Jon Ritzheimer, accused of being one of the first to occupy the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in January, will be able to return to Arizona under GPS monitoring, a curfew and home detention, a judge ordered Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones said he was worried about Ritzheimer's mental state, noting reports that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from two tours in Iraq during his 11 years of Marine Corps service. But Jones said he would follow the recommendation of pretrial services.

"We're going to have a really tight leash on you. I mean really tight,'' Jones told Ritzheimer. "I will have zero tolerance on any violation ... you touch another weapon and you're history.''

Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Barrow called Ritzheimer one of the leaders of the armed takeover of the federal wildlife refuge. Ritzheimer was one of the first men to enter the federal bird sanctuary outside Burns on Jan. 2 and go through the refuge buildings while carrying a military-style assault rifle, Barrow said.

"We believe he played a primary role in the armed defense of the compound,'' Barrow told the court.

Ritzheimer, 32, has pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with federal conspiracy to impede officers working at the federal wildlife sanctuary, possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in a federal facility, using and carrying a firearm and theft of government property. He's one of 26 defendants in the case.

Ritzheimer left the refuge on Jan. 24 to return home, two days before the Bundy brothers and other co-defendants were arrested on their way to a community meeting in John Day. On Jan. 26, Ritzheimer surrendered to the FBI in Arizona.

According to federal prosecutors, Ritzheimer arrived in Burns after first traveling to Seattle in December to support a man named Schuyler Barbeau, who is charged in federal court there with possessing a machine gun.

Ritzheimer also has declared his intent "to take the law into his own hands'' elsewhere, making statements on social media that he and others were planning to arrest a Michigan senator who voted in support of the Iran nuclear deal, according to a government motion. He also held a series of anti-Islam demonstrations in Phoenix in 2015.

"He responds to events that he disagrees with by calling for an armed uprising,'' Barrow wrote in a court filing.

Defense attorney Terri Wood countered that her client had a distinguished military career and rose to staff sergeant in the Marines. She called him a family man committed to his wife and two young daughters, ages 3 and 5, and someone who is passionate about his beliefs but nonviolent. He has no prior arrests or convictions, she said.

Ritzheimer's activities in Seattle were peaceful, Wood said. He had discussed his plans with the FBI before a peaceful rally, she wrote in a supporting motion. She also argued that Ritzheimer wasn't the "mastermind'' of the anti-Islam protest in Phoenix in 2015 and he was expressing his First Amendment right to free speech.

"In contrast with the recent rallies of one presidential candidate who according to news reports has fueled supporters' feelings of 'righteous rage against a corrupt political and economic system,' Mr. Ritzheimer's past protests have not led to violence,'' Wood wrote.

Quoting from a co-defendant's interview with law enforcement, Ritzheimer worked as a "gopher'' at the Malheur refuge by picking up mail and taking meals to the men, Wood's motion said. He also served in personal security details, escorting the Bundys to press conferences and meetings, the motion said.

The unidentified co-defendant also described Ritzheimer as "level-headed,'' except in one instance when he opened a package sent to the refuge that was filled with sex toys, according to Wood.

While the judge said he found Ritzheimer's military service commendable, he belittled his actions at the Malheur refuge and his intentions regarding the Michigan senator.

Standing guard at the Malheur command post, wearing battle gear, "is not commendable in any sense,'' Jones told him.

"The really wacko thing that you did was going out to arrest a U.S. senator. Where's that come from?'' Jones asked.

The judge continued, "You're out there swinging at the windmills, so to speak. What do you think about your family? What do you think about your wife and two children?''

Ritzheimer, standing beside his lawyer and wearing standard blue jail scrubs, replied, "I love them dearly your honor.'' He said he just feels sometimes the need to speak up and express his opinion.

"I see things going in the wrong direction,'' Ritzheimer told the court with his wife and mother sitting in the courtroom behind him. "I generally fear for my children's future.''

Wood said Ritzheimer never did travel to Michigan but had hoped an indictment would have led to the arrest of the Michigan senator for her support of the Iranian nuclear arms deal.

In a letter submitted to the court, Ritzheimer's mother wrote that his family had pleaded with Ritzheimer "to come to his senses and come home,'' after he had missed Christmas with his wife and children.

The judge inquired how many firearms Ritzheimer owned and questioned his mental state and reports of a disability.

Ritzheimer said he owns six firearms, including two handguns and an AR-15-style rifle and a shotgun, but said they've all been removed from his Arizona home and locked away in a friend's safe.

According to Ritzheimer and his lawyer, he receives disability benefits for combat-related post traumatic stress disorder and back injuries. Ritzheimer said he's 90 percent disabled and was deemed to be "temporarily unemployable.'' He said he had trouble working at a Harley-Davidson motorcycle shop because he suffers from nightmares and flashbacks.

He said it's easier for him to work from home as a motorcycle technician.

The judge ordered Ritzheimer's release pending trial with a host of conditions, including that he remain at his Arizona home with restrictions on travel, not use any alcohol, marijuana or narcotic except one prescribed by a certified doctor and be subject to urine tests.

When Ritzheimer was arrested in Arizona in January, a judge there noted an urinalysis test showed marijuana in his system. Ritzheimer's lawyer said her client, at the time of his arrest, held a valid medical marijuana card and was using the drug as an alternative to prescribed drugs from a Veterans Affairs clinic.

Jones made it clear he doesn't want Ritzheimer touching marijuana. "You cannot use any marijuana in any form, no, none,'' the judge told him.

He also ordered Ritzheimer not to have any contact with his co-defendants and prohibited Ritzheimer from speaking publicly about the case to anyone beyond his lawyer.

In a related development, co-defendant Pete Santilli has agreed to be transported to Nevada, where a judge there will review his order of detention stemming from a separate indictment accusing him of conspiring in the 2014 standoff with federal officers outside the Bundy Ranch in Nevada.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian