Malheur Refuge occupier sentenced to home detention

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A man who left the Tulalip Reservation in Washington state to participate in Ammon Bundy’s armed takeover of a national wildlife refuge has been sentenced to five months of home detention.

U.S. District Judge Anna Brown said Thursday that if Eric Flores stays out of trouble for three months, he can apply to be released from the final two months of detention. Flores was also sentenced to two years on probation.

Flores traveled to Oregon with seven firearms and performed guard duty during the January 2016 takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy before the autumn trial in which Bundy and six others were acquitted.

Flores apologized for missing a sentencing hearing last month. He explained that he’s been working long hours and wrote the date incorrectly. He declined to make a statement about the case.