Cliven Bundy Conspiracy Trial To Begin

The federal conspiracy trial against Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher who engaged in an armed standoff with federal agents in 2014, will begin jury selection this week. Bundy and his followers refuse to pay grazing permits and fees, claiming U.S. government overreach. The government says Bundy owes approximately $1 million. Those tensions came to a head in April 2014 when federal agents came to round up hundreds of Bundy’s cows near his ranch, and were greeted with a militia on horseback waving American flags and blocking an Interstate. Guns were drawn and the agents stood down; Bundy was not arrested for another two years.

Prosecutors are sure to take note of the surprise acquittal of Bundy’s two sons, Ammon and Ryan, who lead an armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon in early 2016. The Malheur occupiers surrendered after a 41-day standoff, but were acquitted of weapons charges and charges that they conspired to keep federal employees from doing their jobs, despite ample video evidence. Jurors on the case said their decision was a rebuke to federal prosecutors, who acted with an “air of triumphalism,” and ultimately failed to make a compelling conspiracy case.

The trials beginning this month include Cliven Bundy and 16 other defendants – including Bundy’s four sons – and will roll out in several stages, NPR reports. The first phase involves six of Bundy’s followers, who each face up to 101 years in prison, though they are considered the “least culpable ‘followers and gunmen’ among the 19 men arrested a year ago,” according to AP.