As Bundy trial begins, militia man Payne faces tough road to freedom

As he approached the jurors Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court, Assistant Federal Public Defender Ryan Norwood seemed thoroughly prepared to make his opening statement on behalf of client Ryan Payne.

It was just as clear Norwood had his work cut out for him.

Payne, a Montana resident, answered a call for help from Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy and his family in early April 2014. Whether that makes Payne a hero or a dupe largely depends on how you interpret the motives and facts of the case, but what’s not in question is the amount of trouble he finds himself in as his trial unfolds in U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro’s courtroom. Like his three co-defendants, if convicted he faces decades in prison.

As the leader of Operation Mutual Aid, a loose national network of militia groups, Payne encouraged like-minded people to bring their weapons to the Nevada desert to provide security for the Bundy family against the federal oppressors. It was clear even from lawyer Norwood’s opening remarks that his client didn’t spend a lot of time researching the grazing rights dustup between Cliven Bundy and the Bureau of Land Management before locking and loading his AR15.

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/as-bundy-trial-begins-militia-man-payne-faces-tough-road-to-freedom