Wildlife Refuge Occupiers Stand Trial

The trial against seven anti-government protesters who occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon for 41 days last year began this week. The occupation ended in a stand-off between the 26 occupiers and federal enforcement agents, and resulted in the death of one protester. Prosecutors in this conspiracy trial will try to prove that standoff leader Ryan Bundy and the others interfered with the work of federal employees. If convicted, each protester faces up to six years in prison. The judge presiding over the case, U.S. District Judge Anna Brown, will be managing more than a dozen attorneys representing or assisting the seven defendants, three of whom are representing themselves. Brown has said she expects the trial to take more than two months.