Claims that former Malheur Refuge occupiers Ammon and Ryan Bundy are losing weight while in jail, don’t match with official paperwork. But attorneys insist jail conditions are less than ideal for the defendants.
Ammon Bundy’s wife, Lisa Sundloff Bundy posted on Facebook that the pair looked “skinny and frail” at a hearing last month.
Ammon Bundy
Courtesy of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office
“I could tell that they were not being properly fed,” she wrote.
Ammon Bundy's attorney, Mike Arnold, also insisted at a court hearing Wednesday that the pair appeared "emaciated" after they returned from a court hearing in Nevada, where they face charges related to a 2014 standoff at Cliven Bundy's ranch.
But Multnomah County jail booking information shows the brothers have gained 10 and 20 pounds.
Sheriff’s Office Capt. Steve Alexander said dietary needs — whether medical or religious — are met at the facility.
“All the inmates in our custody care receive three meals a day. Approximately 2,650 calories per day," he said. "They also get milk, two to three times a week and some other things incorporated into the diet throughout the week."
Ryan Bundy
Courtesy of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office
However, Alexander said the jail doesn’t weigh people when they’re booked. Staff rely on what they’re told by inmates for documentation.
Arnold said Ammon Bundy and the other inmates are served bland, unpalatable food. He also noted that defendants in the refuge occupation case who are still in custody don't have adequate access to discovery evidence or the jail's law library.
Arnold said the Multnomah County Detention Center isn't a facility designed to house prisoners for long periods of time, and many of these issues wouldn't exist if the defendants had been released during the pre-trial process.
