Nevada Grand Jury Indicts Cliven Bundy, Four Others for Their Roles in Bunkerville 2014 Armed Standoff

The indictments in Nevada are against the elder Bundy, his sons Ammon Bundy and Ryan Bundy, Ryan Payne and Peter Santilli.

Each are charged with 16 felonies: conspiring to commit an offense against the United States; conspiring to impede or injure a federal officer; four counts of carrying a firearm in a crime of violence, two counts of assault on a federal officer; two counts of threatening a federal law enforcement officer, three counts of obstructing justice, two counts of interfering with interstate commerce by extortion and interstate travel in aid of extortion.

The indictment also includes five counts of criminal forfeiture against each defendant. That means if Cliven Bundy and his sons are convicted, they will face forfeiture of property obtained from the proceeds of their crimes, totaling at least $3 million, including Bundy's cattle that roam free year-around at th Bunkerville Allotment and Lake Mead National Recreational Area in Nevada.

The defendants also face forfeiture of firearms and ammunition used in the April 12, 2014, standoff with federal authorities.

The charges in Nevada are separate from the criminal charges that Ammon Bundy, Ryan Bundy and 21 other defendants face in the District of Oregon related to the 41-day takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. 

Cliven Bundy is not charged in relation to that takeover. He was arrested Feb. 10 at the Portland International Airport after getting off a flight from Las Vegas to Portland, Ore., where he allegedly planned to join four remaining occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns. Bundy’s arrest was based on a criminal complaint related to  the April 2014 standoff at his ranch.

It is not clear whether federal prosecutors in Oregon will proceed first with the Malheur-related case, or defer to their counterparts in Nevada to prosecute the case involving the 2014 standoff.