Associated Press · Thursday, October 27, 2016, 7:47 pm
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -The leaders of an armed group that took over a national wildlife refuge in rural Oregon have been found not guilty of conspiracy and possession of firearms at a federal facility.
A jury on Thursday exonerated brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy and five others of conspiring to impede federal workers from their jobs at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Some of the defendants also were charged with possession of firearms at a federal facility and were acquitted on that count as well.
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 Bundys are still facing charges in Nevada stemming from a high-profile 2014 standoff with federal agents trying to round up their father Cliven Bundy's cattle.
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2 comments:
WHAT A FARCE
I have been tracking this story from the begging
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154516075388677&set=a.453208868676.239413.805278676&type=3&theater
Having been on 4 juries, I tried to piece together the logical reasons.
1. The trial took place in the west where there's a strong feeling that public lands should be open to everyone for anything they want to do with them. Thus, you got a sympathetic jury.
2. The judge was sympathetic and presented a twisted view of the law to the jury. As it is, there was one dissenting juror that the other jurors pointed to as being "biased" and the judge removed that juror from the trial.
3. The federal prosecutors were incompetent. One of the juries I was on faced a defense attorney who was so grating that the jury was ready to deny his position within a matter of minutes of the start of the trial. (Moral of that story: Always hire the best damn lawyer you can afford!)
4. The wrong charges were filed and the jury was confused when the evidence didn't match the crime the prosecutors were trying to prove. I had that happen in one criminal trial I served on where the jury felt the DA had overcharged the criminal and in our state you are not allowed to find guilty on a lesser charge.
5. Some unknown intangible we may never know.
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