Nevada judge won’t let Cliven Bundy represent himself

(Update: Federal judge won’t let Cliven Bundy represent self)

LAS VEGAS (AP) – Nevada cattleman and state’s rights figure Cliven Bundy still has a lawyer representing him for his upcoming trial stemming from a 2014 armed standoff with federal agents.
 
Defense attorney Bret Whipple said Wednesday a U.S. magistrate judge refused to allow Bundy to represent himself, because Bundy won’t recognize federal authority over rangeland at the center of his grazing dispute with the government.
 
Jury selection is due to start Oct. 10 in U.S. District Court for Bundy, two sons and four other men – including two defendants whose retrial ended last month with acquittal on most charges.
 
Those two defendants still face assault on a federal officer and weapon counts.
 
Bundy, sons Ryan and Ammon Bundy, and two other defendants are accused of leading a conspiracy to enlist a self-styled militia members to prevent federal agents from removing Bundy cattle from what is now Gold Butte National Monument.

Bundy’s eldest son, Ryan, has been representing himself in the case.