David Fry, the last occupier to surrender at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, told a federal judge Monday that he stayed because he needed to film the encounter in the absence of other media and he feared going to jail.

"I was the last camera man,'' Fry said as he argued to be released pending trial in the conspiracy and weapons case. "I have nothing to hide. I didn't even come to the refuge with a gun. I came to document the whole event as a video person.''

Fry, 27, dressed in a standard blue jail smock, stood beside his lawyer and made an unusual personal plea to U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones. His remarks came after his attorney and his father urged the judge to reconsider a magistrate judge's ruling from a month earlier that he remain in custody.

Jones said he was concerned about Fry's mental instability and threats of suicide hours before his surrender Feb. 11 to FBI agents.

Fry responded that he threatened suicide because he feared that he'd be raped in jail after his arrest. He gave up only after the FBI assured him that wouldn't occur, he said. He sought to justify his threats by citing a biblical passage, referencing how people "jumped on their swords'' rather than face an army of uncircumcised men.

"I look at you as a vulnerable person,'' the judge told Fry. "We have to worry about your own safety. In the environment where you are, you're safe.''

Jones said he was concerned that Fry couldn't handle the stresses he might encounter outside jail and that Fry wouldn't be able to follow conditions of a release, as a federal prosecutor had argued.

"A lot of things about you are positive. By nature, you're a gentle person. You've shown great affection for animals, the environment and so forth,'' Jones said. "But when you get into a tight situation, you can act out.''

Fry drove to Oregon from suburban Cincinnati during the first week of the Jan. 2 takeover of the refuge. He live-streamed videos from the refuge, but his broadcasts were cut off in the last days of the 41-day occupation. Another Internet broadcaster ran live audio of the anxious hours leading up to Fry's arrest as thousands of people followed it in real time, listening to Fry's requests for pizza and marijuana and his talk about his wish to die rather than end up in prison.

Fry is now one of 27 people facing federal indictment stemming from the takeover. He's charged with federal conspiracy to impede federal officers from doing their work at the refuge, possession of a firearm at a federal facility and the use and carrying of a weapon in the course of a crime of violence.

Fry's lawyer, Per C. Olson, said Fry was lighthearted and calm before the police fatal shooting of occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum on Jan. 26, then was under incredible stress afterward and "very fearful of being apprehended in a violent way.''

Olson proposed that Fry's father monitor his son if released.

David Fry's father, William Fry Jr., of Blanchester, Ohio, came to U.S. District Court in Portland on Monday. He offered to help supervise his son if he were to be released from custody. "I came here to support my son. I was hoping for a more positive outcome.''

William Fry Jr., wearing a red-white-and-blue American flag tie, took the witness stand and said his son would work at his dental practice from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The elder Fry said he'd report any violations of his son's release.

He said he called a mental health worker to check on his son in 2009, which led to a five-day hospitalization of David Fry. He said his son hasn't been hospitalized since and hasn't been prescribed medication.

William Fry said neighbors and friends in their hometown of Blanchester, Ohio, "are all very concerned about what's going on here.''

The judge questioned the senior Fry about guns in his home and whether his son has shown interest in them. William Fry, who served in the Marines, said they're locked up in a combination safe, mostly double-barreled shotguns he's collected over the years.

"He's kind of aloof to it - hasn't shown much interest,'' William Fry said of his son and the firearms.

Federal agents found a shotgun and four other rifles in Fry's car after the occupation was over, prosecutors said.

Many of the guns didn't have a safety, so Fry moved them so no accidents would occur, Olson said.

At one point, David Fry told his lawyer that he wanted to speak for himself.

"I'm absolutely not a violent person. I don't like guns,'' Fry told the judge, adding that he removed ammunition from the guns that he found left behind by others at the refuge and placed the guns in his car so no one would get hurt.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight said Fry armed himself at the refuge with a gun and repeatedly disregarded federal agents' orders to leave the wildlife sanctuary.

Michele Guyton, a psychologist who evaluated David Fry at his attorney's request, told the court that she didn't believe Fry required any medication for any particular condition and only refused medication when he was hospitalized in 2009.

David Fry said his involuntary hospitalization and concern about his mental health are overblown. He said he wasn't doing anything wrong in 2009, and, "they came and snatched me away.'' He was just suffering from severe depression at the time, he said.

Jones said Fry's continued detention wasn't for punishment but to protect him. U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown, who is handling the Malheur refuge takeover case, intends to start trial right after Labor Day, Jones said.

"I'm going to keep you in custody until trial with extra protection,'' Jones said.

Fry objected, saying the judge failed to consider the context of his actions at the refuge. He argued that he's no longer suicidal.

"I only came out to protest. I have much concerns for society. I absolutely do not feel suicidal,'' Fry told Jones. He said he's committed to seeing the federal case through in court.

Forty-five minutes into the hearing while Fry was still talking, Jones stood and adjourned the hearing.

As deputy marshals moved in to place handcuffs around Fry's wrists, Fry continued to object, shaking his head, and saying "I don't feel safe here'' and referencing a rash or disease he said he feels like he's picking up in custody.

"Love you Dad,'' Fry uttered, before he was led out of court.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian