Carol Bundy called it a "miracle" that her sons were acquitted of federal charges after taking over a wildlife refuge in southern Oregon earlier this year.
But a reporter who covered the takeover told KNPR's State of Nevada that federal prosecutors didn't seem to take the case seriously. John Sepulvado, who was reporting for Oregon Public Radio, said prosecutors even tried to subpoena him four days before the trial's end.
He said they wanted him to testify on their behalf. In addition, Sepulvado said, they hinted that if he didn't testify, the lawyers felt they might lose the case.
Sepulvado refused to testify.
"I'm just floored," he said Friday about the verdict.
Carol Bundy, meanwhile, said she fell to her knees and praised God for what she called "a miracle."
Ammon and Ryan Bundy remain in jail and are expected to be extradited to Nevada to face charges related to the 2014 armed standoff at Bundy Ranch.
Employees from the federal Bureau of Land Management had arrived on the Bundy property to take the family's cattle, because Cliven Bundy had not paid federal grazing fees for years.
That led to an armed standoff between federal authorities and dozens of self-described militiamen from around the country.
Carol Bundy, Ryan and Ammon Bundy mother; John Sepulvado, reporter, KQED
