THE GRAND JURY CHARGES:
INTRODUCTORY ALLEGATIONS
At all times relevant to this Indictment:
1. Defendant W. JOSEPH ASTARITA was a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI), and a member of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team (HRT).
2. The FBI had a policy in place requiring that the Bureau’s Shooting Incident
Response Team investigates all agent-involved shooting incidents. Defendant W. JOSEPH
ASTARITA was aware of that policy.
3. On January 26, 2016, defendant W. JOSEPH ASTARITA was one of a number of
FBI agents assigned to the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney
County, Oregon, who were tasked with attempting to apprehend certain members and leaders of
the occupation, including Robert La Voy Finnicum and Ryan Bundy, as they traveled from the
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Grant County, Oregon.
