LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Latest on the trial in Nevada of rancher Cliven Bundy, two sons and a co-defendant an armed standoff against government agents (all times local):
5:15 p.m.
An Arizona man who has been jailed for 20 months awaiting trial on 11 charges in an armed standoff involving Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy has pleaded guilty in federal court in Las Vegas to a single felony conspiracy count.
A judge ordered Micah McGuire released following his plea on Tuesday just ahead of trial starting for Cliven Bundy, sons Ryan and Ammon Bundy, and Ryan Payne.
McGuire could face up to six years in prison and a $250,000 fine at sentencing Feb. 16.
His lawyer, Randall Roske, says he’ll seek to remain free with credit for time already served in federal custody.
McGuire is 32 and lives in Chandler, Arizona. He acknowledged to Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro that he provided personal armed security for Cliven Bundy at the time of the standoff.
He’s the sixth of 19 men originally charged to plead guilty to a reduced charge in the case stemming from the April 2014 incident near the Bundy ranch outside Bunkerville, Nevada.
____
3:30 p.m.
Jurors got their first look at videos of confrontations that Cliven Bundy’s lawyer says provided the catalyst for an April 2014 armed standoff with federal agents and a trial now underway for the Nevada rancher, two sons and a co-defendant.
One clip showed Bundy’s sister knocked to the ground by a federal agent. Another showed Bundy’s son, David Bundy, taken to the ground and arrested while taking photos of armed men with guns near the Bundy ranch six days before the standoff.
A third showed an agent zapping Bundy son Ammon Bundy with a stun gun when he used an ATV to block a dump truck that attorney Bret Whipple said Tuesday was hauling irrigation equipment that the government illegally ripped from arid public range where the family grazed cattle.
Whipple told jurors that in the end, they will be the ones to decide whether crimes were committed during what he says amounted to peaceful protests.
____
1 p.m.
A jury has been told that Cliven Bundy and followers won an armed standoff with U.S. agents in April 2014 through use-of-force and violence “at the end of a gun.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre (MEYE’-ree) finished his two-hour opening summary of case against Bundy, two sons and a co-defendant casting the Nevada rancher as the leader of a conspiracy involving militia members and men, women and children.
Myhre says evidence will show they had a common objective - to get Bundy cattle back from federal agents trying to enforce lawful court orders to remove his cows from public rangeland for non-payment of grazing fees and penalties.
Bundy doesn’t recognize federal authority over land in U.S. states.
His attorney, Bret Whipple, will tell the federal jury in Las Vegas that no one conspired with anyone in what amounted to a peaceful protest near Bunkerville, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.
____
11:20 a.m.
A prosecutor told a jury that a 2014 armed confrontation involving Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and followers against federal agents was no peaceful protest.
Acting U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre said Tuesday the criminal case against Bundy, two sons and a co-defendant is about violence and the use of guns.
Defense attorneys will also make opening statements as trial begins in federal court in Las Vegas. Trial is expected to take four months.
They say the four men didn’t conspire with anyone and didn’t wield weapons. They say no shots were fired in the standoff near Bunkerville, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.
Bundy maintains the federal government has no authority over land in the states.
___
10:20 a.m.
Opening statements have begun in the federal trial of Nevada cattleman Cliven Bundy, two of his sons and a co-defendant in a 2014 armed standoff against government agents.
Prosecutors allege the 71-year-old Bundy, sons Ryan and Ammon Bundy, and Ryan Payne led a self-styled militia to stop federal agents at gunpoint from enforcing court orders to remove Bundy’s cattle from public rangeland.
Defense attorneys say the four men didn’t conspire with anyone and didn’t wield weapons. They say no shots were fired in the standoff near Bunkerville, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.
Bundy refuses to pay grazing fees to a federal government that he maintains has no authority over land in the states.
Federal prosecutors have twice failed to win full convictions at trial of men who had guns during the tense confrontation.
The current trial is expected to take four months.
____
12:01 a.m.
A trial is set to start for Nevada cattleman Cliven Bundy, two of his sons and a co-defendant over a 2014 armed standoff against government agents.
Opening arguments are due Tuesday in Las Vegas.
The 71-year-old Bundy, sons Ryan and Ammon Bundy, and Ryan Payne are accused of leading a self-styled militia to stop federal agents at gunpoint from enforcing court orders to remove Bundy’s cattle from public rangeland.
Bundy refuses to pay grazing fees to a federal government that he maintains has no authority over land in the states.
The four defendants sought to be released to a halfway house during trial.
The judge on Monday granted the request only to Ryan Bundy. He’s serving as his own attorney and argued he was hampered in preparing his case in jail.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.