A federal jury in Las Vegas refused Tuesday to convict four defendants who were retried on accusations that they threatened and assaulted federal agents by wielding assault weapons in a 2014 confrontation to stop a cattle roundup near the Nevada ranch of states' rights figure Cliven Bundy.
In a stunning setback to federal prosecutors planning to try the Bundy family patriarch and two adult sons later this year, the jury acquitted Ricky Lovelien and Steven Stewart of all 10 charges, and delivered not-guilty findings on most charges against Scott Drexler and Eric Parker.
AirTalk examines the case put forward by federal prosecutors, and the legal implications of the verdict.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Severin Carlson, partner at Kaempfer Crowell; his practice focuses on water rights and land use in Nevada
Andrew Kim, a visiting scholar at South Texas College of Law Houston where he focuses on criminal law, he is also a commercial litigator at Beck | Redden, a law firm in Houston, Texas