Malheur II – Guilty Verdicts On Misdemeanor Charges
by Shari Dovale
When I sat in the courtroom and watched the Bench Trial that was ordered by Judge Anna Brown, the prosecution was completely unprepared. They had no opening statement, instead relying on a single ‘chart’ outlining who was charged with what. Even Judge Brown seemed shocked by AUSA Barrow’s seeming nonchalance.
It was made painfully clear that the prosecution of the Malheur Protesters for misdemeanor charges was an exercise in ‘going through the motions’. Judge Brown, in chastising Barrow for his lack of preparedness gave hope that she would actually look at the evidence and defense arguments and see how preposterous the charges were.
That was proven to be wishful thinking, as she handed down guilty verdicts for the four remaining defendants.
- Jason Patrick was convicted of trespass, tampering with vehicles and equipment and destruction of government property.
- Duane Ehmer was convicted of trespass and tampering with vehicles and equipment. Duane was found not guilty on one charge.
- Darryl Thorn was convicted of trespass and tampering with vehicles and equipment. Darryl was found not guilty on one charge.
- Jake Ryan was convicted of trespass and tampering with vehicles and equipment.
Their sentencing is tentatively set for May 10th.
To add insult to injury, Judge Brown berated Jason Patrick as to his nonconforming behavior. She cited examples of the day he was 10 minutes late. The train was confirmed late, and a juror was late for the same reason.
She also mentioned the day that the US Marshals would not allow him in the courthouse. The US Marshals decided to give him a hard time that day for not having his identification, which was confiscated from him when he was arrested. He had been coming into the courthouse every day of the first trial, every day of each hearing, and every day of the second trial, until that day. Judge Brown had to amend the rules on that day to issue all defendants special identification, so there would not be any further issues with the Marshals.
Patrick has never missed being at the courthouse when he was told, with these two exceptions. I can personally confirm this, as I saw him every day.
Brown continued to verbally thrash him, citing his behavior in court. However, they never mentioned that he was never charged with contempt for his behavior, therefore he must not have offended the court. She also mentioned his lack of a permanent home. Again, he never missed a court appearance, and his home is in Georgia.
She then weighed the choice of electronic monitoring or whether he should be placed into custody right there, on the spot.
Patrick made the decision for her and emptied his pockets on the defense table, removed his belt, took off his jacket and placed his hands out to be cuffed.
The US Marshals complied and booked him immediately after the hearing.
Patrick is now incarcerated in the Multnomah County jail until the sentencing hearing.
Duane Ehmer, also in the courtroom, was not taken into custody. Thorn and Ryan were represented by their attorneys.
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Jason’s defiant gesture deserves our respect and admiration. If he had agreed to wearing an ankle bracelet, he would have been making a deal with these oathbreaking scum. Instead, he threw down and said DO YOUR WORST ! BRAVO !