U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown on Monday ordered Pete Santilli, an independent broadcaster indicted on a federal conspiracy charge in the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, to be released to a regional halfway house with GPS monitoring after undergoing a mental health evaluation.

But Santilli isn't likely to get out on the street anytime soon. The 50-year-old also faces a U.S. marshal's hold on a separate federal conspiracy and weapons indictment in Nevada related to the 2014 standoff with federal officers outside the Cliven Bundy ranch.

Should the evaluation show that Santilli is a candidate for release to the halfway house, he'd likely be transferred to a jail in Las Vegas, where he'd have to argue for release all over again before a federal judge in Nevada.

His court-appointed attorney, Thomas Coan, said he would hope a federal judge in Nevada would follow the actions of Brown and allow for Santilli's release to the halfway house, but that process could take some time.

Federal prosecutors pointed out that the Nevada indictment against Santilli contains more serious charges, including an allegation that he possessed a firearm in the course of a crime of violence.

Brown was the third federal judge in Oregon that Santilli has appeared before to argue for his release pending trial. He appealed to Brown after the other two denied his request.

Santilli is one of 25 people indicted on a federal conspiracy charge stemming from the 41-day occupation of the refuge outside of Burns that ended Feb. 11. He was arrested Jan. 26 and has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Brown heard about 45 minutes of oral argument, then returned to her chambers for about 15 minutes before she came back to the courtroom to issue her ruling. During that brief break, Santilli, seated beside his defense lawyer, swiveled toward a deputy marshal and made a coin toss gesture with his hands, drawing a smirk from the federal officer.

When Brown returned to court, she initially said she backed the decisions of the two other judges and agreed that no combination of conditions existed that would ensure Santilli would return to court and not be a danger to the community.

But Brown left another option open, saying she'd reconsider if Santilli was willing to have a mental health evaluation done as recommended by a pretrial services officer.

At that, Santilli's lawyer stood and sought to clarify his client's position. Santilli doesn't want a mental health evaluation, Coan explained, but if he were to be required to participate in one, he would do so. Coan had argued earlier that the only mental health concerns raised were by Santilli's estranged parents.

Hearing that, Brown quickly reversed her initial decision and ordered Santilli's release to the Northwest Regional Re-entry Center in Portland with GPS monitoring, following the evaluation.

"In the event Nevada releases its hold, it can be implemented,'' Brown ruled.

Prosecutors contend Santilli used his online shows to issue a "call to action'' to encourage more people to participate in the refuge takeover.

His lawyer has argued that Santilli was simply documenting a developing story. Coan has described Santilli as an "entertainer'' or "new journalist'' who puts out "a lot of bravado'' and has been a "thorn'' to the federal government

On Monday, Coan urged Brown to consider his client's actions, not his words.

Coan said Santilli's conduct counters his "hyperbolic, inflammatory language'' from his broadcasts. He submitted two videos from the 2014 Bundy ranch standoff, describing Santilli as a "peacemaker'' who tried to calm an irate protester and urged others to "comply'' with federal orders.

He argued that Santilli has followed local, state and federal law enforcement orders - from the time he was pulled over during a traffic stop in Newtown, Ohio, on Dec. 15 when his lawyer said that for some reason Santilli was listed on the federal terror alert watch and found traveling with a firearm, to his Jan. 26 arrest in Burns.

Coan said Santilli never received notice that his "rallying calls were considered unlawful.'' To continue to hold Santilli would violate his due process rights, he said.

If convicted of the federal conspiracy charge, Santilli would at most face 12 to 15 months in prison because of only one prior misdemeanor conviction, Coan said.

Coan had sought the third review, arguing there was new information, including the recent removal of all of Santilli's firearms from the Ohio apartment he shares with his girlfriend, a recent FBI search of his rental car that found no firearms and his "exemplary'' conduct in custody so far.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight countered that there was no new information in the case, except the new Feb. 17 federal indictment returned against Santilli and others out of Nevada. The indictment indicates Santilli "engaged in a pattern of dangerous behavior marked by repeated refusals to acquiesce to the orders of federal law enforcement officers,'' Knight wrote in a court filing Monday.

"While the charges are simply allegations, they do belie defendant's characterization of his conduct at the Bundy Ranch and further undermine his repeated suggestion that he is being prosecuted for exercising his constitutionally protected First Amendment rights,'' Knight wrote.

Knight argued that the videos Coan submitted to the court from Santilli's broadcasts in 2014 didn't capture the "full scope'' of Santilli's activity there.

After Brown made her final ruling, Santilli grabbed hold of a legal accordion folder of papers and blew a kiss to his girlfriend and business partner Deborah Jordan before he was led back to custody.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian