PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — One of the most high-profile members of an armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon this year says he came to help a local ranching family, not to break the law.
Ryan Bundy, the brother of group leader Ammon Bundy, is acting as his own attorney. He told the court in opening statements Tuesday that he and others went to Burns, Oregon, to protest against the imprisonment of two Oregon ranchers convicted of setting fires.
Ryan Bundy and other defendants face a charge of conspiring to impede U.S. government workers by taking over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The group's members have said they were protesting federal land use policy and wanted locals to control the area.
Ryan Bundy said he is "in favor of government as long as it's done correctly."