Judge: Two in Malheur standoff violated release conditions

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A judge is taking action against two Eastern Oregon refuge occupiers after Facebook photos showed they violated their release conditions by visiting the Bundy ranch in Nevada without permission.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports U.S. District Judge Anna Brown has moved up Jon Ritzheimer’s date to surrender to prison from Feb. 15 to Jan. 12.

She also forbade Ritzheimer from having contact with any defendant from either the Oregon or Nevada standoff cases.

Brown ordered Ryan Payne to return to home detention in Las Vegas, where a federal trial took place in a 2014 Nevada armed standoff.

The two men have pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy in the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon in 2016.

The photos of them at the ranch were discovered by a federal pretrial services officer who notified Brown.

___

Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com