A U.S. judge has declared a mistrial in the case against a Nevada rancher accused of leading a 2014 armed standoff with federal agents in a cattle grazing dispute.
Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro dismissed the jury Wednesday and faulted prosecutors for what she called "constitutional due-process violations" and failing to properly turn over evidence to the defense.
The decision in the case against Cliven Bundy, two of his sons and another man is the latest in a string of failed prosecutions in Nevada and Oregon against those who have opposed federal control of vast swaths of land in the American West.
Bundy insists public land belongs to states, not the U.S. government, and refused to pay grazing fees for decades.
That led government agents to begin rounding up his cattle, which prompted the armed confrontation.