Prevent Jury from Hearing about Malheur Damage, Defense Argues
Two antigovernment activists accused of digging trenches and bulldozing a road during a takeover of an Oregon wildlife refuge want to prevent a jury from hearing how much it cost to repair the damage at the archaeological site.
Jake Ryan, of Plains, Mont., and Duane Ehmer, of Irrigon, Ore., are charged with depredation of government property at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Ore.
The bulldozing occurred after the takeover of the refuge in January 2016 by antigovernment leader Ammon Bundy and other extremists.
After the 41-day takeover ended, the FBI hired an expert to determine whether the damage violated the Archaeological Resources Protection Act.
Ryan and Ehmer weren’t charged under that federal law, apparently because prosecutors believed they would have difficulty proving the men knew the site had archaeological significance.
The expert determined it would cost $108,172 to restore the trenches and the excavated road by spreading new topsoil road and replanting native plants seeds and sagebrush, the Oregonian reported this week.
The repair cost included field work to determine if any archaeological artifacts or human remains of American Indians were damaged, consultation with the Burns Paiute Tribe, preparation for a “cleansing and healing'” ceremony held by the tribe at the site and cleaning and replacing the excavated soil, the Portland newspaper reported.
Prosecutors say the costs and the steps taken to repair the archaeological site are relevant to support the criminal depredation charge. To be convicted, prosecutors don’t have to prove the defendants knew the site had archaeological significance, only that they engaged in unlawful conduct.
But defense attorneys for Ryan and Ehmer say such testimony would be irrelevant and prejudicial, and they want trial judge Anna Brown to block its introduction at trial.
Last October, a federal jury in Portland found Ammon Bundy, his brother Ryan Bundy and five other defendants not guilty of charges associated with conspiring to occupy the Malheur refuge and preventing federal employees from working there.
The remaining defendants, including Ryan and Ehmer and five others, are scheduled to stand trial Feb. 14 in U.S. District Court in Portland.
The other defendants are Jason Patrick of Bonaire, Ga; Dylan Anderson of Provo, Utah; Sean Anderson and his wife, Sandra Lynn Anderson, of Riggins, Idaho, and Darryl W. Thorn, of Marysville, Wash.
