The Cliven Bundy Case is Over

Federal conspiracy charges against Cliven Bundy, his two sons, and a family friend, have officially been dismissed “with prejudice.” That last part means there can be no retrial of this case, thanks to U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro, according to an NPR article.

As we reported last week, the Bundys have pretty much proven that the feds really were on a vendetta against their family, and the FBI even admitted as much.

In yesterday’s ruling, Judge Navarro credited government prosecutors with the case’s failure:

Navarro found that the prosecution had committed ‘flagrant misconduct’ by withholding evidence that could have supported the defendants’ case. Namely, Navarro explained that federal prosecutors had failed to disclose information from cameras recording video from the standoff and the presence of federal snipers around the Bundy Ranch.

Navarro ruled that as a result, the men, who had been slapped with felony conspiracy and firearms charges, could not receive a fair trial. She dismissed the charges “with prejudice,” which specifically bars the possibility of bringing a new trial against them.

‘The court finds that the universal sense of justice has been violated,’ Navarro said Monday, according to The Los Angeles Times.

It most certainly has.

For the Bundys… the moment marked a significant victory. They left the courthouse after the ruling bearing smiles and vows to continue fighting what they see as federal overreach.

‘I want to say this: We have rights,’ Ammon Bundy told reporters, with a Bible tucked in one armpit. ‘We’re not going to walk away from them and just let them be taken.’

This pleases me.

The government was clearly wrong in this case and exercised extreme measures against non-violent Americans. Probably the only reason it didn’t devolve into a Ruby Ridge or Waco bloodbath is that the Bundys made their case known publicly and fellow Americans volunteered to stand between armed government agents and the non-violent Bundy family, at which snipers’ rifles were aimed.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.