Federal prosecutors Monday said they will bring the remaining seven Oregon standoff defendants to trial on the same conspiracy charge that led to the acquittal of the occupation leaders this fall.

In a joint status report, the prosecutors also said they'll ask to delay the Feb. 14 trial by two months and add misdemeanor charges against the defendants.

The report met a deadline set last month by U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown for the government to tell her how it would proceed with the remaining defendants. A status conference in the case is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Six men and one woman still face trial in the 41-day armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge over government control of public land.

Defense lawyers, including Oregon's federal public defender, and some of the defendants themselves have urged prosecutors to drop all charges in the wake of across-the-board acquittals Oct. 27 of key occupation figures Ammon Bundy, brother Ryan Bundy, Shawna Cox and four others on conspiracy, weapons and other charges.

Those scheduled for trial are: Jason Patrick of Bonaire, Georgia; Duane Leo Ehmer of Irrigon; Dylan Anderson of Provo, Utah; Sean Anderson and his wife, Sandra Lynn Anderson, of Riggins, Idaho; Darryl W. Thorn of Marysville, Washington; and Jake Ryan of Plains, Montana.

Prosecutors said they also plan to continue to prosecute six of the seven on the charge of possession of a firearm in a federal facility, excluding Ehmer.

A charge of depredation of government property will remain against Jake Ryan, but be dismissed against Sean Anderson, the report said. The government also seeks a grand jury indictment on a government property depredation charge against Ehmer, Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gabriel wrote in the report.

Ryan and Ehmer are accused of digging a trench on the refuge property.

The conspiracy, firearms and depredation charges are all felonies.

Prosecutors also plan to bring misdemeanor charges against the defendants, including allegations of trespass, tampering with vehicles and equipment and destruction of property.

"I'm surprised. It's not what I expected,'' said Andrew Kohlmetz, Patrick's standby counsel. "We've been getting ready for this trial, and I guess it's a good thing.''

But Kohlmetz said the defense lawyers oppose any delay in the date set for trial.

"It sounds like there hasn't been much that's changed. The defendants are ready to go,'' he said.

Jesse Merrithew, who represents Jake Ryan, said he thought after the Bundy acquittal that the government would drop the conspiracy charge against his client and the others.

"For Oregon's prosecutor Billy Williams to go on the record after the first trial and say he respected the verdict, yet continue to prosecute the people who are accused of conspiring with the people who were acquitted of conspiring, it just doesn't make sense,'' Merrithew said.

The addition of misdemeanor charges shouldn't affect trial preparation or set back the trial date, Merrithew said.

Prosecutors estimate it will take a week and a half to present its case at the next trial, while defense lawyers estimated that their case will take two and a half weeks.

They're seeking a delay in trial to allow more time for pre-trial motions to be heard and "to allow the publicity from the first trial to dissipate, which will aid in the empanelment of an unbiased and impartial jury,'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight wrote in a court filing Monday.

"Simply because similar acts or evidence were presented to the jury in the first trial does not mean that similar arguments are impliedly rejected for the second trial,'' Knight wrote in a legal brief, responding to Patrick's motion to dismiss his indictment. "The government is entitled to pursue any legally cognizable charges against each named defendant.''

The seven were among 26 people indicted on a conspiracy charge. Eleven others pleaded guilty to the charge, though three of those defendants have asked to withdraw their pleas. The government dropped charges against another, Pete Santilli.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian