Jake Ryan Rally This Weekend
Jake Ryan was the final protester taken into custody and arrested in connection to the Malheur Wildlife Protest in Burns this past winter.
Ryan has been ordered held until trial. The family has continued to support Jake, and his decision to determine for himself the issues surrounding the protest in Burns.
Jake’s family are endorsing a rally this weekend in Plains, MT to benefit Jake, and to increase awareness for the political prisoners being held in connection with the Malheur Protest, and that of Bunkerville, NV in 2014.
For those that would like to attend, and show their support, the events will kick off with a potluck on Saturday night at 6:30. The events continue the following day.
Of those that have publicly announced their support of the rally, included is Montana Governor Candidate Ted Dunlap.
“These people had the temerity to stand before unconstitutional, illegal, immoral taking of property by government for the benefit of the ruling elite. We need people like them. We need to encourage and support those who stand against tyranny.” ~ posted on Dunlap’s website.
He has included several fliers on his site, including one for this weekends rally, and a petition for the release of Jake Ryan, directed to Judge Ann Brown.
Sanders County Sheriff Tom Rummel has supported the request for Ryan’s release, and has come under fire for it. “The sheriff in Montana is a sheriff who is not entirely cooperative with federal law enforcement,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gabriel said.
Ryan has pleaded not guilty to a three-count indictment. He’s charged with federal conspiracy to impede officers at the federal wildlife refuge outside Burns, possession of a firearm or dangerous weapon in a federal facility and depredation of government property.
He’s accused of assisting co-defendant Sean Anderson in digging a large trench on an archaeological site at the refuge that the Burns Paiute Tribe are now claiming to be sacred.
Ryan had thought federal authorities had promised that those who left the refuge wouldn’t face arrest and so he was “understandably distrustful of the federal government” once he learned that he faced federal indictment, his lawyer said. “He was just plain scared.”
