Jury convicts 2 of conspiracy in Malheur standoff

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A jury on Friday convicted two men of conspiracy to impede federal officers during an armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Oregon.

The verdict Friday handed prosecutors a measure of redemption after they failed to convict Ammon and Ryan Bundy along with five other occupiers in a high-profile trial last fall involving the takeover of the remote bird sanctuary southeast of Portland.

In the current trial, Jason Patrick and Darryl Thorn were found guilty of conspiracy. However, defendants Duane Ehmer and Jake Ryan were found not guilty of conspiracy. Ehmer and Ryan were found guilty of deprivation of government property.

The men had faced the same primary charge as the Bundy defendants – conspiring to impede Interior Department employees from doing their jobs at the refuge during the 41-day standoff.