Kenneth Medenbach, charged with federal conspiracy and theft of government property in the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, waived his right to a lawyer Friday, citing his deeply held religious beliefs.

"I have a Holy Spirit that lives in me and will guide me through this. He's the creator of heaven and Earth. This is a small thing for him,'' Medenbach told the court. "This life is immaterial to a future life in heaven. It's small stuff.''

Medenbach, 62, signed off on the waiver, despite repeated efforts by U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown to discourage him.

Brown said a lawyer is a defendant's advocate who helps a client understand the risks faced in court, the weight of evidence and legal ways to challenge the admission of evidence. A lawyer also would work on Medenbach's behalf in any negotiations with a prosecutor, she said.

"A lawyer is guaranteed through the Sixth Amendment for a very good reason,'' Brown said. "For the life of me I cannot understand why you would put yourself in the position of representing yourself in this very complicated case at this stage.''

In her 24 years handling criminal cases, Brown said she's "never once seen a person benefit'' from choosing to represent himself.

She even shared her experience of a jury trial she handled last week when a defendant represented himself and "innocently made mistakes'' during the trial that an experienced lawyer would have avoided.

But Medenbach wasn't swayed.

"As a pro se litigator, I'm not held to as strict standards as an attorney would be,'' Medenbach said.

The judge told him he was incorrect. She'd hold him to the same standards as the other lawyers in the case. "You can't expect to get a pass so to speak,'' Brown told him.

Medenbach said he had represented himself in the past in state court, but acknowledged he didn't win any of those cases. Yet, he added, "I was able to speak my mind.''

The judge made sure Medenbach recognized the potential maximum sentence on the charges he faced if convicted - six years for conspiring to impede federal officers at the wildlife refuge and 10 years for the theft of a government truck. She also asked if Medenbach had ever been diagnosed with a mental illness, and he replied that he hadn't.

Brown appointed attorney Matthew Schindler to be a "stand-by'' to help Medenbach if needed.

The judge denied Medenbach's motion to dismiss the indictment for lack of jurisdiction and ordered him to remain in custody pending trial.

"Why would we the people of the United States'' Medenbach asked, reading from prepared statements, "give the Judicial Department the power to tell We the People what the Constitution means?''

He argued that federal courts "continue to pervert'' the Constitution and that only states have the power to own public land. He contends the Malheur refuge is not federal land, and thus, the government couldn't prosecute him for having been there.

Schindler, granted permission by Medenbach to speak briefly on his behalf, urged the judge to allow Medenbach's release, arguing that the charges aren't that serious in the realm of cases that are heard in federal court.

"His point is not about armed conflict,'' Schindler said. "It's about our misinterpretations of the law.''

Medenbach was arrested Jan. 15 in the parking lot of a Safeway in Burns in a truck bearing federal government license plates. He's now charged with stealing a 2012 Ford pickup belonging to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service from the refuge.

In court Friday, Medenbach explained: "The pickup truck was going to be brought right back. I drove to Burns to get groceries.''

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gabriel noted that Medenbach was on pretrial release from a 2015 illegal camping case pending in federal court in Medford. He was ordered not to occupy federal land "and then he went to Malheur,'' Gabriel said.

When a pre-trial officer contacted Medenbach on Jan. 4, he lied about his location, claiming he was home, Gabriel said.

A group of militants led by Ammon Bundy, son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, led the refuge takeover Jan. 2. He said the group was protesting the return to prison of two local ranchers for burning federal land. He later demanded that the federal government put the refuge land in local control.

Bundy and other leaders of the 41-day occupation were arrested on a state highway north of Burns on Jan. 26. Occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum died in the confrontation when state police officers shot him as it appeared he was reaching for a loaded gun in his jacket pocket, according to state and federal law enforcement.

The judge agreed that Medenbach has shown he hasn't complied with the conditions of his release and ordered him to remain in custody.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian