Oregon Wildlife Refuge Occupiers Hit With Additional Charges That Could Keep Them in Prison 20 Years
On Wednesday, prosecutors unveiled new charges against 19 of the 25 defendants indicted in connection with the Malheur wildlife refuge occupation. Some of those accused could face more than 20 years in prison if convicted on all charges and given the maximum sentence for each.
According to the Guardian, 19 of the occupiers—including both Ammon and Ryan Bundy—are charged with possessing firearms and dangerous weapons in federal facilities, and nine of those are charged with using and carrying a firearm in relation to a violent crime.
One of the militia members, Sean Anderson, is accused of “depredation of government property” for his “excavation” of land on the refuge, OPB.org reports. He is also accused of using “heavy equipment” to damage “an archaeological site considered sacred to the Burns Paiute Tribe.” He could face up to 10 years for the destruction charge.
All of these charges come in the federal case against the militants in Oregon. Ammon Bundy, Ryan Bundy, and five others are also facing charges in a separate federal case in Nevada related to their father Cliven Bundy’s 2014 ranch standoff.
