Bundy Brothers In Federal Custody In NV Ahead Of Trial

Bothers Ammon Bundy and Ryan Bundy have been transferred from a federal detention center in Seattle to Nevada Southern Detention Center after a federal court cleared them of federal conspiracy charges for staging an armed standoff against the U.S. federal government.

Daniel Hill, Ammon Bundy’s attorney, confirmed on November 15 that the brothers would be moved facilities to be put in federal custody ahead of a February trial to take place in Nevada, according to Associated Press.

Their father, Cliven Bundy, is currently housed at the same facility, as reported by Oregon Live.

The Bundy brothers were originally incarcerated for helping stage an armed 41-day standoff against the federal Bureau of Land Management in protest of grazing taxes levied on the Bundy family and others.

An armed militia led by the Bundy brothers laid claim to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon, leading to multiple arrests and the death of one activist by the name of LaVoy Finicum.

The conflict escalated to the point where protesters working with the Bundy family effectively became militia members, patrolling federal land with military-grade weapons, reports The Guardian.

Several of the defendants involved in the incident now face criminal charges for firearm possession and theft of public property.

”This is a stunning victory for rural America and an extremely humiliating defeat for a corrupt and predatory agency,” said acquitted defendant Neil Wampler in spite of the glut of arrests and the violent end to the protest.

Wampler cited the Bundys’ success when asked to comment on the Standing Rock Sioux effort to stop the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

”They need to take a look at this and realize battles can be won,” said Wampler. ”They need to stay strong and not let the federal government push them around.”

The Bundy brothers were acquitted of federal conspiracy charges in federal court in Portland Oregon on November 2. The trial lasted 5 weeks.

The bothers are scheduled to appear in court again on February 6, 2017 in the U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ammon and Ryan face 16 charges including extortion, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, assault on a federal officer, threatening an officer, as well as other felony counts.

Sources: Oregon Live, Associated Press/ABC, The Guardian/Photo Credit: Willie Stark/Flickr