Skip to main content
A federal jury today acquitted an FBI agent who had been accused of lying to investigators looking into the events leading up to the fatal shooting of anti-government militant Robert "LeVoy" Finicum.
Prosecutors alleged that W. Joseph Astarita, who was a member of the FBI's hostage rescue team, had lied about firing his gun at Finicum during an encounter that accelerated the end of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation.
Finicum was fatally shot by an Oregon State Police officer.
Astarita's trial lasted three weeks, but the federal jury cleared him of all charges. He testified that although two bullets from his gun were found in Finicum's truck, he had not realized on that day that he had fired.
"We are grateful to the men and women of the jury who saw through a case that never should have been brought," his attorneys told The Oregonian, which has covered the trial in detail. "Joe Astarita is innocent, and it was our privilege and honor to represent him."
Federal prosecutors, confronted with yet another loss in a series of fiascos stemming from the Malheur occupation, tried to find a bright side.
"We thank the jury for their dedicated service and for giving full consideration to an important case. We strongly believe this case needed to be brought before the court and decided by a jury," U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams said in a statement. "Our system of justice relies on the absolute integrity of law enforcement officials at all levels of government."