File - In this Dec. 20, 2017, file photo from left, Ammon Bundy, Ryan Payne, Jeanette Finicum, widow of Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, Ryan Bundy, Angela Bundy, wife of Ryan Bundy and Jamie Bundy, daughter of Ryan Bundy, walk out of a federal courthouse in Las Vegas. A U.S. judge who declared a mistrial could on Monday, Jan. 8, 2018, kill the much-watched criminal prosecution of a Nevada rancher accused of leading an armed uprising against federal authorities in April 2014. Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro's decision in Las Vegas is sure to echo among states' rights advocates in Western states where the federal government controls vast expanses that some people want to remain unused and others want open to grazing, mining and oil and gas drilling.
File - In this Dec. 20, 2017, file photo from left, Ammon Bundy, Ryan Payne, Jeanette Finicum, widow of Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, Ryan Bundy, Angela Bundy, wife of Ryan Bundy and Jamie Bundy, daughter of Ryan Bundy, walk out of a federal courthouse in Las Vegas. A U.S. judge who declared a mistrial could on Monday, Jan. 8, 2018, kill the much-watched criminal prosecution of a Nevada rancher accused of leading an armed uprising against federal authorities in April 2014. Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro's decision in Las Vegas is sure to echo among states' rights advocates in Western states where the federal government controls vast expanses that some people want to remain unused and others want open to grazing, mining and oil and gas drilling. John Locher, File AP Photo
File - In this Dec. 20, 2017, file photo from left, Ammon Bundy, Ryan Payne, Jeanette Finicum, widow of Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, Ryan Bundy, Angela Bundy, wife of Ryan Bundy and Jamie Bundy, daughter of Ryan Bundy, walk out of a federal courthouse in Las Vegas. A U.S. judge who declared a mistrial could on Monday, Jan. 8, 2018, kill the much-watched criminal prosecution of a Nevada rancher accused of leading an armed uprising against federal authorities in April 2014. Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro's decision in Las Vegas is sure to echo among states' rights advocates in Western states where the federal government controls vast expanses that some people want to remain unused and others want open to grazing, mining and oil and gas drilling. John Locher, File AP Photo

National Politics

Dismissal ruling due in Las Vegas in ranching standoff case

By KEN RITTER Associated Press

January 08, 2018 11:02 AM

UPDATED 2 MINUTES AGO

LAS VEGAS

A decision is due in Las Vegas whether to end the criminal prosecution of a Nevada rancher and followers accused of leading an armed uprising against federal authorities.

Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro's ruling on Monday comes after she declared a mistrial last month in proceedings against 71-year-old Cliven Bundy, sons Ryan and Ammon Bundy, and Montana militia leader Ryan Payne.

The judge signaled at that time that she might dismiss the case outright.

Navarro severely criticized prosecutors for what she called "willful" violations of due process rights of defendants, including failing to properly turn over evidence to their lawyers.

Her decision is sure to reverberate among states' rights advocates in the Western U.S., where the federal government controls vast lands that some people want to protect and others want used for grazing, mining and oil and gas drilling.