Standoff leader Ammon Bundy back in Oregon jail

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Ammon Bundy, the leader of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge takeover, is back in Oregon.

KATU-TV reports (https://goo.gl/yJKNCW ) that Bundy was transferred from custody in Las Vegas, where he’s been held on charges from a different standoff with government agents, to the Multnomah County Jail on Friday night.

He’s expected to be called as a defense witness in the second trial stemming from the refuge occupation. Bundy was acquitted along with five others in the first trial last year.

Fellow occupier Ryan Payne is also in Portland and is expected to testify next week.

Federal prosecutors are close to resting their case against the four defendants. Like the defendants in the first trial, the four face a primary charge of conspiracy to impede Interior Department employees from doing their jobs at the refuge through the use of force, threats or intimidation.