The judge issued her ruling before a packed courtroom with nearly 100 spectators, as more than a dozen other spectators had to wait outside the courtroom doors. As Navarro dismissed the case, Cliven Bundy’s lawyer put his arm around his client. Supporters in the public gallery held hands, wiped tears from their eyes and hugged. One looked up and whispered, “Thank you Lord.”
Maxine Bernstein
A federal judge Monday threw out criminal charges against Nevada cattleman Cliven Bundy, his two sons and a co-defendant in the 2014 Bunkerville standoff, citing “flagrant misconduct” by prosecutors and the FBI in not disclosing evidence to the defense before and during trial.
“The government’s conduct in this case was indeed outrageous,” U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro ruled. “There has been flagrant misconduct, substantial prejudice and no lesser remedy is sufficient.”
The judge issued her ruling before a packed courtroom with nearly 100 spectators, as more than a dozen other spectators had to wait outside the courtroom doors. As Navarro dismissed the case, Cliven Bundy’s lawyer put his arm around his client. Supporters in the public gallery held hands, wiped tears from their eyes and hugged. One looked up and whispered, “Thank you Lord.”
The dismissal with prejudice, meaning a new trial can’t be pursued, marked an embarrassing nadir for the federal government, which now has failed to convict the Bundys in two major federal cases stemming from separate armed standoffs.
The second stunning victory for the Bundys and their followers may serve to bolster their fight against federal control of public land, but it’s not clear how their movement has fared. The three have spent most of the last two years in jail. Ammon Bundy owes at least $180,000 in legal fees in the Oregon case, and he said most of his national clients in his vehicle fleet service business left out of fear.
After the judge’s ruling, the senior Bundy attempted to walk out of the courtroom in his blue jail garb and ankle shackles but was blocked by deputy U.S. marshals. He was released soon afterwards, wearing a cowboy hat, blazer and cowboy boots. He took hugs and handshakes from supporters. His sons, Ammon and Ryan Bundy, have been out of custody since November, when they were allowed to leave jail to stay in private homes under GPS monitoring.
“I’ve been a political prisoner for right at 700 days today,” Cliven Bundy said, his arm around his wife, Carol Bundy. “I come in this courtroom an innocent man and I’m going to leave as an innocent man. My defense is a 15-second defense. I raised my cattle only on Clark County, Nevada, land and I have no contract with the federal government. This court has no jurisdiction and authority over this matter. And I have put up with the court in America as a political prisoner for two years.”
Cliven Bundy turned his attention to state and local authorities, saying Nevada’s governor, the Clark County commissioners and the sheriff were “aiders and abettors” and “terrorists” for failing to protect his family’s rights and liberties. He said he plans to go home and have a “good steak,” continue to graze his cattle and scheduled a news conference Tuesday outside the Clark County sheriff’s office.
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Thank God for answered Prayers.
Great work of the Cliven Bundy Lawyer’s and the Prayer’s from Ammon and Ryan for Judge Navarro to see The Light.
All Our Prayer’s answered.
More to come.
God Bless You All.
Another example of the hand wringing 1/3 of the country formulating opinions and making decisions based on emotion alone. Bundy has used the public’s penchant for emotion to allow him and his clan to continue to pirate public lands to line their own pockets. He has not paid a single grazing permit fee in over 20-years to graze his cattle on the range, and currently owes over $1M in unpaid grazing fees to the people of this country.
What about that, hand wringers?? Are you giving him a pass on his criminal activity over the past 20-years??
By God, I’m not! The man is a criminal, not a patriot. He, his sons, and everybody complicit in this immense case of fraud and extortion should be in prison. The Bundy ranch and all its assets should be seized.
You’re an idiot
Wow, Kyle, such a reasoned response. No wonder extortionists like the Bundy clan hold sway over the western rangeland.