Feds seek 14 more in obstruction case over cattle-grazing standoff near Bundy ranch
After a 2014 armed standoff that reportedly occurred between Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, some 400 armed supporters and the feds in a cattle-grazing dispute, no charges were immediately brought.
But last month Bundy and four others were charged with obstruction of justice, extortion and other counts, for allegedly blocking federal agents from rounding up trespassing cattle on U.S. land. And now the feds are seeking about 14 more individuals who were indicted in Las Vegas on Wednesday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
Some of the names on the new indictment are blacked out. However, the charges are not, and they are similar to those faced by Bundy, according to a New Hampshire Union Leader article about one of the defendants, Jerry DeLemus, a Tea Party leader in New Hampshire. He is the husband of state Rep. Susan DeLemus, a Republican. She confirmed his arrest but declined to comment specifically on the case.
He is among eight defendants accused in the indictment of having “planned, organized, led, and/or participated as gunmen in the assault, all in order to threaten, intimidate, and extort the officers into abandoning approximately 400 head of cattle that were in their lawful care and custody,” the newspaper reports.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy is charged in 2014 cattle-graze standoff as he heads to Oregon protest”
New York Times (reg. req.): “Cliven Bundy and Sons Charged in Case That Gave Rise to Oregon Standoff”
Oregonian: “Judge orders Cliven Bundy held, citing ‘ongoing defiance of federal court orders’”
Southern Poverty Law Center: “A Deeper Look at Cliven Bundy’s Criminal Indictment”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “16 are federally indicted in takeover of Oregon wildlife refuge”
