A federal judge Thursday allowed for the pretrial release of two more defendants facing federal conspiracy charges in the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones released Jake Ryan, 27, to his parents in Plains, Montana, after questioning Ryan’s father under oath.
In a separate hearing, the judge ordered defendant Travis Cox, 21, released to his mother in central Oregon.
Both face a host of conditions, including curfews and travel restrictions. With the two orders, 15 of the 26 defendants charged with conspiracy have won pretrial release. The others remain in custody, including one who has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.
The indictments stem from the 41-day takeover of the wildlife refuge outside Burns in eastern Oregon. Leader Ammon Bundy and his supporters have said they occupied the refuge to protest federal management of public land.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight argued against Ryan’s release, citing his months as a fugitive before he was arrested April 5 hiding in a shed in rural Clark County with a loaded .45-caliber handgun and several knives.
“The fact that he was a fugitive in this case is unique and shows he’s a flight risk,” Knight told the court.
Ryan’s court-appointed defense lawyer, Jesse Merrithew, said Ryan ran because he believed the FBI had broken its promises to him – that he wouldn’t be arrested once he left the refuge and that he could have his property back from the refuge.
“The decision to run was not a smart one, but it was also not a violent one,” Merrithew wrote in a motion for release. “He was a scared young man with no experience in the criminal justice system, television ideas of what jail is like and no trust left for the system.”
Ryan spent about two weeks at the refuge and stayed through Jan. 27, a day after the arrest of Bundy and other leaders of the takeover. He told the FBI that he went to the refuge to find out what Bundy and others were teaching about the U.S. Constitution.
A video shot by co-defendant David Fry shows Ryan operating an excavator at the refuge on Jan. 27. That night, an FBI negotiator made contact with the holdouts at the refuge through Fry’s cellphone. The FBI connected Ryan to his brother, Newman Ryan, who convinced Jake Ryan to leave.
Merrithew pointed out that Ryan left the refuge, yet four others remained for more than two weeks, rebuffing attempts to surrender until Feb. 11. Three of the last four holdouts have been released pending trial, he noted.
Ryan’s parents, Daniel and Roxsanna, attended their son’s court hearing. The judge asked the father to take the witness stand and answer a series of questions:
“What guarantee do I have that you won’t try to influence him to act in another unlawful protest?” Jones asked.
Daniel Ryan said he believes the United States is the greatest country in the world and that he strongly supports the Constitution but believes it limits the power of the government. Jake Ryan is one of his 11 children who has been home-schooled, he said.
“Do you also teach him to obey the law?” the judge asked.
Daniel Ryan said he and his wife were “trying to arrange a meeting” between their son and federal officers when Jake Ryan took off. The gun found with his son probably came from their home, he said.
Of the refuge occupation, Daniel Ryan said, “To our knowledge this was a peaceful protest where no one was threatened at any time.”
“Except for people marching around with weapons, AK-47s,” Jones replied.
“I don’t know of any marching,” the father responded.
The judge said he’d release Jake Ryan but told his father that he must report to the court if his son violates any of the conditions of his release.
The father agreed to keep his guns locked up and away from his son. Jake Ryan must find a job working for someone other than his father, have no contact with any militias and not participate in other protests pending trial.
“Can he keep his mouth shut between now and then?” the judge asked.
His father said his son would.
Turning to the defendant, the judge warned, “If you mess up between now and September, you’re just shooting yourself in the foot.”
Jones took a moment to say that he was flabbergasted that another defendant on pretrial release just got in trouble at a presidential candidate’s rally.
Jones didn’t mention the man by name, but he was referring to Darryl Thorn, who was removed by security from a Donald Trump rally at the Spokane Convention Center on May 7.
It’s not clear what prompted his removal, but a YouTube video shows two security guards carrying him out of the rally. Later, Thorn was interviewed and said he attended the rally to “bring awareness to my brothers who are incarcerated” in Oregon or Nevada.
In a separate hearing Thursday, Jones released Cox, 21, to his mother’s home in central Oregon. He’s expected to return to a former employer, working at a pizza restaurant chain. Cox was arrested April 11 in Cedar City, Utah, after he turned himself in on a warrant to the Iron County Sheriff’s Office.
Two of the 11 Oregon standoff defendants who remain in custody — Joseph O’Shaughnessy and Pete Santilli — had been granted pretrial release in Oregon but later requested it be revoked so they could remain in custody here, after they had failed to secure release from federal custody in Nevada.
O’Shaughnessy and Santilli are among a handful of Oregon defendants also facing indictments in Nevada in the 2014 standoff between federal authorities and supporters of rancher Cliven Bundy. Ammon Bundy is Cliven Bundy’s son.
