Bundy associate sentenced for Bunkerville conspiracy
Things could have ended much worse.
That鈥檚 how beleaguered federal prosecutors now sum up the tense, armed 2014 standoff at Bunkerville, Nevada, between federal agents and the family and supporters of rogue antigovernment rancher Cliven Bundy.
The government鈥檚 assessment came in a just-filed sentencing recommendation for Peter T. Santilli Jr., a self-styled conservative internet talk show host who became a central 鈥淭ier 1鈥� defendant in the Bunkerville prosecution, along with Bundy鈥檚 sons Ryan and Ammon Bundy and their associate Ryan Payne.
Santilli was among 19 defendants indicted聽for various crimes related to the 鈥渕assive armed assault against federal law enforcement officers鈥� that occurred聽near the Bundy Ranch at Bunkerville in April 2014.
Charges against the three Bundys and Payne were dismissed earlier this year by U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro, who ruled that prosecutors had botched the criminal case by failing to turn over certain government documents to defense attorneys.
Santilli also was among defendants, including Ammon and Ryan Bundy, who were indicted for their roles in the 2016 illegal 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.
But federal prosecutors in Oregon chose to drop the charges against Santilli on the eve of his trial in September 2016.
Then last October, just before the trial of co-defendants Cliven Bundy and the others was to begin, Santilli pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas to a federal charge of conspiring to impede and interfere with federal agents at the Bunkerville standoff.
As part of his plea agreement, federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss 22 other federal charges lodged against Santilli in a February 2016 superseding indictment related to the events two years earlier at Bunkerville.
After pleading guilty, Santilli was released from jail on bond and, presumably, could have been called as a witness at the trial of his Bundy ranch associates.
His attorney argued in court filing that Santilli was merely using audio and video equipment at Bunkerville and 鈥渉is actions blocked the pathway of government vehicles exiting the area,鈥� leading to his guilty plea.
At a sentencing hearing on Tuesday, Judge Navarro said Santilli鈥檚 actions at the antigovernment standoff were 鈥渞eckless,鈥� but she followed the recommendation in the plea agreement and sentenced him to the 21 months in prison he has already served and two years of supervised release.
Santilli, who lives in Cincinnati, chose not to address the court. But outside the courthouse, the 52-year-old felon told the , 鈥淚鈥檓 really glad to just put this chapter behind me and move forward.鈥�
His attorney argued in a court filing that Santilli merely was using audio and video equipment at Bunkerville and 鈥渉is actions blocked the pathway of government vehicles exiting the area,鈥� leading to his guilty plea.
Federal prosecutors agreed to stand by their year-old plea bargain with Santilli, and not recommend any additional jail time.
鈥淏ut the government disagrees with the defendant鈥檚 watered-down version of his involvement in the offense,鈥� Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel R. Schiess said in a sentencing memorandum.
Santilli鈥檚 鈥渄iluted version omits that he intentionally used force to help the Bundys interfere with the BLM cattle impoundment,鈥� the federal prosecutor wrote.
While posing as a radio journalist at the standoff, Santilli 鈥減ermitted Bundy followers to violently surround and confront鈥� federal Bureau of Land Management agents, the federal prosecutor said.
At one point, Santilli鈥檚 brief blockade allowed another Bundy supporter to pick up a large rock he apparently intended to throw at the federal agents.
The court document says a 鈥渃ool-headed officer 鈥� grabbed the person鈥檚 cocked arm and hand holding the rock. Things could have ended much worse.鈥�
