Ken Medenbach, the lone Oregon resident on trial on a federal conspiracy charge stemming from the seizure of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, told jurors Tuesday he's exactly where he wants to be, preaching about his views on land rights in a federal courtroom.

He called the Bundys his "heroes'' for the "bold move'' they made in the 2014 standoff with federal officers near patriarch Cliven Bundy's ranch near Bunkerville, Nevada. Medenbach noted that he's been fighting "the same things they were fighting.''

"The federal government doesn't have authority to own land in the states,'' Medenbach said.

And like Ammon Bundy, Medenbach added, "I've been called by a higher power to do what I'm doing.''

Medenbach, 63, has pleaded not guilty to conspiring to use threats, intimidation or force to prevent federal employees from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Bureau of Land Management employees from doing their work during the occupation of the federal bird sanctuary in eastern Oregon.

He's also pleaded not guilty to theft of government property: a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pickup truck that he admitted on the stand to driving to pick up groceries at the Safeway in Burns on Jan. 15, before his arrest.

"It didn't matter to me being arrested because I'm where I want to be right now,'' Medenbach said. "I've been waiting 21 years to be where I'm at right now.''

His standby counsel Matthew Schindler led Medenbach through his long history of challenging the government's control of land, starting with his 1988 construction of some cabins and an outhouse on five acres of land he bought for $700 northeast of Crescent, without obtaining any permits from Klamath County.

He continued through the mid-1990s, erecting cabins on what he called "alleged BLM land,'' and ignoring notices from the federal agency to remove them. He said he tried to stake claim through adverse possession to a parcel of U.S. Forest Service land in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in southern Washington in 1996 by putting up a small cabin on the property.

Responding to questions from his defense lawyer, Medenbach pointed out that the federal and county agencies usually took civil action against him for his land protests.

Medenbach said he went to Burns on Dec. 30, planning to participate in the Jan. 2 rally in support of Harney County ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and Steven Hammond, who were set to return to federal prison on Jan. 4 to complete a minimum mandatory sentence of five years for setting fire to federal land.

Taking over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, he said, was an extension of his years of protests against federal government overreach. It didn't matter to him that he was on pretrial release from federal court in Medford, with a condition that he stay off federal lands, he said.

"I knew there'd be like-minded people there, and I knew I'd get along with them,'' he said.

He acknowledged he ordered "Closed Permanently'' signs from a company in Burns, and put them over the front sign and door of the federal Bureau of Land Management district office in Hines. He also ordered "Harney County Resource Center'' signs to replace the refuge signs.

Why? "To let the local community know they're going to be getting their land back pretty soon,'' he said.

He changed the decals on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service trucks at the refuge, helped drive heavy refuge equipment over to a fence that other occupiers cut down and drove a government pickup truck to the Safeway in Burns to get groceries when state police arrested him.

"Did you believe at any time the refuge was yours?'' Schindler asked.

"No,'' Medenbach said.

"It was all about giving the land back to the people of Harney County,'' he added later.

When Medenbach watched Oregon Congressman Greg Walden's address on the floor of the House about the refuge takeover, Medenbach testified, "I started crying.''

During cross-examination, Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gabriel pointed out that Medenbach since 1988 has lost all his motions in court.

Gabriel further noted that the federal judge who handled Medenbach's most recent trial in Eugene in which he was convicted of illegally camping on federal property ruled that a person may not claim title to federal government land by the principle of adverse possession.

"That's just his opinion. He doesn't have the power to interpret the Constitution,'' Medenbach responded from the witness stand.

Gabriel questioned Medenbach further. "You knew federal employees worked'' at the refuge, correct?

"Yes,'' Medenbach answered.

Gabriel showed jurors one of Medenbach's Facebook posts in January, in which he shared a photo of the new signs he had installed at the refuge. The post read, "224 years of federal government oppression. Might makes right, until the Bundy stand, now with 200 militia at the Harney County Resource Center and 2000 more if the FBI moves in, might makes right.''

Medenbach called his post a "poor choice of words,'' and said no harm was intended.

The prosecutor pointed out that Medenbach's past demonstrations occurred on "empty land,'' that unlike the refuge, had no government buildings, no offices, no vehicles and no employees using the property at the time.

Defense Calls Cousin of Harney County Sheriff

Earlier Tuesday, one of Ammon Bundy's defense lawyers called a cousin of Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward in an attempt to impeach the sheriff's earlier testimony.

Rodney Glen Cooper, of Veneta, Oregon, testified that he visited the sheriff twice in January "to find out what is going on out there.'' Ward's grandmother and Cooper's father are siblings, he told The Oregonian/OregonLive after court.

On his first visit with Ward on Jan. 18, he said he inquired about the concept of being a "constitutional sheriff.'' After that visit, Cooper said he visited the refuge, and met Ryan Bundy.

During a second visit with Ward, Cooper said the sheriff shared with him his feelings about Ammon Bundy and Ryan Bundy.

Cooper characterized Ward's position like this: "He said he was about 90 percent with what they were doing, and if they could have been on different circumstances, they could have been good friends.''

"On Jan. 25, did Sheriff Ward tell you he did not feel threatened by the Bundys?'' defense attorney J. Morgan Philpot asked.

"Yes, he did,'' Cooper answered.

Ward had previously testified during the government's case that Ammon Bundy had made repeated ultimatums to him that if he didn't prevent the Hammond ranchers from returning to federal prison, there would be extreme civil unrest in his county.

Cooper said on the stand he had two burning questions for his cousin when he traveled to Burns, but a prosecutor objected, and the judge sustained the objection.

After he left the stand, Cooper told The Oregonian/OregonLive that his questions to Sheriff Ward were these: "If you were 90 percent with the protesters, what was the 10 percent that kept you from supporting their cause?'' and "Did you ever contact (Texas) Gov. Greg Abbott?''

Abbott had supported Cliven Bundy's standoff with federal land management officers in Nevada when he was then Texas attorney general.

In other testimony Tuesday, Coos Bay resident Matthew Deatherage, who had sat in on trial testimony for at least three days, was called by the defense to testify about his time at the refuge. During direct testimony, he said he arrived Jan. 16, was at the boat launch when "target practice'' occurred and participated in Delta squad.

"Honestly, it was the first time I ever felt community,'' Deatherage testified.

On cross-examination, Deatherage maintained he simply served as a "gatekeeper,'' at the refuge but a prosecutor wasn't about to accept that.

"You sat at the front gate with a gun?'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Barrow pointed out.

"You sat at the back gate with a gun, and you were in the tower with a gun?'' Barrow continued.

"Rarely, did I have a gun,'' Deatherage responded.

Barrow then introduced a zinger: Isn't it true, he asked, that Deatherage posted a petition recently on change.org to impeach Judge Brown?

"That's my duty as an American citizen,'' Deatherage said, seated in the witness stand beside the judge.

"Because you alleged she's unfit to be a federal judge?'' Barrow asked.

Schindler and defendant Ryan Bundy objected to the line of questioning, citing relevance.

"It has to do with his bias,'' Barrow explained. The judge overruled the objections.

"I've seen an obvious bias towards the defense...utter disrespect towards them,'' Deatherage testified, noting that the judge prevented defendant Ryan Bundy from handing out pocket Constitutions to jurors.

The judge simply took notes and didn't show any response. The defense could rest as early as Thursday or Friday.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian