Bundys vs. #NoDAPL: Armed White Militia Leaders Walk Free as Native Americans Face Police Violence

A federal jury in Oregon on Thursday acquitted antigovernment militia leaders Ammon and Ryan Bundy, and five of their followers, of conspiracy and weapons charges related to their armed takeover of a federal wildlife refuge earlier this year. The stunning verdict shocked federal prosecutors, who called the 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge a lawless scheme to seize federal property by force. The occupation forced federal employees onto administrative leave, cost the federal government over $4 million and alarmed local residents. It also angered the Paiute Tribe, which has treaty rights to the land the militia occupied. The tribe says militia members mishandled tribal artifacts and bulldozed sacred sites. Militia leaders Ammon and Ryan Bundy still face federal charges related to an armed standoff in Nevada in 2014. Joining us to discuss the Bundy verdict in light of the ongoing protests in North Dakota are Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity; and Steve Russell, a retired judge and professor, and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. His latest piece for Indian Country Today Media Network is "Malheur v. DAPL: Jury Nullification or Prosecutor Overreach?"