Ammon Bundy's lawyer is stunned with Taser and arrested after acquittals in refuge standoff
The lawyer representing Ammon Bundy was shocked with a Taser, tackled and arrested after he loudly objected to his client’s continued detention after his acquittal in Portland on Thursday.
The surprising end came after the acquittal of brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy, along with five others, following their six-week trial for occupying a wildlife refuge in Oregon, report the Oregonian and Courthouse News Service.
Jurors acquitted the defendants of conspiracy to keep federal workers from doing their jobs but deadlocked on a charge of theft of government property against Ryan Bundy for removing a government surveillance camera.
Ammon Bundy’s lawyer, Marcus Mumford, objected when U.S. District Judge Anna Brown said Bundy couldn’t be released after the acquittal because there is a U.S. Marshal’s hold on him due to a pending federal indictment in Nevada in connection with a standoff at his family’s ranch in Nevada. The hold also applies to Ryan Bundy.
The Oregonian recounts the exchange. “No, he’s released on these charges. He’s acquitted. Nevada doesn’t have jurisdiction,” Mumford yelled. “If there’s a detainer, show me.”
“Mr. Mumford,” the judge responded, “you really need to never yell at me now or never again.”
“If they want him, they know where to find him,” Mumford said. “I don’t see any paper proving their authority to hold him.”
At that point, about a half dozen U.S. marshals slowly surrounded Mumford. Brown directed the marshals to move back, but the marshals moved in and grabbed Mumford, according to the story.
Mumford struggled, the judge ordered everyone out of the courtroom, and Mumford was tackled to the floor. Eric Wahlstrom, supervising deputy of the U.S. Marshals Service, said Mumford was shocked in “dry stun mode” in which a Taser was placed on his body but probes weren’t fired.
Mumford was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting lawful order. He was held in jail for about two hours.
The Washington Post (in stories here and here) and the New York Times have additional coverage of the trial and verdicts.
