Feds dismiss conspiracy case against Oregon standoff defendant Pete Santilli on eve of trial
Maxine Bernstein | The Oregonian/OregonLive
September 06, 2016 at 4:42 PM, updated September 07, 2016 at 7:35 AM

On the eve of his trial, federal prosecutors in Oregon have dropped the conspiracy indictment against Peter Santilli, a self-described independent broadcaster who was present during the 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County.

Santilli, 51, was the lone person of eight defendants set for trial this month who never stayed overnight at the federal wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon, and his attorney argued that much of the material he broadcast on his YouTube channel was protected speech under the First Amendment.

In a motion filed late Tuesday afternoon, federal prosecutors urged the court to dismiss the indictment, citing U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown's ruling last week that limited the evidence they could present against Santelli.

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http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standof...ncart_big-photo

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Feds Drops All Charges against Pete Santilli in Oregon Malheur Case
Tim Brown — September 7, 2016
For one, I'm very happy to discover the news that the charges against alternative media reporter Pete Santilli in the Oregon Malheur Wildlife Reserve case have been dropped.

KOIN reports:

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In a filing on Tuesday, US Attorney Billy J. Williams said prosecutors decided not to pursue charges against Santilli because of "this Court's pretrial evidentiary rulings excluding evidence against" him.

The charges were dismissed without prejudice, which means it is as though the action had never been filed.

"It's been our position since the beginning that Pete had innocent intentions here," Santilli's lawyer Tom Coan told KOIN 6 News. "He never encouraged anyone to go out and stay at the refuge."

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The Las Vegas Review and Journal adds:

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The dismissal came at the request of federal prosecutors in Portland who acknowledged in court papers that they no longer had enough evidence to pursue their case against conservative radio talk show host Pete Santilli. Prosecutors cited rulings that barred them from presenting some of their evidence.

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"Based upon this Court's pretrial evidentiary rulings excluding evidence against Santilli (ECF No. 1171), the government has decided that the interests of justice do not support further pursuit of these charges against Santilli," wrote US Attorney Billy J. Williams.

Awww, their evidence wasn't admitted? Poor babies. Perhaps, they should try acknowledging who is actually committing the crimes on land that, according the Constitution, belongs to the people of the State of Oregon.

However, this does not mean that Santilli is completely off the hook just yet. He is being transported to Nevada where he is facing trumped up charges from the 2014 Bundy Ranch siege in Bunkerville, Nevada.

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http://freedomoutpost.com/feds-drops-all...n-malheur-case/

Quote: PzLdr wrote in post #4

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"Dismissed without prejudice" means they can be filed again, not that they were never filed. "Dismissed in the interests of justice" usually means the charges are 'dismissed WITH prejudice [against the prosecuting authority] and cannot be refiled. Sloppy reporting.

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