LAS VEGAS (AP) — Witness testimony is beginning in Las Vegas for six defendants accused of taking up arms to stop a federal roundup of cattle near Nevada cattleman Cliven Bundy’s ranch in April 2014.
A U.S. District Court jury that heard opening statements Thursday returns to court Monday to begin hearing evidence.
A prosecutor last week described the defendants as lawbreaking gunmen who answered Bundy’s call to prevent federal Bureau of Land Management agents from seizing his cattle in a decades-long dispute over grazing rules and unpaid fees.
Defense attorneys portrayed the men as law-abiding citizens spurred by reports of scuffles between federal agents and Bundy family members to protest government heavy-handedness.
Cliven Bundy, two sons and two other accused leaders of the conspiracy are due for trial after the first trial concludes.
[image via screengrab, CNN]
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