 2006 and were later convicted of arson.

Both men served time in prison but a judge eventually determined that their sentences were too light and ordered them back to jail.

Some folks were displeased with the ruling and staged a protest that saw some 300 people march through Burns, a city of around 3,000. The procession made a stop by the Hammond residence and proceeded to make an appearance at the local sheriff"s office as well.

Enter Ammon Bundy.

Fast forward to November and Bundy"s son Ammon was busy trying to come up with a way to keep Dwight Hammond and his son from going back to jail. "Ammon Bundy met with Dwight Hammond and his wife in November, seeking a way to keep the elderly rancher from having to surrender for prison," The Oregonian writes, adding that "the Hammonds professed through their attorneys that they had no interest in ignoring the order to report for prison."

But while the Hammonds have apparently come to terms with their fate, Bundy hasn"t and in a brazen move, he and an unspecified number of "outside militants" seized control of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge headquarters, which is a short drive from Burns (where the protest took place).

Of course, the standoff ultimately ended with multiple arrests and the death of LaVoy Finicum.

BREAKING: FBI Agent Indicted for Lying About the Killing of Lavoy Finicum

Bend, OR — Late Tuesday evening, it was announced that an unnamed FBI agent involved in the killing of Robert “LaVoy” Finicum has been indicted. The agent is accused of lying about shooting at Finicum in 2016 when officers arrested the leaders of an occupation of a federal wildlife refuge in rural Oregon.

In March of 2016, it was announced that multiple FBI agents were under investigation for their role in the death of Finicum. For over a year, Finicum’s family has waited for answers, and on Tuesday night, they received a glimpse into the corruption surrounding the death of their beloved father and husband.

An FBI agent now faces allegations of making false statements with the intent of obstructing justice. According to reports, he is to be named on Wednesday.

According to the Oregonian, investigators concluded that one agent fired at Finicum’s truck, hitting it in the roof and missing on the second shot. A state trooper later described to investigators seeing two rifle casings in the area where the FBI agents were posted. But detectives called to investigate didn’t find the casings, police reports indicated.

The Deschutes County sheriff alleged as Finicum left his truck, an FBI agent shot twice at Finicum, but none of the FBI hostage team members said they discharged their firearms. It appears that the agent attempted to hide the fact that they shot at him and now they are being called to task for it.

Federal law prohibits “knowingly and willfully” making any false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or representation or concealing information — yet that is exactly what happened.

READ MORE:  We Need to "KEEP FEAR ALIVE" FBI Official Explains How Govt Needs You in Fear, to Justify Paychecks

Since the shooting, which was captured on video from the FBI’s birdseye view, there have been many theories surrounding the death of Finicum.

According to the official story, Lavoy Finicum was killed by officers because they had no other choice as he was reaching for a gun in his left pocket. Officials later found a loaded 9 mm semi-automatic handgun in that pocket.

It is evident from the video that Finicum never presented the handgun. However, we can clearly see him reaching for his left side.

In a photo of the autopsy report, taken by RT’s Simone Del Rosario at the press conference last year, and the video from inside the truck, there is a now an alternative reason, outside of going for a gun, as to why Finicum was reaching toward his left side — he was shot there.

Here"s the autopsy report showing the three shots in Finicum #OregonStandoff pic.twitter.com/CQn7COKzkL

— Simone Del Rosario (@SimoneReports) March 8, 2016

The video proves that officers or agents opened fire on the vehicle prior to Finicum exiting it.

The footage from inside the vehicle shows that Finicum could have been shot with his hands up as he was exiting the vehicle.

Seemingly, Finicum’s intentions were to draw fire away from the truck — and that is exactly what he did. This cost him his life.

The last scene in the video shows a terrified little girl, Victoria Sharp, the 18-year-old gospel singer emerging from the SUV, her hands upraised, and her body painted by laser sights.

One targeted her head, the other the center of her chest.

READ MORE:  As Americans Freaked Over Russian Fake News, FBI Quietly Released New Clinton Investigation Docs

Last year, all the police officers involved in the shooting of Finicum were found to be justified. Coincidentally, also last year, the standoff leaders were acquitted for the takeover of the refuge.

The group of men who seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, in rural Oregon were found not guilty last fall, vindicating brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy after the 41-day standoff that brought national focus to the long-running dispute over federal control of rural land in the Western United States.

According to a report in by the Oregonian:

Ammon Bundy, older brother Ryan Bundy and five other defendants were acquitted last fall of conspiracy and weapons charges. A second trial of four other occupiers resulted in split verdicts earlier this year, with defendants Jason Patrick and Darryl Thorn convicted of conspiracy and others convicted of damaging government property and misdemeanor charges, including trespass.

Finicum’s widow, Jeanette Finicum has announced plans earlier this year to sue both the Oregon State Police and the FBI for violating her late husband’s civil rights.

The suit will allege that the FBI fired at Finicum “when he’s getting out of his car to surrender,” Finicum’s attorney Brian Claypool said. “What’s critical is he’s not even out of his door and there are gunshots blowing through his windows. That’s excessive force 101.”

This indictment will most assuredly be used by her attorney in making their case.

Protesting abuse of prisoners at Southern Nevada Detention Center

Stewart Rhodes, Army Airborne Veteran, Yale Law School Graduate, OK Founder and President

Sheriff Richard Mack, Former Sheriff of Graham County, Arizona

John D. Shirley, Retired Duty Peace Officer - Houston, TX. National Lead Liaison to Peace Officers.

Jay Stang, Veteran US Marine Corps - Texas Chapter President

Jim Ayala, EMT Veteran, Oath Keepers Treasurer, Merchandise

Sgt. Maj. Joseph Santoro, Retired Army, infantry, EOD. OK National Operations NOC

Michele Imburgia, Texas State VP

Sheriff Denny Peyman, Retired Jackson County, KY Sheriff, OK National Peace Officer Liaison

John Kerriman, Current Missouri police academy instructor, police veteran, OK National Peace Officer/LEO Liaison

---

Are They Really Torturing Ammon Bundy?

by Loren Edward Pearce

May 4, 2017

Lisa Bundy, wife of imprisoned protester Ammon Bundy, received several messages from people who had heard her description of what happened to her husband while in a 3 foot by 3 foot shower stall in the Nevada Southern Detention Center and challenged her as to its veracity. They said they could not believe what she was saying was true.

Ammon update!!!

Posted by Lisa Bundy on Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Therein lies the very essence of what is wrong with America, especially Main Street in Mayberry America. Americans live in a bubble. A bubble consisting of trips to Walmart, piano recitals, walking the dog and weekend outings in the RV. No, the description that Lisa Bundy gives us does not fit in our bubble and so we reject it. She must be exaggerating, she must be embellishing the truth in order to get more sympathy. Maybe she is lying to get more donations. This is America, for goodness sake, things like what she describes happened to her husband Ammon simply don’t happen in America. Now, if he was in North Korea, then yes, that and worse can happen there.

Those who know Ammon Bundy will testify that a more honest, humble, meek and mild man than him is difficult to find. Darkness hates light. Ammon radiates light.

We are seeing, first hand, the same dynamics that brought about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The same hate, the same evil, the same lust for pain and humiliation that was poured out on the Lamb of God. People like Bundy either bring out the best or the worst in humanity. Right now, he is bringing out the worst as the prison guards and their handlers seek to break him and his spirit. Ammon is also popping the bubble for millions of Americans who now must either wake up to the awful reality of what Americans are capable of doing to other Americans or, they simply roll over and go back to sleep.

During his prison phone call to Kelli Stewart, he was describing what happened to him.  Kelli later remarked, “That is not the same Ammon that we know. He sounds like a broken man.” Many people responded in comments, “No, he can’t be broken”. “Don’t let them break you Ammon.” “The Bundys will not be broken.” We are not in his place, we have no comprehension of the pain he is going through. Ammon will be broken, it is inevitable. Everybody has their breaking point. Instead of asking him not to break, you should break open your wallet and contribute to www.ammonbundydefense.com , break away from your TV set, break away from your favorite recreational activity and write a letter to your congressional representative.

Break the bubble that surrounds you and face reality.

Ammon told Lisa that he believed that the prisons are training grounds for people to become cruel and without compassion, so that they can later be used against the general civilian population. The day will come that the barbaric behavior against him inside prison, will be used on a wider scale. Bundy reported that his beating and his mistreatment were filmed. Could those films be used for training?

For those of you who are fully awake to the reality of what is happening, now is the time to act. Become a bubble popper. Help others come out of their bubbles, the bubble known as the American Dream. If enough people wake up and demand that their country return to its constitutional and moral roots, then the American Dream of prosperity and happiness can be restored, built on a solid foundation of morality and goodness, not on a bubble of illusion and denial.

From Redoubt News

 
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