LAS VEGAS (AP) — Opening statements are done and testimony begins Monday for six defendants accused of conspiracy and illegally wielding weapons to block a federal roundup of states' rights advocate Cliven Bundy's cows in April 2014.
A prosecutor on Thursday showed photos of each of the six with a rifle, and cast them as having answered Bundy's call to "do whatever it takes" to prevent federal agents from confiscating his cattle.
Defense attorneys told the jury that no one planned an armed standoff with federal Bureau of Land Management agents.
Defendant Todd Engel, serving as his own lawyer, said sure, he had a gun.
But that's legal, he said, and he didn't threaten anyone.
No shots were fired, but the incident reverberated across the West amid an ongoing debate over federal management of vast tracts of public land.