Two men involved in the 2014 Bunkerville standoff between citizens and the BLM walked free on Aug. 22. In this, the second trial related to the standoff, a federal jury found Richard Lovelien of Oklahoma and Steven Stewart of Idaho not guilty of 10 felony charges brought by the federal government.
Lovelien and Stewart had been part of what the government called a “massive, unprecedented assault on law enforcement officers” near Bunkerville, NV, which saw armed supporters of rancher Cliven Bundy square off against BLM agents who had gathered his cattle for impoundment.
Two other men—Eric Parker and Scott Drexler, both of Idaho— were also part of the standoff and tried in the most recent trial. All four men were cleared of the two most serious counts: 1) conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S.; and 2) conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer.
All four were also found not guilty of: 1) obstruction of the due administration of justice; 2) interfering with interstate commerce or travel through extortion; and 3) use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
While Lovelien and Stewart were cleared on all counts, the jury was hung on charges against Drexler and Parker relating to threatening a federal officer and carrying a firearm while threatening or assaulting a federal officer.
Acting U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre, the Nevada prosecutor, has vowed to put Parker and Drexler on trial a third time for the undecided charges.
“Raising a firearm against a federal law enforcement officer, or any law enforcement officer, is a crime,” said Myhre the day after the verdict.
Though no shots were fired throughout the standoff, Parker could still face decades or even life in prison if he is found guilty of assaulting and threatening a federal officer. Drexler likely faces five to 10 years in prison if he is charged with assault of a federal officer while brandishing a firearm.
U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro, who oversaw the case, released the two but ordered them to return to her courtroom Sept. 25 for the next trial. Trial omissions
While both sides at the recent trial were prepared with arguments as to how the other side had escalated the tension at the standoff, Navarro issued an order on July 9 that limited the arguments the defense could present to the jury. For example, the defense was not allowed to talk about certain BLM actions that were perceived as brutal or excessive use of force, nor about the defendants’ constitutional beliefs.
For example, her order banned any discussion of “officer encounters with civilians during the arrest of Dave Bundy…; …officer encounters with civilians during the convoy block…; officer encounters with Ammon Bundy or Margaret Houston (who were tasered); [or] third-party/lay person testimony or opinion about the level of force displayed or used by law enforcement officers during impoundment operations…” Furthermore, Navarro prevented the jury from hearing the defendants’ constitutional arguments, such as “references to Cliven Bundy’s grazing, water, or legacy rights on the public lands” or “references to infringements on First and Second Amendment rights.”
“Defendants’ state of mind regarding their beliefs or why they were present in Bunkerville, NV, on April 12, 2014, is not relevant to the charged offenses,” said Navarro in her order.
She also prohibited “references to punishment the defendants may face if convicted of the offenses.”
In addition, she prohibited discussion that could lead to jury nullification, which occurs when a jury acquits a defendant, even though the government proved guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
“The Court will not permit argument, evidence, or testimony regarding Defendants’ beliefs about the constitution [sic] as such beliefs are irrelevant and a possible jury nullification attempt,” she wrote in the order.
The standoff
This most recent trial was the second related to the April 2014 Bunkerville standoff, which saw hundreds of people travel from other states to provide armed support to Bundy, who was resisting a courtordered gather of his cattle by BLM.
Bundy had been running his cattle on BLM land without a permit since 1993. He stopped paying his grazing fees following a dispute over a mandated stocking rate reduction related to the threatened status of the desert tortoise. Instead, he attempted to pay grazing fees to his county, claiming the federal government lacks the constitutional authority to own the land. BLM has cited multiple threats by Bundy to do “whatever it takes” to protect his grazing rights.
During the week leading up to the April 12, 2014 standoff, the BLM attempted to gather Bundy’s cattle.
Bundy gave speeches about what he believed to be his constitutional rights, and called for supporters—even militia—to come to Bunkerville. Adding to the tension were reports from the Bundys that BLM was abusing their cattle and destroying their property during the roundup.
The standoff culminated in a dry riverbed on April 12, where armed federal agents guarded corrals of Bundy’s gathered cattle. The agency had created a “First Amendment zone” where citizens were allowed to stand. BLM agents announced to the protestors over a megaphone that if they proceeded toward the corrals, BLM would open fire.
During the most recent trial, the federal government explained in court its reasoning for being heavily armed, and for bringing the assault charges against the defendants.
“Evidence of concert of action, e.g., over 40 individuals with their firearms in a readily deployable condition, like Parker, converging on the BLM’s location, is highly probative of conspiracy, assault, and extortion,” the government motion stated.
Government witnesses presented evidence why “a reasonable officer would be in fear or apprehension of imminent death or bodily injury.” One law enforcement agent allegedly testified that he’d had to dig a foxhole and sleep in the ground the night before the standoff, because federal intelligence suggested the hotel where he was staying may be targeted by protesters.
Convoluted cases
All told, 19 armed citizens were arrested in connection with the standoff, some nearly two years after the events. Most of them have been in prison for the past 19 months without bail, while two of them pleaded guilty in August of 2016. Though neither was actually present at the standoff, Blaine Cooper and Gerald DeLemus pleaded guilty of several counts, including conspiring, assault on a federal officer, and displaying force and aggression with a firearm.
The first trial related to the standoff was held in April and involved six men: Lovelien; Stewart; Parker; Drexler; Gregory Burleson of Arizona; and Todd Engel of Idaho. The jury came to an agreement on only two of them, finding Burleson guilty of threatening and assaulting a federal officer, and Engel guilty of obstruction and traveling across state lines in aid of extortion.
Since the jury had been unable to come to agreement on the other four, a second trial—the one that ended on Aug. 22—was scheduled.
In light of the third trial planned for later this month, the trials for the remaining 11 defendants arrested in connection to the Bunkerville standoff remaining in prison will be postponed once again. Those 11, which a federal judge considered to be likely more culpable than the first set of defendants, will be split into two groups for trial.
The first group will be comprised of Cliven Bundy; his sons Ammon and Ryan; Pete Santilli; and Ryan Payne. The last group to face trial will be Bundy sons Dave and Mel; Joseph O’Shaughnessy; Brian Cavalier; Jason Woods; and Micah McGuire. — THEODORA JOHNSON
