Ryan Bundy, in jail since a standoff in Oregon at a national wildlife refuge, planned to escape using a rope made from bedsheets, federal prosecutors told a judge who is considering whether to release him with his brother before their trial for conspiracy and weapons charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoff Barrow said deputies found torn sheets braided together in a 12- to 15-foot rope under the mattress in Bundy's cell in April,
CBS News reported, and the escape revelation came during a court hearing on Monday.
Ryan Bundy and Ammon Bundy were asking on Monday to be released from jail to prepare for their Sept. 7 trial. They were arrested Jan. 26 after a 41-day armed takeover of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Ryan Bundy said the accusation of an escape attempt was "self-serving speculation" and "simply not true," CBS News said. Rather, Bundy said, he was just practicing braiding.
“We have actual evidence that he tried to escape,” Barrow told the court, according to
Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Jail staff also found containers of food, extra pillowcases, a chair, extra clothes, more torn sheets, and towels, he said.
U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones was expected to issue a ruling Tuesday on whether to release the two men ahead of their trial.
In line with their stance that the federal government has no authority over public land, the Bundys occupied the refuge in an attempt to return the property to the people,
The Oregonian reported. They claim "adverse possession" on the part of the government, saying they don't believe the federal government has constitutional control of the land.
"We didn't think we'd have to be shot at, and even killed and put away for six months to make this argument,'' Ammon Bundy said in court on Monday. He accused the government of using excessive force and called the charges against him "frivolous."
"We're bringing these legitimate issues to hand,'' Ammon Bundy continued. "We should not be tucked away in a dark cell while we try to answer these issues.''
FBI agents seized about 50 firearms, more than 6,000 rounds of live ammunition, and more than 1,000 rounds of spent shell casings at the site.
"There's no question in my mind this was an armed occupation under the leadership of these two defendants, among others,'' the judge said, according to The Oregonian.
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