EUGENE, Ore. -- Attorneys for Ammon Bundy, the leader of the armed militia group near Burns who was arrested Tuesday, spoke to KEZI 9 News in an exclusive phone interview, following Bundy's first day in court Wednesday.
KEZI 9 News Anchor Jennifer Richardson interviewed Mike Arnold and Lissa Casey of Arnold Law in Eugene Thursday morning:
Jennifer: "You met with Ammon, and he released a statement. What can you tell us about this statement?"
Mike Arnold: "It's important for folks to know, particularly at the refuge, that Ammon believes that everything that can be done there has been done. Now, it's time for a new forum in this citizen protest, and that's through the federal court system. People at the refuge need to remember that as a criminal defendant, there are certain rights to the discovery process. We will be able to subpoena records that the federal government has. We will be able to conduct a discovery, file motions to compel. We now have the powers of legal process. This case isn't about the First, Second and Tenth Amendments. It's now about the Fifth Amendment and due process. Lots of power to the citizen protesters comes from that amendment."
Jennifer: “Mike, you are an attorney here in Eugene. This is a very high profile case being watched very closely across the country. Why did you want to take on this, along with your firm?”
Lissa Casey: “You know, we're interested in the constitution. We're interested in individual liberties. We're interested in disputes between citizens and the government. And this case has gone on to a national debate about federal government interacting with citizens in the form of land management. But I think that it’s going to be an even larger debate. And we wanted to help.”
Jennifer: "I have in front of me here a 32-page complaint that was filed by the FBI and law enforcement. So, 32 pages that seems like a lot of evidence against these occupiers. Without giving away too much obviously, what kind of defense are you going to make for these men and women?"
Mike Arnold: "We can't discuss strategies and tactics at this point but what we can say is we will receive full discovery. There has been a lot of talk online from citizen protesters about what happened with LaVoy when he was killed, and we will know those answers soon. There will be videos. Of course, the FBI and the Oregon State Police, of course, they didn't go on this raid without in-car video and without body cameras, of course they did. We will get to see exactly what happened and we will get some answers about this process."
Jennifer: "You provided me this morning with an exclusive look this morning at a fund--the Ammon Defense Fund. Is this something that is normal in these cases that you would solicit funds for a defense?"
Mike Arnold: "I think it is becoming more normal, Crowdfunding is kind of the new process for citizen activism and citizen protest, so this is something from the Funded Justice website. There used to be another website available--for instance, the GoFundMe sites. They no longer do funding for litigation, so this is for citizen activists, so this is a good way for folks. And, hopefully, we will get enough bail raised so he can go home and start working and raise money for his defense."
Jennifer: "We understand that they will be in court tomorrow, Friday. Where do we go from here?
Lissa Casey: "Tomorrow the judge will determine whether Mr. Bundy and the others can be released while the case is pending, and that will be at 1:30 [p.m.], and then the next court appearance after that will be a preliminary hearing, which will be set for next week."
Original article published January 28, 2016 here: http://www.kezi.com/news/366852171.html
For more information please click here to donate to Ammon Bundy's legal fees or visit www.FundedJustice.com
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