Energy

Bundy Trial Defendants Want Prosecutors To ‘Pay Dearly’ For Misconduct In Court

Reuters

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Tim Pearce Energy Reporter
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Two men charged and acquitted for their roles in the 2014 Bundy Ranch standoff are suing the federal government for damages from the “demonstrably false charges,” according to the men’s attorney.

Rick Lovelien and Steven Stewart were brought up on 10 charges including conspiracy and assault of a federal agent after they participated in a standoff with Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy against Bureau of Land Management (BLM) law enforcement officers. Lovelien and Stewart were acquitted of all charges and released from prison on Aug. 22, 2017.

The men are suing the federal prosecutors involved in the case, the BLM, FBI and various former and current officials including former FBI director James Comey. The plaintiffs are suing for $60 million in damages.

“The politically motived malicious prosecutions against my clients and resulting cover-up (which also includes Cliven Bundy and his sons) violated every norm of due process and equal justice,” Lovelien and Stewart’s attorney Larry Klayman said in a statement. “I am confident that the defendants will be made to pay dearly by the jury. This punishment will help deter government prosecutorial misconduct, which has now been sanctioned even by our current Attorney General.”

Lovelien and Stewart were found not guilty and released from prison after being held without bail since early 2016. Throughout their trial and the related trial against Bundy and his sons, federal prosecutors were found to have hidden evidence favorable to the defendants and testified about facts surrounding the standoff that evidence later proved false. (RELATED: Unsealed Court Docs Show How Prosecutors Tried To Rig Bundy Trial)

U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro dismissed, “with prejudice,” the case against Cliven Bundy and his sons in January.

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