Portland jury acquits FBI agent of lying about firing shots

(Update: Adding Sheriff Nelson comment)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A federal jury in Portland on Friday found an FBI agent not guilty of lying about firing shots at a militia leader who participated in the armed takeover of an Oregon wildlife refuge.

W. Joseph Astarita was charged with making false statements and obstruction of justice after telling investigators he did not fire two shots that missed Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, a key figure in the group that seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016 while protesting the imprisonment of ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond.

Oregon State Police fatally shot Finicum seconds later.

Astarita denied firing the shots.

Federal prosecutors had argued that Astarita was a rookie on the elite Hostage Rescue Team who panicked as Finicum came close to running over his teammate at a police roadblock.

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News release from U.S. Attorney’s Office:

A federal jury today acquitted W. Joseph Astarita, a member of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) based in Quantico, Virginia, on charges of making false statements and obstruction of justice.

“We thank the jury for their dedicated service and for giving full consideration to an important case. We strongly believe this case needed to be brought before the court and decided by a jury,” said Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. “Our system of justice relies on the absolute integrity of law enforcement officials at all levels of government.”

“The OIG respects the jury’s verdict. We will continue to investigate allegations of misconduct by Department of Justice employees to ensure the integrity of our law enforcement components,” said Michael E. Horowitz, U.S. Department of Justice Inspector General. “We also would like to thank the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and the Major Incident Team for their assistance with this investigation.”

Astarita was one of a number of FBI agents assigned to the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and was present during the shooting of Robert LaVoy Finicum on January 26, 2016, in Harney County, Oregon.

Astarita was accused of knowingly and willfully making false statements to FBI Supervisory Special Agents. Specifically, Astarita told his supervisors he had not fired his weapon during the attempted arrest of Finnicum.

A federal grand jury charged Astarita with three counts of making false statements in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001 and two counts of obstruction of justice in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1521(b)(3) on June 20, 2017. One count each of making false statements and obstruction of justice were dismissed pre-trial.

The verdicts concludes a three-week trial during which jurors heard testimony from FBI agents, state and local law enforcement officers, forensic scientists and ballistics experts.

The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General investigated this case in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon. The case was prosecuted by Gary Y. Sussman and Paul T. Maloney, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.

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Statement from Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson:

“I absolutely trust the criminal justice process and a jury of his peers has spoken. This decision today does not change or affect any of my prior statements or beliefs. The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) did our jobs to investigate this thoroughly.

“I want to thank the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office investigators, the Major Incident Team, the Inspector General Michael Horowitz at the Department of Justice, the OIG investigators, and District of Oregon United States Attorney Billy Williams and his prosecutors who worked on this case.

“I support and trust Inspector General Michael Horowitz as he reviews this case administratively to identify any areas of improvement that will identify mistakes made by the FBI Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) in this case and increase transparency for federal law enforcement.

“There is one thing I am sure of and that is no one from the Oregon State Police fired those two shots.”