Sam Levin in San Francisco and Matthew Berger in Portland

Friday 29 January 2016

A federal judge ordered Ammon Bundy and other leaders of the armed militia in Oregon to remain behind bars without bail at a hearing in Portland.

By the Friday afternoon hearing, 11 people associated with the standoff at the Malheur national wildlife refuge in rural Harney County had been arrested and charged with federal felony offenses – and only four holdouts remained at the occupation of federal buildings.

In a packed courtroom hundreds of miles away from the wildlife refuge that rightwing protesters first seized on 2 January, prosecutors argued that the militia protesters were “flight risks” given their well-documented criminal activities and anti-government statements over the past month.

The hearing came days after police stopped Bundy and several others on a remote highway outside of the town of Burns, arresting five people and fatally shooting protest spokesman LaVoy Finicum. Six more people were subsequently arrested, including three who left the refuge voluntarily and turned themselves in to FBI officials at nearby checkpoints.

The suspects are all accused of impeding federal officers from discharging official duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats – facing a maximum sentence of six years in prison.

Ten of them – including Bundy and his brother, Ryan – appeared for a detention hearing to determine whether they would be released on bail.

During the lengthy hearing, US magistrate Stacie Beckerman ordered Ammon and Ryan Bundy, Ryan Payne, Dylan Anderson and Jason Patrick to remain in custody without bail.

SNIP