Rancher who clashed with Washington is freed

LOS ANGELES: Cliven Bundy, leader of a group of armed protesters who led a 2014 confrontation with federal authorities over cattle-grazing fees, was released Monday after a judge declared a mistrial.

His attorney Bret Whipple said Bundy walked free at 11.00am after the prosecution had withheld evidence that might have helped the defendants.

Bundy and four others, including his sons Ryan and Ammon Bundy, were charged with six federal offenses for their confrontation with federal agents in 2014 in Nevada.

Judge Gloria Navarro had declared a mistrial in the case, held in Las Vegas, in December.

Bundy's dispute with authorities had been festering for 20 years before the confrontation.

The government demanded that he pay a million dollars for having illegally used federal land for cattle grazing, which was rejected by the rancher, who claimed that his family had owned that land since the end of the 19th century.

He became an icon for the anti-government rightwing after engaging in an armed standoff with government agents who attempted to confiscate his cattle.

Bundy was also arrested in February 2016 for helping his sons carry out a 41-day siege that once again put the spotlight on a long-running dispute over millions of acres of western public land.

The Oregon takeover ended with the dramatic surrender of four holdouts, including one who threatened to commit suicide in a phone call with mediators that was streamed live.

The question of land rights has been a thorny issue for decades in western US states, where the federal government owns most of the land.

Many conservative politicians and ranchers like the Bundys argue that the land has been mismanaged and should be handed over to states or turned into private property. — AFP