PORTLAND, Ore. - A federal court jury on Wednesday acquitted anti-government militant leader Ammon Bundy and six followers of conspiracy charges stemming from their role in the armed takeover of a U.S. wildlife center in Oregon earlier this year. The Portland jury acquitted Bundy, his brother Ryan Bundy and five others of conspiring to impede federal workers from their jobs at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, 300 miles southeast of Portland. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Supporters of the defendants celebrated outside the courthouse on Thursday

Drama erupted in the courtroom after Ammon Bundy's defence lawyer Marcus Mumford shouted at the judge, demanding the immediate release of his client. The verdict came hours after a newly reconstituted jury, with an alternate seated to replace one panelist dismissed over questions of bias on Wednesday, renewed deliberations in the case. While many of Bundy's 26 co-defendants pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to impede federal officers from performing their duties - a charge that has been used to prosecute extremist left-wingers and Earth First protesters - six others remained steadfast over their innocence. The defendants also were unanimously acquitted of illegal possession of firearms in a federal facility and of theft of government property, except in the case of Ryan Bundy, for whom jurors deadlocked on the charge of theft. That is why we are here.”

A total of 26 people were charged in connection with the occupation, with 11 pleading guilty, and others, including Washington resident Darryl Thorn, facing trial next year. Bundy - the son of scofflaw Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who led his own standoff with federal agents in 2014 on his Bunkerville, Nevada, ranch - served as a cowboy-hatted spokesman and leader to a group of "Patriots" who saw their takeover as an act of peaceful, political protest.
Seven members of the militia who occupied the wildlife refuge, including the leader Ammon Bundy, was acquitted of all federal charges related to the takeover.