The wife of Oregon refuge occupier Jon Ritzheimer is using an online auction site to sell a firearm her husband brought to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, hoping to use the proceeds to cover restitution he and other co-defendants owe for damage to the wildlife sanctuary.

The UnitedGunGroup.com site lists "Jon Ritzheimer's Oregon Refuge Standoff Sig P238'' as a gun Ritzheimer wore during the armed takeover of the federal bird refuge in early 2016.

It is the same website used briefly a year ago by George Zimmerman, who tried to turn a profit on the gun he used to kill Florida teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012. Zimmerman, 32, part of a neighborhood watch, was found not guilty in the February 2012 killing of the unarmed 17-year-old African American after saying he acted in self-defense.

The Sig handgun was one of only two firearms not confiscated by the FBI from Ritzheimer, who carried it "while watching the back of Robert LaVoy Finicum during many press conferences,'' the website says.

The gun has been mounted inside a clear collector's case, with a signed copy of the U.S. Constitution and a notarized "certificate of authenticity." It has Finicum's ranch brand laser etched on its top and side, the site says. Finicum was the occupation spokesman who was killed by police after he sped off from a police stop on Jan. 26, 2016, swerved into a snowbank at a police roadblock and emerged from his truck. Police said he was shot when he reached at least twice into his jacket, where he had a loaded handgun.

Ritzheimer was sentenced last week to a year and a day in prison plus another 12 months in a residential re-entry center after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to impede federal employees from carrying out their work at the refuge through intimidation, threats or force. Ritzheimer, convicted of a felony, can't possess or use any firearms.

The sale of the gun would help pay off "all the restitution'' for everyone convicted in the refuge occupation, with any money left over to go to Finicum's family, the site says. The total amount is $98,000 among 15 defendants. Ritzheimer's share is $10,000.

Each person convicted must disclose all assets to the government in a financial disclosure statement 14 days from their sentencing dates.

As part of the negotiated agreements for many of the defendants, the government reserves the right to pursue civil actions "for any profit or enrichment of a defendant'' arising out of the case.

The auction began Sunday and lists the gun's price as $2,100. It seeks bids of $2,200 or up to $12,100 or presents a buy-it-now price of $200,000. As of Monday night, one bid had been placed by the site's owner.

UnitedGunGroup owner Todd Underwood posted a comment on the site Sunday that read, "Lets make this go viral." He issued the first bid Monday morning for $2,100.

During the first of two trials stemming from the refuge takeover, prosecutors presented a dramatic display of the firearms seized from the refuge after the 41-day occupation of the bird sanctuary, including 22 long guns and 12 handguns. In court papers, the government has sought the civil forfeiture of 50 guns and huge caches of ammunition that federal agents either seized from the refuge or from defendants' cars and homes.

Occupation leaders Ammon Bundy and his brother Ryan Bundy and five others were acquitted at trial in October 2016. A second trial this year resulted in mixed verdicts against four others, with two defendants convicted of conspiracy, two convicted of depredation of government property and all four convicted of additional misdemeanor charges including trespass. Eleven others pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy, and four others pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges.

Ritzheimer, 34, left his family in Arizona in December 2015 and traveled to Harney County. He appeared on video in Marine Corps camouflage, holding an AR-15 rifle, and sought to recruit other "patriots" and "militiamen" to join him to "take a stand." A military veteran who served in Iraq, he also was in the first convoy of cars that arrived at the refuge on Jan. 2, 2016.

The group was armed and cleared each building before blocking the front gate and positioning armed guards in the watchtower and entrances. Ritzheimer had a military-style AR-15 during the initial takeover and described himself as "triggerman," according to prosecutors.

Although Ritzheimer told U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown at his sentencing last week that he was "extremely sorry for this entire mess,'' he sent out a statement to supporters later saying he's "going to wear this conviction as a badge of honor.''

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian