Former inmate shares life behind bars with Cliven Bundy

“Tell me about this standoff.”

And with that, Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy found a biographer behind bars.

Bundy had invited a fellow inmate to sit down at a table with him. They chatted about farming, raising cattle, growing melons and grandchildren.

Soon, they were walking regular laps together around the inside of a large unit that housed 94 bunk beds between concrete cinderblock walls about 60 miles west of Las Vegas.

And when the time seemed right, inmate Michael Stickler broached the subject of why the Bundy patriarch was in custody at the Southern Nevada Detention Center in Pahrump.

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Cliven Bundy Sues DOJ and FBI Over Prosecutorial Abuse!

Complaint Meant to Force AG Sessions To Review and Dismiss Charges

(Washington, D.C., November 10, 2017). Today, Larry Klayman, the founder of both Judicial Watch and now Freedom Watch, announced a lawsuit filed in his private capacity on behalf of Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher who stood up to government tyranny under the Obama administration. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Case No. 1:17-cv-02429) against Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Christopher Wray in their official capacities, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and the Inspector General (IG) over their failure to conduct an investigation into the bad faith and gross prosecutorial abuse by federal prosecutors and the destruction and hiding of material exculpatory evidence by the DOJ, FBI and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the ongoing criminal prosecution.

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Call-To-Action – Todd Engel Needs Your Help!

Todd Engel is a Political Prisoner being held for his role in the Bunkerville Standoff Trial.

Engel attempted to represent himself after receiving a court appointed attorney that reportedly fell asleep during the trial.

This was allowed for a short time, until Engel mentioned the forbidden name of Dan Love. Judge Gloria Navarro immediately stripped Engel of his right to self-representation for mentioning the name of the disgraced Special Agent in Charge during the Standoff. Love has since been fired from the BLM.

Engel was convicted of two lesser offenses. He was not convicted of either Conspiracy charge, nor any gun-related charges. He is scheduled for sentencing on December 22, 2017.

Engel should be nearing his release date, as the charges he was convicted of do not have mandatory minimums or long sentencing recommendations. But the government have released new recommendations for him that include guidelines for charges of which he was never convicted.

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Cliven Bundy to Remain in Jail – Bunkerville Standoff

The third Bunkerville Standoff Trail in Las Vegas has been delayed for several motions to be resolved before opening arguments.

Thursday saw a pre-trial detention release hearing for the four defendants, Cliven Bundy, his two sons Ryan and Ammon, as well as defendant Ryan Payne.

Bret Whipple, attorney for Cliven Bundy, argued for release of his client citing his age and failing health. The elder Bundy has noticeably weakened since his incarceration nearly two years ago.

Whipple told the court of Bundy’s dental problems, noting that the 71-year-old has had to pull several of his own teeth in his attempts to stop infections. Dental care is minimal in the CCA detention center.

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Judge denies release for Cliven Bundy amid courtroom outburst

LAS VEGAS — A judge declined Thursday to release Nevada cattleman Cliven Bundy days before trial, concerned he still doesn’t recognize federal authority and has a large incentive to flee with at least 80 years in prison hanging over his head if convicted of four of his 16 charges.

U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro also rejected release requests by Ryan Bundy and Ryan Payne and said she would make a decision later on Ammon Bundy.

Bret O. Whipple, the attorney representing the elder Bundy on charges in the 2014 standoff near Bunkerville, urged consideration for the patriarch’s age, his failing health and the reduced weight of evidence against him after unsuccessful conspiracy prosecutions against others in the case.

“He refers to himself as an old cow,” Whipple said, noting that the 71-year-old Bundy arrived in custody with 20 teeth and now has 10 to 15 teeth left because infections are treated by pulling teeth in jail and not with dental care.

“It’s been hard on him and his health has really deteriorated,” Whipple said.

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Prosecutors ordered to share reports on any camera, armed officers’ surveillance outside Bundy ranch

LAS VEGAS — Prosecutors in the Bundy trial must provide information by noon Saturday on all armed federal officers who did surveillance outside the Bundy ranch and any cameras capturing images of the Bundy home between March 1 and April 12, 2014, a judge ordered Wednesday.

The information must be turned over to the defense.

It could help Cliven Bundy, sons Ammon Bundy and Ryan Bundy and co-defendant Ryan Payne challenge the allegation that they used “deceit and deception” to encourage supporters to come to the ranch by saying the house was surrounded, federal snipers were outside the home and the family felt isolated.

Defense lawyers said they learned for the first time on Tuesday of two federal officers dressed in camouflage and armed with AR-15 rifles posted outside the Bundy residence at night.

That information was contained in a written report that they received from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in preparation for Wednesday’s hearing on disputed discovery evidence.

“Wouldn’t it be important for the defense to know FBI agents are overlooking the Bundy residence with an AR-15?” asked Brenda Weksler, one of Payne’s defense lawyers. “How do we not have this until yesterday?”

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Thomas Mitchell: Head spinning developments in the so-far ‘non-trial’ of Bunkerville defendants

Caution: Following the Bunkerville standoff trial proceedings can cause whiplash.

Today the federal judge again delayed the start of the trial for Cliven Bundy, his sons Ammon and Ryan, and self-styled militia member Ryan Payne. This time for a week. She agreed to hold hearings after Cliven Bundy’s attorney asked the charges be dropped because the prosecution had failed to reveal any recordings or notes taken off live surveillance video of the Bundy ranch during the April 2014 standoff. Ryan Bundy raised the question as to whether there was surveillance video several weeks ago.

“If it has potentially useful information, then the defense is entitled to it,” the judge is quoted by Reuters as saying. “I‘m not convinced that it doesn’t exist.”

The federal agents reportedly shredded documents after the standoff ended.

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Judicial tyrants strike blow against Cliven Bundy

In the years, months and days before the signing of the Declaration of Independence in my native city of Philadelphia, on July 4, 1776, King George III, having issued one unjust if not illegal edict after another, having unfairly prosecuted a number of key American colonialists, having severely taxed the people and having attempted to seize the firearms of citizenry so they could not rise up and challenge his will, invidiously took the criminal justice system back to the Court of King James, depriving the colonies of their own justice system. These were among the primary reasons our Founding Father’s and their colonies broke from the Crown, waged war to reassert their hoped for freedoms and conceived of and created a new nation.

Thomas Jefferson, perhaps our greatest Founding Father and president, predicted at the time that Americans would periodically have to renew their freedoms and wage periodic revolutions, even spilling blood if necessary. He and his colleagues knew that the tendency of mankind is to fall back to the despotic and corrupt ways of the British monarchy, and thus there needed to be constant vigilance and sacrifice in the future to preserve their God-inspired vision.

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Is Prosecution Retaliating Against Todd Engel?

Todd Engel is one of the Bunkerville defendants that will face Judge Gloria Navarro in a sentencing hearing.

Out of a 16-count indictment, Engel was charged with 10 counts and convicted of 2 counts after his trial earlier this year.

These are the least serious of all the charges, and do not carry enhancements or mandatory minimum sentencing.

Greg Burleson was also convicted during the same trial, though he was convicted of 8 of 10 charges, including enhancements.

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Thomas Mitchell: A jury of their peers? Hardly

A federal jury is set to begin hearing opening statements Tuesday in the trial of four defendants in the Bunkerville standoff.

There are six women and six men on the jury and there are four alternates, three men, and a woman.

The judge said the trial is expected to take four months. A number of potential jurors were dismissed because they could not take four months out of their lives to devote to the trial. How many people can or are willing to? Is it a jury of their peers?

On trial is rancher Cliven Bundy, 71, sons Ammon Bundy, 42, and Ryan Bundy, 45, and a self-styled militia member Ryan Payne, 34, who showed up to protest the confiscation of Bundy’s cattle by the BLM. They are charged with conspiracy, extortion and various firearm charges. They have all been jailed for going on two years.

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Las Vegas trial to begin for rancher Cliven Bundy and sons

Cliven Bundy, lead defendant in a case stemming from a 2014 standoff with federal agents and the 71-year-old patriarch of a family with roots in the southeastern Nevada desert since the state was founded more than 150 years ago, won’t let his lawyer buy him a suit for trial.

Instead of the standard slacks, button-down shirt and tie that incarcerated male defendants often don while facing a jury, the recalcitrant rancher plans to wear a jail-issued blue jumpsuit and orange flip-flops when he faces potential jurors for the first time on Monday morning.

“He is so principled that he’s going to do what he’s going to do, which is tell the truth and tell it as he sees it, and he’s not worried about the consequences, other than the people around him,” his lawyer, Bret Whipple, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal last week. “He refuses to put on civilian clothing because it would be misleading the jury, because he is who he is.”

Bundy, his two sons Ryan and Ammon and independent militia leader Ryan Payne have been locked up without bail in a federal holding facility for nearly two years. They face the potential of decades behind bars if convicted of conspiracy and other charges related to the armed standoff.

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Official Bundy Trial Updates – Sponsored by the Bundy Family!

  It has been rumored that the Bundy Families have engaged a professional Public Relations expert to provide once-daily Trial Updates during the upcoming trial. These updates are expected to be shorter and more concise than typical updates that we have seen in the past and by others.  It is understood, that it is not desired to replace others that have been providing updates in the past or recently. The intent is to, provide not only an official source, but also a shorter and more to the point update that can be viewed quickly and not require a viewer to listen […]

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Eric Parker To Plead To a Misdemeanor

The Trial of the Century has gotten a little bit smaller.

Currently, 6 men are expected to be tried in the Bunkerville Standoff trial expected to begin jury selection on October 30th. Cliven Bundy, his sons Ammon and Ryan, as well as Ryan Payne are ready. Eric Parker and Scott Drexler are scheduled for their third trial, after two previous trials this year resulting in acquittals and deadlocked verdicts.

But Parker and Drexler have been offered plea agreements by the government that will allow them to close the book on this chapter of their lives.

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More than a third of National Park Service employees harassed at work; Zinke calls for accountability, transparency

ST. GEORGE — Federal officials on Friday released the results of a survey in which 39 percent of National Park Service employees said they had experienced harassment or discrimination on the job, then vowed to take immediate action to deal with the problem.

“From day one, I made it clear that I have zero tolerance for harassment in the workplace, and I directed leadership in the National Park Service to move rapidly to improve accountability and transparency,” Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said. “All employees have the right to work in an environment that is safe and harassment-free.

“I’ve removed a number of people who were abusive or acted improperly that other administrations were too afraid to or just turned a blind eye to. Under my leadership, we’re going to hold people accountable. We are also fixing the problem of victims being afraid of retaliation or inaction by codifying the right for victims to report abuse to any manager in any location across the service, and by bringing on an independent, investigative partner.”

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They Are Being Scrutinized In An Unprecedented Way By The Citizens Of The Country.

We previously reported on a motion filed by Ryan Bundy to have Judge Gloria Navarro recused from the Bunkerville Standoff case.

This motion is based on the premise that public perception is heavily against Navarro. It goes to the general consensus throughout the country that activist Judge Navarro is using her authority to further her agenda by blatantly ruling in favor of the prosecution and against the defense.

The motion was based on dozens of articles from both alternative media and Main Stream media. Sites including Redoubt News, as well as the Las Vegas Review Journal and the New York Times, are reporting that the story has now become about Judge Navarro and her obvious bias, instead of what actually happened on April 12, 2014.

This is a powerful motion. This argument does not address whether or not Navarro is actually biased, it only references the public perception of her bias. This goes to the growing lack of trust the citizens in the country have against the federal judicial system and, by extension, the Federal government.

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Post-Las Vegas Shooting Proposed Jury Questions

With the recent events in Las Vegas on 10-1-2017 and the trial postponed the defendants in the Bundy Trials were offered an opportunity to submit additional questions for a follow-up jury questioner. Below are the questions submitted so far.

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Cliven Bundy: Feds don’t own Western states

Larry Klayman shares news in battle over land seized illegally by U.S. government. Events important for preserving America’s Constitution will be soon unfolding. Nevada rancher Cliven D. Bundy’s federal trial will finally begin in Las Vegas, Nevada, for a 2014 peaceful protest in support of the Constitution some incorrectly called “The Battle of Bunkerville.”

In fact, there was no battle from the standpoint of the peaceful protesters. Rather, it was the federal government – then run by former President Barack Obama – that threatened the Bundy family’s lives, beat the heck out of the sister of Cliven Bundy, Tasered his two sons, violently kicked the family dog and killed many of their cattle, burying them in a mass secret grave.

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Reporter Pete Santilli Accepts Plea Deal in Bundy Ranch Case

Early this morning, I spoke to Santilli via phone and he was indeed released and spoke of how good it felt to be free again.  The vast majority of that conversation was off the record, but there is no doubt that he did what he thought was right considering the odds against him.

As we reported earlier, the corruption of Judge Navarro, the prosecution led by Steven Myhre and the lies that surround government land grabs and unconstitutional agencies enforcing those land grabs make it nearly impossible for someone to get a fair hearing in a trial.

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Trial in Bundy Standoff Postponed Due to Las Vegas Shooting

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A federal judge has agreed to postpone the trial of Nevada cattleman Cliven Bundy and others in a 2014 armed standoff because of the Las Vegas mass shooting.

Defense attorneys argued that the attack would cast a shadow over the trial, which was set to start Tuesday in Las Vegas. On Friday, the judge rescheduled it for Oct. 30.

Bundy, two sons and others are accused of conspiring to enlist a self-styled militia to prevent U.S. Bureau of Land Management agents and civilian employees from removing Bundy’s cattle from federal land in Nevada.

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Defendant In Nevada Standoff Case Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy To Impede Or Injure A Federal Officer

Defendant In Nevada Standoff Case Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy To Impede Or Injure A Federal Officer

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A defendant charged in the case involving the armed standoff in Bunkerville, Nev. pleaded guilty today in federal court, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Steven W. Myhre for the District of Nevada, Special Agent in Charge Aaron C. Rouse for the FBI’s Las Vegas Division, and Acting Director Michael D. Nedd for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Peter T. Santilli Jr, 52, of Cincinnati, Ohio, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer. United States District Chief Judge Gloria M. Navarro accepted the guilty plea. Sentencing is set for Jan. 11, 2018. At the time of sentencing, Santilli faces up to six years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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BLM Potential chief clashed with agency, represented Bundy

Wyoming-based property rights attorney Karen Budd-Falen yesterday acknowledged she is under consideration to become the next director of the Bureau of Land Management but said she has yet to determine if she would want to take the helm of the agency she has clashed with throughout her career.

Budd-Falen, who spoke with E&E News from her Cheyenne, Wyo., law office, said she has spoken with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke about the post, although she does not know when the Trump administration will select a nominee.

A spokesman for the Interior Department said this week he did not have any information on potential nominees or the selection process.

But while Budd-Falen, who served on the Trump administration’s transition team at Interior, acknowledged that she is interested in leading the agency, she added that she is torn about potentially leaving her home state.

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Defendant in Bundy ranch standoff, weapons case argues Las Vegas massacre would bias jury

An unusual ripple effect of the mass shooting that left 58 people dead and hundreds wounded along the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday is that it could have implications for a high-profile federal trial that is set to begin here next week — a case that also involves weapons.

A Montana militiaman who is accused of weapons charges and conspiring against the U.S. government asked a federal judge this week to delay his trial by 60 days because of the Las Vegas shooting. The charges against Ryan Payne stem from the 2014 Bundy ranch standoff in Bunkerville, Nev., and the trial is slated to start with jury selection Oct. 12.

On Thursday, Payne’s attorneys filed an additional motion, seeking to move the trial out of Las Vegas and to a different venue nearly 450 miles away: the federal courthouse in Reno, Nev. They argued that it would be impossible to seat a fair jury in light of the gun-related massacre.

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Religious Freedom Fight in Bunkerville Standoff

Ryan Bundy is fighting a new fight in the ongoing saga of the Bunkerville Trials in Las Vegas.

Bundy has been incarcerated since Jan 26, 2016 and has yet to go to trial. He has been fighting for his Constitutionally-guaranteed rights for nearly 2 years.

On Tuesday Ryan, and his brother Ammon, did not attend the scheduled court proceedings as they had not been transported from the Pahrump prison.

This is where it gets confusing for the average person.

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Motion to Recuse Gloria Navarro

A motion has been filed in the Bunkerville Standoff case to have Judge Gloria Navarro recused. The motion was filed by Ryan Bundy on Oct. 4th.

The basis for the demand for recusal is the public perception of her bias towards the prosecution and against the defendants.

The 25 page filing with attachments cites dozens of news articles pointing to her obvious bias. Citing articles from Redoubt News, Infowars, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Freedom Outpost, as well as a multitude of additional articles, as well as video reports, the motion proves overwhelming bias on the part of the judge.

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