In January 2016, a group of men and women with ties to the 2014 standoff in Bunkerville, Nevada, took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon. For 41 days the group controlled access to and from the refuge as part of a demand for federally controlled lands to be turned over to Western states. The trial of the first seven individuals charged in connection with the standoff ended in acquittal. The second trial of four more individuals began in Portland, Oregon, on Feb. 14, 2017.
Follow all of our coverage of the occupation and related trials, and use this page as a quick guide to the legal status of the individuals indicted in connection with the occupation.
Trial Underway:
Verdict Reached:
Charges Dismissed:
Judge Anna Brown has approved
federal prosecutors’ request to dismiss charges
against Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupier Peter Santilli.
Prosecutors filed the motion on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016, the day before the trial was set to begin.
Santilli is an internet radio host who broadcast live from the wildlife refuge during the occupation.
Santilli still faces charges in Nevada for his role in the 2014 standoff with federal officials in Bunkerville, Nevada.
