By Maxine Bernstein | The Oregonian/OregonLive January 18, 2017 at 12:24 PM
A federal prosecutor has filed a formal criminal information charging Marcus Mumford, who U.S. marshals tackled and stunned with a Taser in federal court on the day his client Ammon Bundy was acquitted, with three misdemeanor charges.
It accuses Mumford of creating a disturbance by impeding or disrupting the official government duties by "verbally and physically interfering with" marshals in their "transportation of a person in their custody.''
The second charge is failure to comply with signs that prohibit the disruption of official government duties. The third charge is failure to comply with lawful direction of a federal police officer.
The information replaces the initial citations that were given to Mumford after he was taken into custody and arrested on Oct. 27. It was filed by Timothy J. Ohms, a special attorney assigned from Washington state, after prosecutors and federal judges recused themselves from the case.
Mumford and his lawyer Michael Levine have both said they intend to vigorously challenge the charges. For example, Levine has filed a motion, requesting the personnel files of all the deputy U.S. marshals who were involved in the incident.
A pre-trial hearing is set for Feb. 15.
The maximum penalty for each offense is 30 days in custody and a $5,000 fine.
A criminal case in federal court formally begins with the filing of an indictment, which is returned by a grand jury, or a criminal information. The information is usually filed in misdemeanor cases and represents a formal accusation of the alleged crime.
Mumford's lawyer earlier this month entered not guilty pleas on Mumford's behalf to charges of failing to comply with the lawful direction of a federal police officer and impeding or disrupting official government duties.
Mumford was arrested Oct. 27 shortly after the judge announced the jury's verdict acquitting Bundy and six co-defendants of conspiring to prevent federal employees from doing their work at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Bundy and armed followers took over the refuge Jan. 2, 2016.
Deputy marshals tackled Mumford as he questioned the government's authority to continue to hold Bundy on federal charges pending in Nevada and demanded to see paperwork to back it up.
Mumford's lawyer Michael Levine called the arrest an "unprecedented attack on the defense bar,'' during his first appearance with Mumford in court earlier this month.
Levine called the use of a stun gun and Mumford's arrest "outrageous,'' saying Mumford was doing nothing more than engaging in zealous advocacy for his client.
According to a probable cause statement, the marshals said they moved forward to escort Bundy out of the courtroom when Mumford positioned his body to block them and began yelling in protest. When Mumford became more agitated, "flailing his arms and raising his voice even louder,'' and exhibiting "pre-assault indicators,'' they moved in.
-- Maxine Bernstein
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@maxoregonian
Seems he is having a lot more fun with his citations than I did.