Cliven Bundy Ordered to Nevada, Son Decries Federal 'Overreach'

Feb 19, 2016, 12:04

A federal grand jury indicted Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and four others Wednesday with a raft of felony charges related to a 2014 armed standoff at Bundy's ranch.

Cliven Bundy, his sons Ammon and Ryan, Pete Santilli, and Ryan Paine are now in federal custody in OR, where they have been held following the 40-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

"The rule of law has been reaffirmed with these charges". In addition to conspiring among themselves to plan and execute these crimes, the defendants recruited, organized, and led hundreds of other followers in using armed force against law enforcement officers in order to thwart the seizure and removal of Cliven Bundy's cattle from federal public lands.

Rather than risk a firefight, the agents abandoned the approximately 400 head of cattle.

That standoff started after Bundy refused to pay federal grazing fees.

The Bureau of Land Management organized an operation to remove the cattle. They had demanded that public lands be turned over to locals.

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Cliven Bundy was arrested in Portland on February 10 after stepping off a plane on his way to support his sons Ammon and Ryan and the remaining occupants at Malheur, who were surrounded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. That incident is separate from the recent occupation of an Oregon Wildlife Refuge that ended earlier this month. The Bundys and others were arrested January 26, and the last four holdouts surrendered last week.

The indictment released on Wednesday said Cliven Bundy was the leader of the movement to extort the federal government into returning his cattle.

Ammon Bundy is accused of leading a group of around 200 armed protesters to confront the federal agents holding the cattle. In the standoff Bundy's armed supporters allegedly went so far as to take up sniper positions overlooking the agents.

"It's important for the public to remember that there is a constitutional presumption of innocence in America, '" Arnold said in an email to The Oregonian.

"A government charge is proof of nothing", Arnold wrote.

When reached by The Huffington Post, Noel Grefenson, the court-appointed attorney for Bundy, declined to comment on the government's claims about Bundy's ranching practices. He owes more than $1 million in unpaid grazing fees. In 1993, federal lands around his ranch were designated as protected.

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Payne is accused of organizing armed "protection" for the alleged conspirators in Nevada, and Santilli, an independent broadcaster, is accused of recruiting followers using the Internet.

Ammon and Ryan Bundy, along with Ryan Payne and Peter Santilli, were also indicted Wednesday.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Nevada, the maximum penalties for the Nevada-based charges range from five years to 20 years, with $250,000 in fines for each charge.

Four counts of using and carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.

Bundy is also facing five counts of criminal forfeiture, which could cost him to the tune of $3 million plus cattle at Bunkerville Allotment and Lake Mead National Recreational Area in Nevada.

The Bundy Ranch is near the Virgin River a few miles from where Interstate Highway 15 crosses into Arizona, or about 90 miles northeast of Las Vegas, authorities said.

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