Judge rejects government bid to reopen activist rancher case (Cliven Bundy and supporters)

A judge's decision not to let federal prosecutors reopen the criminal case against Cliven Bundy, his sons and supporters in a 2014 armed standoff with government agents could amount to the final act in the case, a lawyer for the Nevada rancher and states' rights activist said Friday.

"It's the final nail in the coffin, and completely expected," attorney Bret Whipple said of the ruling in the criminal case that was filed in 2016 against 19 defendants and collapsed last December in a mistrial due to "flagrant misconduct" by prosecutors.

Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro said again in a filing Tuesday that prosecutors "willfully" failed to disclose to defense lawyers evidence that government agents provoked the Bundy family into calling supporters to their defense by acts "such as the insertion and positioning of snipers and cameras surveilling the Bundy home."

Navarro said she found no reason to reconsider her dismissal of charges in January against Bundy, sons Ryan and Ammon Bundy and Montana militia leader Ryan Payne.

Read more: https://lasvegassun.com/news/2018/jul/06/judge-rejects-government-bid-to-reopen-activist-ra/