Friday, March 10, 2017

Jury convicts 2 of conspiracy in Malheur standoff

A jury on Friday convicted two men of conspiracy to impede federal officers during an armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Oregon. The verdict Friday handed prosecutors a measure of redemption after they failed to convict Ammon and Ryan Bundy along with five other occupiers in a high-profile trial last fall involving the takeover of the remote bird sanctuary southeast of Portland. In the current trial, Jason Patrick and Darryl Thorn were found guilty of conspiracy. However, defendants Duane Ehmer and Jake Ryan were found not guilty of conspiracy. Ehmer and Ryan were found guilty of deprivation of government property. The men had faced the same primary charge as the Bundy defendants - conspiring to impede Interior Department employees from doing their jobs at the refuge during the 41-day standoff. AP

UPDATE

OPB has a more thorough account of the verdicts, along with this summary: 

  • Jason Patrick guilty of conspiracy; not guilty of carrying a firearm in a federal facility
  • Darryl Thorn guilty of conspiracy; guilty of carrying a firearm in a federal facility
  • Jake Ryan not guilty of conspiracy; not guilty of carrying a firearm in a federal facility; guilty of depredation of government property
  • Duane Ehmer not guilty of conspiracy; guilty of depredation of government property

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