Prosecutors: Malheur Defendants Don't Speak For Rural America

...OPB’s Conrad Wilson sat down with Oregon’s U.S. Attorney Billy Williams and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight, who led the prosecution in Malheur case. The federal prosecutors gave a wide ranging interview about the lessons.  they learned from last fall’s acquittals, whether convictions on the lesser defendants can be viewed as justice, and why they think the occupiers don’t speak for rural America. “That mindest (of the occupiers) doesn’t reflect rural Oregon,” Williams said, “because the vast majority of people in our rural communities are the bedrock of America. And they don’t believe in armed takeovers. They don’t believe in trying to get your point across at the end of a gun.”...more

Keep in mind that, depending on the year, the conviction rate for federal prosecutors hovers between 93% and 95%. Their conviction rate on the conspiracy charges in the Malheur cases is 22%, so I doubt that Williams speaks for rural Oregon either.