Robert Anglen

The Arizona Republic

Opening statements in the first trial against Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and 16 others accused of taking up arms against federal agents will begin Thursday in Las Vegas.

The Bundy trials mark one of the West’s most high-profile land-use cases, which erupted in the 2014 Battle of Bunkerville, when armed ranchers and militia members mounted a six-day standoff in the Nevada community against Bureau of Land Management officials.

Jury selection started Monday for six defendants from Arizona, Idaho and Oklahoma, who say they went to the standoff to protest a BLM roundup of Bundy’s cattle on federal lands and to protect protesters from federal law enforcement officers. Their trial is one of three that will be held in the case.

Federal prosecutors and a judge in the case designated the six as the “least culpable,” but all 17 defendants face identical charges and could spend the rest of their lives in prison if convicted.

“This is a crazy case,” said Las Vegas attorney Shawn Perez, who is representing Oklahoma defendant Richard Lovelien. “They are supposed to be less culpable but all the counts are the same.”

Perez said his client did not threaten anyone, draw his weapon or engage law enforcement officers.

“Richard Lovelien’s position is, ‘I don’t even know why I’m here,’ ” Perez said, adding that his client didn’t meet any of the Bundy brothers until after they were arrested and transported to Nevada last year. “He wasn’t there for a fight ... He didn’t go there to help some rancher get his cattle back from the government.”

Defendants say they are victims of government overreach. They argue they were exercising their Constitutional rights to protest peacefully and have accused federal agents of ratcheting up tensions and escalating the potential for violence.

The 17 defendants are charged with conspiracy, assault on a federal officer, using a firearm in a crime of violence, obstruction of justice, interference of commerce by extortion and aiding and abetting a crime. Two others who were charged pleaded guilty last year.

Federal prosecutors in court documents describe the defendants as members of an anti-government force that sought to stop the lawful roundup of Bundy’s cattle with guns, threats and intimidation.

“By the morning of April 12, hundreds of people, including gunmen armed with assault rifles and other firearms had traveled to Bunkerville, becoming Bundy’s followers,” prosecutors wrote in an indictment. “Bundy organized his gunman and other followers and ordered them to get the cattle.”

Bundy’s fight with the federal government dates back to the early 1990s, when he refused to pay the BLM for allowing his cattle to graze on public lands near his ranch about 80 miles north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15.

The BLM, which obtained court orders to seize Bundy’s cattle as payment for more than $1 million in back grazing fees, abandoned the roundup without a single shot being fired.

No arrests were made until last year, when Cliven Bundy’s sons, Ammon and Ryan Bundy, led the siege of a remote Oregon wildlife refuge, also in protest of BLM policies. An Oregon federal jury acquitted Ammon, Ryan and five others in October.

The 17 defendants in the Nevada case will be tried in three separate groups 30 days apart. The second trial will include Cliven, Ammon and Ryan Bundy and two others. The third includes two Bundy relatives and four others.

Lawyers for Cliven Bundy and other defendants called for a dismissal of charges last week following federal investigation that called into question the conduct of a key government witness.

A Jan. 30 report by the Department of Interior’s Office of the Inspector General accused the BLM agent in charge of operations during the standoff of misconduct and ethics violations that occurred in 2015 at the annual Burning Man event in Northern Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.

Although the report does name the agent, lawyers for defendants say there enough e details in the report to identify the agent as Dan Love, the BLM special agent in charge of Utah and Nevada between 2012 and 2015.

Federal investigators said the agent wrongly used his influence to obtain benefits for himself and his family members at Burning Man, abused federal law-enforcement resources and intimidated other BLM staff to keep quiet about his conduct. They also accused the agent of manipulating BLM hiring practices to help a friend get hired.

Las Vegas attorney Bret Whipple, who represents Cliven Bundy, said the government has fought hard to limit the trial to events that occurred during the siege.

But defendants have long argued that Love is responsible for the escalating the standoff. They say his actions were hyper aggressive and made them fear for their safety. They argue Love has a long history of clashes with law enforcement officials and ranchers in Utah.

Whipple said Love turned a peaceful protest against the BLM into a near shoot out.

“Most people up there were for the most part very peaceful,” Whipple said.

Lawyers for the Federal Public Defender’s Office accused prosecutors of withholding evidence about Love’s wrongdoing, including the investigative report.

“The entirety of the government’s case is predicated upon the defendants’ alleged interactions with BLM officers,” the lawyers said in a motion to dismiss the case.

The lawyers, who represent defendant Ryan Payne, said the government’s case hinges on Love’s testimony and prosecutors are constitutionally required to turn over information federal investigators “received from witnesses attesting to Love’s threats, dishonesty, lack of candor, malfeasance and misconduct.”

Outside the federal courthouse on Tuesday, less than a dozen protestors waved flags in support of the Bundy defendants. Inside a courtroom, prosecutors and defense attorneys questioned potential jurors about their feelings on gun rights, protests and the Constitution, according to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

A jury was seated Tuesday afternoon.

Lovelien is being tried with Gregory Burleson, of Arizona, and O. Scott Drexler, Todd Engel, Eric Parker and Steven Stewart of Idaho.

Perez said Lovelien and other defendants in the first tier of trials were arrested mostly because they were unlucky enough to be identified.

“There were 400 people out there and at least 60 people had guns,” he said. “But only (19) were arrested.”

Perez said much of the government’s case relies on photographs from the standoff and social media posts in which defendants talked about their “win” over federal agents.

But Perez contends the government has very little evidence against Lovelien. Of more than two terabytes of evidence, “I can guarantee you that that there isn’t even a third of a gigabyte on my client,” Perez said.

Perez said Lovelien belongs to a group called the Montana Defense Force, which has been characterized as a militia group.

Perez said Lovelien has in the past sought to protect anti-federal government protestors. He said Lovelien got to the standoff on April 10 and left three days later. He said Lovelien positioned himself on a bridge but not as part of any tactical position.

“He was keeping people off the bridge so they wouldn’t get run over,” Perez said.