Lawyers for Standoff Leader Try to Get Him Out of Jail

Lawyers for the leader of the armed occupation at a national wildlife preserve in Oregon have appealed a judge’s decision to keep him in jail, while four holdouts remain holed up in the frozen high desert Monday, nearly a month after the standoff began.
Lawyers for Standoff Leader Try to Get Him Out of Jail
Mike Arnold (L) and Lissa Casey (R), representing Ammon Bundy, spoke briefly after Bundy's appearance in the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse in Portland, Ore., on Jan. 27, 2016. Kristyna Wentz-Graff/The Oregonian via AP
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PORTLAND, Ore.—Lawyers for the leader of the armed occupation at a national wildlife preserve in Oregon have appealed a judge’s decision to keep him in jail, while four holdouts remain holed up in the frozen high desert Monday, nearly a month after the standoff began.

Group leader Ammon Bundy should be released with a GPS monitoring device and orders that the Idaho resident not leave the state except for court appearances, his lawyers, Mike Arnold and Lissa Casey, said in documents filed Sunday. They contend government prosecutors failed to provide “clear and convincing evidence” those steps would not suffice.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman said last week that Bundy, 40, presents a danger to the community and he might fail to return for future court proceedings. Beckerman said Bundy repeatedly ignored federal demands to leave the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and she had little confidence he would comply with orders to show up in court.

Ammon Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, arrives for a news conference at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Ore., on Jan. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Ammon Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, arrives for a news conference at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Ore., on Jan. 6, 2016. AP Photo/Rick Bowmer