DeLemus Sentenced to Over 7 Years for Bunkerville
by Shari Dovale
Gerald DeLemus traveled from his home in Rochester, New Hampshire to Bunkerville, Nevada in April 2014, arriving after the standoff in the wash was over.
The BLM left, Cliven Bundy got his cattle, and DeLemus had to hear about it from others.
He stayed behind for about a month providing security for the Bundy family, in case the BLM agents returned.
He had answered a call for Patriots to help protect people, not a call to incite violence. Yet, he was arrested for his actions and pressured to make a plea agreement in the case.
It has been widely reported on the tactics used by the government to coerce DeLemus into the plea agreement. Citing threats to his family and children, DeLemus agreed to serve 72 months for his participation in the protest.
Several months ago, DeLemus attempted to change his plea and requested to go to trial. He waited months for a response from Judge Gloria Navarro. Her denial of a hearing finally arrived and his sentencing came today.
Because of the attempt to change his plea, Navarro took that to mean he altered the agreement and sentenced him to a longer time in prison.
Navarro sentenced DeLemus to a total of 87 months incarceration. She did not set large fines, stating that she understands he cannot pay them, $100.00 for each of the two charges.
However, she was merciless when she spoke to him. “You have been blinded,” she said, John Lamb tells us, “You never tried to tell Mr. Bundy to just pay up.”
It is also noted that she derided the defendant for spanking his children when they were young. The defense attorney attempted to point out that several of DeLemus’ children, in fact, support their father. “I have no evidence of that,” was her reply.
Lamb tells us that Navarro went so far as to include in his sentencing requirements that he is banned from seeing his grandchildren. This is for the duration of his incarceration and parole.
It does leave this writer to wonder just what the Judge was actually sentencing him for? Was it his plea agreement, his support of the US Constitution, or was it his conservative views on child-rearing?
Navarro was certainly sending a message to the remaining defendants. She showed how she could go above and beyond her scope by using the harshest punishments available to her.
The message is clear: Do Not Disagree With This Government!