A federal judge Wednesday ordered Nevada cattleman Cliven Bundy, his son Ammon Bundy and co-defendant Ryan Payne be released to house arrest as their federal conspiracy trial is underway in Las Vegas.

But the senior Bundy said he wouldn't accept the release conditions and objected to being let out of custody while other co-defendants in the Bunkerville standoff case still remain behind bars, according to his lawyer Bret Whipple.

"Cliven Bundy is a man of principle and the conditions of his release violated his principles,'' Whipple said. "His position is he never did anything wrong so he felt accepting the conditions of his release would be acknowledging wrongdoing.''

The sudden reversal by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro came at the end of the day, following a sealed court hearing Wednesday morning in which the judge and lawyers from both sides addressed multiple pending defense motions seeking dismissal of the case due to alleged delays or alleged withholding of discovery evidence by the federal government of information that could help in the defendants' case.

"Judge Navarro reevaluated the weight of the evidence and found her concerns were mitigated,'' said Daniel Hill, one of Ammon Bundy's lawyers.

Ammon Bundy is expected to be released between 8 and 9 a.m. Thursday, said attorney J. Morgan Philpot, Ammon Bundy's Utah lawyer. He will stay at a friend's or relative's home in the north Las Vegas area, and won't be allowed to leave Clark County without approval from a pretrial services officer, Philpot said.

Navarro told lawyers she planned to send to Oregon's U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown her proposed conditions for Payne's release before Payne could be released from custody, according to defense lawyers. That's because Payne has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the 2016 armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and awaits sentencing in the Oregon case.

On Wednesday, Navarro ordered Cliven Bundy, son Ammon Bundy and Payne to be released to a third-party custodian, who pretrial service officers have to vet before releasing the defendants. They're expected to be placed under house arrest with electronic monitoring. If Cliven Bundy, 71, doesn't sign a form that he accepts the release conditions, he likely will remain in custody, Whipple said.

Whipple said he's never had a client before object to a judge's release order. "He said I'd prefer to be detained,'' Whipple said. "He's the boss, and I accept his position.''

Ammon Bundy didn't expect a release decision Wednesday, "but we were pleasantly surprised,'' Philpot said.

Cliven Bundy, his two sons and Payne face federal conspiracy, assault and extortion charges, accused of amassing armed supporters to thwart federal rangers and contractors from carrying out court orders to round up Bundy cattle illegally grazing on public land near Bunkerville. A jury trial began Nov. 14 and is expected to last four months.

In the days leading up to the trial, defense lawyers learned for the first time of federal officers on surveillance outside the Bundy Ranch, a camera overlooking the ranch providing live-feed footage to the cattle impound command center and federal threat assessments made of the Bundys prior to the April 2014 standoff.

The defendants have been in custody for almost two years since their arrests in Oregon.

Authorities arrested Cliven Bundy on Feb. 10, 2016, as he got off a plane in Portland to visit his sons. Two weeks earlier, Ammon and Ryan Bundy and Payne had been arrested in the 2016 armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon. Even though Ammon Bundy and Ryan Bundy were acquitted at trial in federal court in Portland last year, they were then transferred to custody in Nevada to face the federal charges in the 2014 Bunkerville standoff. Payne pleaded guilty in the Oregon conspiracy case and was then transferred to Nevada to face the federal indictment there.

Cliven Bundy's son Ryan Bundy, who is representing himself, was released on the eve of trial, Nov. 13. Trial testimony is scheduled to resume Dec. 11.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian