A federal judge says she will not delay the September trial for occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation, despite defense objections.
Occupation organizer Ammon Bundy recently hired two new attorneys, and they requested more time to review hundreds of hours of video taken during the occupation and to file motions fighting his detention. His brother, Ryan Bundy, is representing himself and also joined the motion.
In court Wednesday, government prosecutors pointed out that it was Ammon Bundy himself who first pushed for a speedy trial. They argued that delaying the trial past Sept. 7, when U.S. District Court Judge Anna Brown hopes to begin, will cause logistical problems in Nevada.
Several of the defendants in the Oregon case also face charges related to a 2014 Bunkerville, Nevada, standoff between militants, led by the Bundy brothers and their father, Cliven Bundy, and federal officials. That trial is scheduled to begin in February 2017. Brown ruled she will not delay the trial in Oregon.
She said dozens of other defendants and their lawyers had no problems preparing for the September trial date.
Brown also said Ammon Bundy’s lawyers had failed to show that they were diligently preparing for the trial. She noted that “extraordinary accommodations” had already been made to ensure that the Bundy brothers can prepare for their trial while in detention.
