(CNN) A federal jury in Oregon on Friday acquitted an FBI agent accused of lying to authorities about whether he opened fire during the fatal shooting of LaVoy Finicum, one of the leaders of the occupation of federal property in 2016.

Agent W. Joseph Astarita was acquitted of making false statements and obstruction of justice, according to a statement from the US Attorney's Office in Portland.

An attorney for Astarita, David Angeli, told CNN on Friday night that the defense emphasized during the trial there were no eyewitnesses who saw Astarita fire his weapon, and there was no ballistic evidence linking shots to his weapon.

"We are grateful to the men and women of the jury who saw through a case that never should have been brought," a statement from Angeli and fellow defense attorney Rob Cary said.

The US Attorney's Office thanked the jury for its service. "Our system of justice relies on the absolute integrity of law enforcement officials at all levels of government," US Attorney Billy J. Williams said in a statement . Williams said the three-week trial included testimony from FBI agents, state and local law enforcement officers, forensic scientists and ballistics experts.

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