Federal Judge Denies Release for Ammon Bundy and Five Others

U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman says nobody gets out of jail until the Malheur occupation ends.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman denied Ammon and Ryan Bundy release from Multnomah County Jail at a detention hearing today.

The Bundys, along with eight other co-defendants, appeared this afternoon in federal court in Portland for their role in the occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Judge Beckerman determined that the Bundys—along with co-defendants Ryan Payne, Jason Patrick, and Dylan Anderson (aka Captain Moroni)—posed a danger to the public, and ordered them detained.

"I'm worried about him occupying another government building," Beckerman said of Ammon Bundy.

Bundy's attorney Lissa Casey argued that her client posed no risk to the public and that he had no intentions of returning to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

"The only place Mr. Bundy wants to be is home," Casey argued. "He's done in Harney County."

In a prepared statement, Bundy urged the remaining militants in Harney County to stand down.

"I also publicly want to say, as I've said multiple times before, that I have asked the people at the refuge to go home," he said.

Bundy's attorneys plan to appeal the ruling on Tuesday.

Two of the 10 defendants, Brian Cavalier and Duane Ehmer, had their hearings postponed. In the case of another, Pete Santilli, host of the right-wing radio program The Pete Santilli Show, the judge made no decision and expressed a desire to deliberate further.

Two other defendants, Joseph O'Shaughnessy and Shawna Cox, were allowed a conditional release. But Beckerman ordered that Cox not be released until the occupation was over.

Speaking to reporters after the 4 1/2-hour hearing, Bundy's attorneys, Mike Arnold and Lissa Casey, highlighted the conciliatory tone that Bundy has struck since his arrest.

"What Mr. Bundy wants to express about this hearing is that we respect the decision, we respect the judge, and we respect the process," Casey said.

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