Jake Ryan, one of the youngest defendants prosecuted in the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016, might have gotten probation for digging two trenches on sacred Native American ground at the bird sanctuary.

He had no past criminal record, not even a traffic citation. He had tremendous support in his hometown of Plains, Montana. He had no violations while he was out of jail awaiting his fate.

But all those factors that may have helped reduce his sentence went out the window Wednesday as Ryan went before U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown, suddenly demanding to represent himself.

He recited a prepared sovereign citizen script three times. It was reminiscent of fellow occupier Ryan Bundy's past filings and remarks in court.

Ryan dismissed the United States as a "foreign entity'' and said he'd like to "live the rest of my life in peace and move on.''

"I'm su juris. I'm a man capable of handling my own affairs'' who refuses to recognize a "fictitious entity created by the government,'' he read from his handwritten notes on a white-lined paper. "I'm not a person. I'm a living soul. I'm a man. ... I do not wish to have an attorney assume my identity.''

The judge dismissed Ryan's remarks as "legal jibberish'' and "legal nonsense,'' denying his request to represent himself. She allowed his defense lawyer Jesse Merrithew to argue on his behalf while also letting Ryan speak.

"I'm terribly concerned that he's been influenced by misguided advice,'' Brown said.

Ryan balked. "Then you are removing me from standing on my own two feet,'' he said.

The judge told Ryan he could say what he wanted, but directed him to sit down while the hearing proceeded.

Ryan, who turns 29 on Saturday, spent about two weeks at the refuge and was convicted of using a government excavator to dig two trenches near the end of the occupation and later ducking an arrest warrant. He was arrested on April 5, 2016, found hiding in a shed in rural Clark County with a loaded .45-caliber handgun and several knives.

A jury found Ryan guilty of depredation of government property, a felony, and the judge found him guilty of trespass and tampering with government vehicles and equipment, two misdemeanors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight urged a year-and-a-half prison sentence for Ryan. He noted that Ryan came with multiple guns to the refuge, his presence at the refuge was prolonged and his digging of the trenches wasn't a single impulsive act. He also went into hiding to avoid arrest, the prosecutor noted.

The government doesn't dispute Ryan's positive role in his Montana community, but that only suggests "he should have known better,'' Knight said.

Ryan dug the trenches on what prosecutors called a "sensitive cultural site'' that holds significant meaning to Burns Paiute tribal members. Video evidence showed Ryan using an excavator to scoop out dirt on Jan. 27, 2016, the morning after the occupation leaders were arrested and police fatally shot occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum. The government has assessed the damage at $146,659.

Diane Lorraine Teeman of the Burns Paiute Tribe told the court that Ryan's first trench was in the vicinity of a known tribal burial ground. Watching the digging live was traumatic and led to thoughts that "maybe some of our people (were) dug up and there was nothing we could do about it,'' she said.

The area was desecrated with human excrement and tampons, she said. The tribe reburied hundreds of artifacts to counter the "disrespect that had been shown the area,'' she said.

Ryan's lawyer sought probation, arguing that his client offered but was never given a chance to plead to misdemeanor charges, although more culpable refuge occupiers got that opportunity.

"Dozens of people had greater roles than he did who were never even charged in this case,'' Merrithew wrote to the court. Were it not for Ryan's digging of the trenches, federal authorities never would have known Ryan was at the refuge, he argued.

The 50 days Ryan spent in jail awaiting trial was sufficient punishment for a young man who never spent any time behind bars before, Merrithew said.

"The reason that Mr. Ryan sits here is the result of a poor decision in his life,'' Merrithew said. "He is being punished and has been punished throughout this case. Putting him in prison is not going to add materially to the punishment he's received.''

Ryan arrived two weeks into the refuge takeover on Jan. 16, 2016, joining his father and two brothers on a trip from Montana to Harney County, with the intent of delivering community-donated supplies. Jake Ryan decided to stay, attracted to "feelings of camaraderie" and a purpose he found at the refuge.

In an interview with the FBI in February 2016 in Montana, Ryan said he traveled to the refuge to support the cause and learn more about it. He told agents that he supported occupation leader Ammon Bundy, who believed the refuge belonged to the people and not the federal government.

Merrithew previously argued that Ryan dodged the arrest warrant because he believed the FBI had broken its promises to him -- that he wouldn't face arrest once he left the refuge and that he could have his property back.

When Ryan got up to speak, he turned to address Teeman, the Burns Paiute tribal member sitting in the back of the courtroom. He said he has loved the rich history of tribes since he was a child, and that he had no intent to harm the tribe.

"If I would have known that was an actual burial site, I wouldn't have done it," he said. He said he dug the trenches for self-defense because armed officers surrounded him and other remaining occupiers.

Ryan demanded that his convictions be dismissed and that the court award him compensation for "false charges."

"I am unjustly kidnapped and incarcerated," he said. "I believe United States Attorney Billy Williams brought false charges on behalf of a false friend, the United States.''

Documents: Ryan's court filings

Brown said she was troubled that Ryan would "demean the laws of the United States'' at his sentencing and "put forth the salacious and ridiculous assertions he's making.''

The judge said Ryan "undermined'' his lawyer's arguments and said that his remarks to the Burns Paiute Tribe may have started as a genuine apology "but it certainly didn't end there.''

"It's a sad situation that Mr. Ryan has put himself in and to his own detriment,'' Brown said.

She sentenced him to one year and one day in prison, less than prosecutors had requested.

The shorter sentence means he'll likely serve less time with credit for good behavior and the 50 days he already spent in jail. She ordered federal marshals to take him into immediate custody because of his stated views that he didn't recognize the court's jurisdiction or laws.

Ryan's mother, who had helped organize a meeting in Montana last weekend that drew Cliven Bundy and Ryan Bundy as speakers, held her head in her hands as her son emptied his back pockets of several dollars in cash and some markers as he stood at the defense table. He then turned and followed a deputy marshal from the courtroom. He didn't look back.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian