The Oregon standoff defendant who has been admonished in court for repeatedly challenging the validity of the oath of office taken by the federal judge presiding over his criminal case has now filed suit against her.

Since March, Kenneth Medenbach has raised questions during his pending criminal case about the oath taken by U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown. His lawsuit names Brown along with U.S. Attorney Billy Williams and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Craig Gabriel, Geoffrey Barrow and Ethan Knight as defendants.

Medenbach on Wednesday filed his complaint pro se, representing himself and 26 others involved in standoff-related cases. The suit demands that all plaintiffs in jail be released and that all pending criminal matters against standoff defendants be dismissed. Each plaintiff seeks no more than $100,000 in punitive damages for the time they've spent in custody and no more than $50,000 each for lost wages, Medenbach wrote in the complaint.

Medenbach was among those arrested after the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge outside Burns.

So far, 10 of 26 defendants charged with conspiring to impede federal employees at the refuge through intimidation, threats or fear have accepted plea deals.

Kenneth Medenbach

Medenbach is defending himself against criminal charges of theft of government property and conspiracy to impede officers. He has argued that Brown's oath was invalid and that the charges against him should be dismissed as a result. The judge has denied his request.

During a hearing in June, Medenbach brought copies of an oath of office and asked Brown if she'd "initial it." The judge responded by saying: "Mr. Medenbach, we're not going to play these games."

In a July 26 order, Brown warned Medenbach that he would lose his right to represent himself if he again raised the issue of her oath in further court filings. Two weeks later, Medenbach filed suit.

In the complaint, he writes that U.S. Code requires federal justices and judges to take a judicial oath of office. The oath was updated in 1990.

"Anna J. Brown," his complaint contends, "did not take this oath before performing the duties of her office."

Brown, who previously served as a judge in Multnomah County Circuit Court, was appointed as a federal judge in 1999 following a nomination by President Bill Clinton.

During a phone interview Thursday, Medenbach said the judge instead took a different oath which combined a version taken by all federal employees and the old judicial one. For those reasons, he said, he believes her oath was invalid.

"They disrupted my life and everybody's life without the authority to do that," Medenbach said.

Medenbach said he received a copy of the judge's oath under a Freedom of Information Act request.

Reached by email, Brown declined to comment citing the ongoing criminal case.

Other plaintiffs in the lawsuit are: Ammon Bundy, Ryan Bundy, Jon Ritzheimer, Ryan Payne, Joseph O'Shaughnessy, Brian Cavalier, Blaine Cooper, Pete Santilli, Shawna Cox, Jason Patrick, Dylan Anderson, Duane Leo Ehmer, David Lee Fry, Sandra Anderson, Jeff Wayne Banta, Wesley Kjar, Geoffrey Stanek, Travis Cox, Sean Anderson, Neil Wampler, Jason Blomgren, Darryl Thorn, Corey Lequieu, Jake Ryan, Eric Lee Flores and Scott Willingham.

Maxine Bernstein of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.

-- Rebecca Woolington

503-294-4049; @rwoolington