Federal judge dismisses criminal charges against Ammon Bundy's lawyer

A federal judge Wednesday dismissed all criminal charges pending against Marcus Mumford, Ammon Bundy's lawyer, at the prosecution's request. In a three-sentence order, U.S. District John C. Coughenour granted prosecutors' motion to dismiss two charges against Mumford without prejudice, meaning the government could bring them back in the future. Screen Shot 2017-03-15 at 3.47.00 PM.pngJudge's order dismissing criminal charges against Marcus MumfordU.S. District Court document Mumford's lawyer, Michael Levine, had argued repeatedly that the deputy U.S. marshals engaged in "outrageous'' misconduct and lacked authority to wrestle Mumford to the ground and stun him with a Taser gun while he was arguing on behalf of Bundy in a federal courtroom last fall. Mumford was charged with failing to comply with official signs that prohibit the disruption of federal officers' official work and failing to comply with a federal officer's direction to stop resisting and to place his hands behind his back. A trial had been set for April 13. Acting U.S. Attorney John Harrington of the Eastern District of Washington declined  to explain why his prosecutors chose to dismiss the charges now...more