LAS VEGAS - Ryan Bundy, released to a halfway house on the eve of the Nevada standoff trial, stepped from a white limousine Tuesday outside the Lloyd D. George U.S. Courthouse in Las Vegas, dressed in a black suit and wearing a white cowboy hat.

He shook the hands of supporters gathered outside the courthouse, participated in a prayer circle in the courthouse corridor and then sat in the public gallery of the seventh-floor courtroom to watch a lesser player in the April 2014 confrontation plead guilty.

The trial for Bundy - and his father, Cliven, brother Ammon and friend Ryan Payne -- began Tuesday after a week's delay and after U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro denied the government's request for another week-long delay.

Prosecutor Steven Myhre had asked for the extra time to locate, review and share with the defense, as ordered, any emails from FBI agents between March 1 and April 30, 2014, capturing the lead-up to the standoff, the standoff period and aftermath.

Defense lawyers for Payne and Ammon Bundy instead sought a mistrial as they await information about the FBI's surveillance role that they only learned about in the last week.

Ryan Bundy, who is representing himself at trial, said he opposed a delay, if his co-defendants weren't let out of jail as well. The judge had denied their renewed requests for release in the last week.

When Navarro asked Cliven Bundy his preference, the 71-year-old said, "Let's get it done."

The judge agreed, saying she wasn't willing to further delay the jury, and noted another round of defendants are also awaiting trial.

Micah McGuire, 32, of Arizona, was the defendant who had pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to impede federal officers. A prosecutor described McGuire as being part of Cliven Bundy's personal security detail, among those who brought a firearm to the April 12, 2014 standoff outside Bunkerville. He was to be released from custody Tuesday to live with his mother in Arizona.

His sentencing is Feb. 16. His lawyer is expected to argue for time served, which has been about a year and eight months.

After a first day of opening statements Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro said Ryan Bundy could be allowed to leave the halfway house soon for an approved home, but must remain on home detention with GPS monitoring. He's only allowed to leave to attend court, church or meet with defense lawyers in his case.

His limousine ride to court was provided by friends, but his wife said she didn't know who arranged or paid for it. Ryan Bundy said it was the first time he ever rode in a limo. During a lunch break in the trial Tuesday, Ryan Bundy ate in the first-floor courthouse cafe.

Ryan Bundy had walked out of custody and the federal courthouse about 5:30 p.m. on Monday after spending a year and nearly 10 months in custody.

"This incarceration I hated every day. Every day I hated it, yet I'm very thankful for it because I've grown so much,'' he told family and supporters who greeted him. "I've grown closer to my father in heaven. I've learned a lot about the law. I've learned a lot about the people who are incarcerated, and most of them are not what you think. I've seen the atrocities by the government upon many many people and I'm appalled by it.''

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian