A Feb. 6 trial date is set for Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and 18 others charged in the 2014 standoff with law enforcement near Bunkerville.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Leen set the date despite opposition from defendants, who opposed continuing the trial until next year, arguing it would harm their constitutional rights to a speedy resolution of the case,
the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Bundy is accused of leading a group of more than 200 armed followers to stop federal agents who were rounding up about 400 of Bundy's cattle on federal lands. He is accused of allowing his cattle to graze on public lands for more than 20 years while refusing to pay grazing fees and ignoring court orders to remove them.
Bundy and others could face life in prison if they are convicted of felony charges, including conspiracy, obstruction, extortion and assault on law enforcement officers.
Prosecutors must turn over most of their evidence by May 6, and the judge ordered them to meet with defense attorneys about a possible protective order to keep key government evidence in the case secret, the Review-Journal said, adding that it would oppose any attempt to withhold evidence from the public.
Attorneys said the amount of video evidence in the Nevada case is equal to about 3,000 full-length Hollywood movies,
The Associated Press reported. It includes hundreds of thousands of Facebook postings, investigators' reports, photos, and media accounts of the gunpoint showdown.
Bundy was arrested in February in Oregon, along with his sons Ryan and Ammon, who face charges related to the recent occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. During the nearly six-week Oregon standoff, a group of men demanded that public lands be turned over to local citizens. A federal trial in that case is set for September.
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