19 Defendants Face Charges for Roles with Bundy Gang
by Bill Morlin
Southern Poverty Law Center, March 4, 2016
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/03/04/19-defendants-face-charges-roles-bundy-gang
FBI agents on Thursday arrested without incident 14 antigovernment
activists, including two more sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, for their
roles in the 2014 armed standoff in Bunkerville, Nev., with federal agents.
As of now, the 69-year-old Nevada rancher and four of his sons, Ammon, 40,
Ryan, 43, Melvin, 41; and David, 39, and 14 other men are now accused of
involvement in the “massive armed assault against federal law enforcement
officers” that occurred near the Bundy Ranch in Nevada in April 2014.
The new Nevada indictment names 19 defendants, seven of whom were previously
indicted and arrested in Oregon for their roles in the 41-day illegal
occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge that ended last month
with 25 arrests. Those now under indictment in Oregon and Nevada are Ammon
and Ryan Bundy, along with Brian Cavalier, Blaine Cooper, Ryan Payne, Peter
T. Santilli Jr. and Joseph O’Shaughnessy.
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, who was in Oregon on Thursday, issued a
statement saying the new arrests in the Nevada case should “make clear that
we will not tolerate the use of threats or force against federal agents who
are doing their jobs.”
Lynch described the subsequent Oregon refuge occupation as “illegal and
criminal,” and she praised federal, state and county law enforcement for
bringing it to a “peaceful resolution,” the Oregonian reported.
“We will continue to protect public land on behalf of the American people,
uphold federal law, and ensure that those who employ violence to express
their grievances with the government will be apprehended and held
accountable for their crimes,” the nation’s law enforcement chief said.
FBI Director James B. Comey also weighed in on the Nevada case that pits a
controversial, outlaw cattle rancher and his militia and constitutional
extremist friends against agents of the U.S. Government.
“Our democracy provides lawful ways individuals can respond if they disagree
with their government, but if you resort to violence or threats, you will be
held accountable under the law,” Comey said in a statement.
The superseding federal indictment returned Wednesday in Las Vegas, Nev.,
renames as defendants Cliven Bundy, his sons Ammon and Ryan, along with Ryan
W. Payne, 32, of Anaconda, Mont., and Peter T. Santilli Jr., 50, of
Cincinnati, all five of whom were initially indicted on Feb. 17. A
superseding indictment is used by federal prosecutors to update or modify
charges or add defendants in an evolving criminal case.
Newly named in the Nevada indictment were Blaine Cooper, 36, of Humboldt,
Ariz.; and Brian D. Cavalier, 44, of Bunkerville, Nev., and Joseph D.
O’Shaughnessy,
43, of Cottonwood, Ariz. Those three were previously arrested on separate
federal charges filed in Oregon for their roles in the 41-day Malheur
occupation that ended Feb. 11, a day after Cliven Bundy was arrested en
route to the refuge.
Those now charged in the Nevada case include Gerald A. “Jerry” DeLemus, a
Rochester, N.H., resident who traveled to Oregon during the refuge
standoff, but is only charged with his earlier involvement at Bunkerville.
He was arrested by the FBI on Thursday.
DeLemus served as the commander of the “Camp Liberty” militia camp during
the armed Nevada standoff and, at one point, posed with what is described in
court documents as a 50-caliber machine gun. The 61-year-old former Marine
spent 40 hours straight driving cross-county from New Hampshire to Nevada in
response to Cliven Bundy’s plea to militia groups to assist him in his
declared war against the Bureau of Land Management.
A self-employed carpenter and Tea Party activist, DeLemus has publicly
bragged about his involvement in the armed Nevada standoff with federal
agents, court documents say. Since last summer, he has been the co-chair of
the “Veterans for Trump” presidential campaign in New Hampshire.
Also arrested Thursday was Eric J. “EJ” Parker, 32, one of four Idaho men
now indicted for their involvements in the Bunkerville standoff. Parker, who
lives in Hailey, Idaho, and is vice president of the Idaho 3% militia,
showed up in Burns, Ore., in January to participate in an anti-government
demonstration that was a warm-up act before the refuge occupation began.
Parker, who isn’t charged in the Oregon takeover, didn’t join Ammon, Ryan
and Mel Bundy and others when, after the Burns demonstration, the Bundy
brothers and their militia associates from various states began the 41-day
illegal occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Ore.
At Bunkerville in 2014, Parker was photographed on a highway overpass,
pointing a sniper rifle at BLM agents below. That photo became a picture
postcard on social media sites where militia and antigovernment types
boasted about “the showdown with the feds that we won.”
The other defendants from Idaho are: O. Scott Drexler, 44, of Challis;
Steven A. Stewart, 36, of Hailey, and Todd C. Engel, 48, a Boundary County
resident who has been involved with the Oath Keepers. The remaining
defendants in the Nevada case are: Richard R. Lovelien, 52, of Westville,
Okla.; Gregory P. Burleson, 52, of Phoenix; and Micah L. McGuire, 31, and
Jason D. Woods, 30, both of Chandler, Ariz.
Each defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit an offense
against the United States and conspiracy to impede or injure a federal
officer. They also are charged with at least one count of using and
carrying a firearm during a crime of violence; assault on a federal officer;
threatening a federal law enforcement officer; obstruction of justice,
interference with interstate commerce by extortion and interstate travel in
aid of extortion.
Ultimately, the 19 defendants are expected to stand trial together in U.S.
District Court in Las Vegas, unless defense attorneys are successful in
asking for separate trials or a change in venue.
