For Kenneth Medenbach, the government's federal conspiracy case against him and other defendants in the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge plays like a spaghetti western.

Prosecutors depict the FBI, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service staff and "the kind folks of Burns" as the "Forces of Good," Medenbach argues, while he, Ammon Bundy and the rest are the "Forces of Evil.''

"The Court cannot allow the government to turn this trial into a morality play,'' attorney Matthew Schindler wrote in a legal motion filed in federal court Wednesday. Medenbach is representing himself but Schindler was appointed as a so-called "hybrid counsel'' to help him with legal arguments and cross-examinations of witnesses at trial.

Medenbach and co-defendants contend in newly filed court papers that the refuge occupation was a protest protected by their First Amendment rights to free speech and free assembly and Second Amendment right to carry firearms for self-defense.

They're urging the court to limit evidence that the government can introduce at their Sept. 7 trial and want the trial to end by Halloween, not Christmas. Medenbach is one of eight defendants set for trial then.

So far, 10 of 26 defendants charged with conspiring to impede federal employees at the refuge through intimidation, threats or fear have accepted plea deals. Jon Ritzheimer is expected to enter a plea in the next week, bringing the number to 11. Seven others are set to go to trial in February.

Ammon Bundy and his brother Ryan Bundy on Wednesday each asked for extensions to file their last pretrial motions.

Ryan Bundy was placed in disciplinary segregation in jail on Wednesday, a day after "he was surprised to be pulled from his cell and ordered to submit to cuffing and transport,'' because he knew he wasn't scheduled to appear for any court hearing, his standby counsel Lisa Ludwig wrote in a motion Wednesday.

"He became upset and concerned that he was being transported for an unauthorized surgical removal of a metal fragment from his shoulder, and was taken to the ground by jail staff,'' Ludwig wrote. Ryan Bundy spent the remainder of Tuesday in U.S. Marshals' lockup, separated from his legal papers and unable to make any calls, according to Ludwig.

Ryan Bundy believes the metal fragment in his body may be connected to shots fired by FBI agents that they failed to disclose on Jan. 26 at a roadblock on a highway outside the refuge. The agents are under federal investigation.

Ammon Bundy's lawyer J. Philpot Morgan asked for two extra days to file his legal motions, noting that "several pretrial documents and materials'' related to legal defense work being coordinated with his brother "were confiscated and/or thrown in the trash by jail personnel.''

Prosecutors, who aren't opposed to the Bundy brothers' requests for an extension in the filing deadline of pretrial motions, laid out much of their case in a trial brief filed earlier this month.

They'll argue that the Second Amendment doesn't protect taking a gun onto a federal property and that the occupiers' possession of guns and their military-style patrols of the refuge perimeter were reasonably viewed as threatening. Employees stayed away from the federal bird sanctuary in fear as the occupiers appeared to "steadily fortify their hold on the property,'' the government's brief said.

Medenbach and his co-defendants don't want refuge workers to testify about their "subjective fears,'' contending that none of the employees for the Fish & Wildlife Service or U.S. Bureau of Land Management faced actual threats from the occupiers.

For every witness who says they feared the protesters, the defense will call two others who supported their actions and were more threatened by the heavy law enforcement presence, Medenbach's motion said.

"The only question before this jury is whether the defendants made an agreement to impede federal officers by force, threats, or intimidation. Whether or not there was a true threat (or an agreement to make a true threat) depends entirely on the subjective intention of the defendants, not the reaction of the listener,'' the motion said.

The defendants will argue that federal law enforcement officials told refuge employees not to go to work.

"It was the FBI that took over the airport and the school, not the defendants,'' Medenbach's motion said. "It was the FBI that told employees not to work and grossly exaggerated the danger these protesters represented based on false rumors.''

Medenbach characterized the U.S. Department of Interior's estimate of more than $6 million in costs from refuge destruction as "puffed up damages." He and his co-defendants will ask the court to bar the prosecution from entering hundreds of exhibits of guns and ammunition found at the refuge or with occupiers.

"It wants to stack one lawfully purchased and lawfully possessed firearm on top of another in the Courtroom, look over the top of the pile at the jury, and yell, 'Convict these men!' Whether these guns belonged to any of the defendants does not matter to it,'' Medenbach's brief said. "It wants to take protected political speech and substitute it for evidence.''

Attorney Thomas Coan, representing independent broadcaster Pete Santilli, wants the court to restrict prosecutors from entering into evidence some video and comments Santilli made. The material includes video of other defendants removing FBI pole cameras near the refuge on Jan. 15, alleged threats against counter-protesters and accusations that he published nearly 700 pages of stolen federal paperwork relating to local ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and son Steve Hammond.

According to an FBI report, when Santilli learned that a counter-protester, referred to as "KS,'' advocated a boycott of local merchants who did business with the occupiers, Santilli went to the Burns Safeway, called KS a Nazi and suggested Safeway should end her services.

Santilli believes that the Hammond legal papers were copied or scanned, not removed from the refuge. Regardless, he describes himself as a "passive recipient'' of the information and believes that prosecuting him for using the papers on his website would have a "chilling effect on the press.''

Co-defendant David Fry also seeks to exclude some statements by protesters about each other, some statements protesters made to the press, and a Jan. 22 recording of occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum saying he won't negotiate with the government or leave the refuge buildings.

Fry's lawyer, Per C. Olson, also said prosecutors shouldn't be allowed to discuss the April 2014 standoff at Bunkerville, Nevada, claiming it will create prejudice against defendants such as Fry who don't face federal indictment in the Nevada case.

The government contends the occupiers were inspired by the 2014 armed standoff in Nevada that blocked federal officers from impounding cattle belonging to Ammon Bundy's father, rancher Cliven Bundy.

Olson has alerted the court that he intends to present evidence to jurors surrounding the federal investigation into an alleged FBI shooting of Finicum's car on Jan. 26 and an FBI attempt to cover it up.

Co-defendant Neil Wampler wants the court to prevent prosecutors from telling jurors about his November emails to Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward.

In a Nov. 21, 2015 email, Wampler warned the sheriff of "our determination to protect the Hammonds is no bluff ... Hundreds of armed citizens -- including yours truly -- are prepped and waiting for the call.''

Wampler's attorney Lisa Maxfield aruged in a motion, "The November statements are not evidentiary admissions that are inconsistent with Mr. Wampler's plea of not guilty. Instead, the November statements are prior political expression whose only probative value is to show Mr. Wampler has a proclivity to brazenly challenge government authorities and an ongoing association with 'patriot' or 'liberty' causes.''

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian