Defendant in #OregonStandoff and Bundy Ranch Will Stay in Jail for Now

While a judge had ruled that Pete Santilli could be released if he met certain conditions while awaiting on trial for his alleged part in the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, a new indictment will keep him behind bars.

For now, anyway.

Pete Santilli is also charged with taking taking part in the armed confrontation in Bunkerville, Nevada along with Ammon Bundy and several of his co-defendants in the Oregon case.

For Santilli to be released, he would have to get a judge in Nevada to also agree.

That hearing is not likely to happen anytime soon.

Court filings in the anticipation of Fridays hearing had painted two very different pictures of Santilli.

Is he "lawless and violent" as the government claims or "a peaceful, law-abiding person who has a deep love for this country and the constitution" as his lawyer argues.

That will be at the heart of arguments Friday when he once again tries to get out of jail while he awaits trial.

Santilli, who gained notoriety during the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in January, has been arguing that he is an internet journalist who has done nothing more than exercise his right to free speech.

The government, on the other hand, refers to him as "a key player in the build-up, organization and execution of an unprecedented, massive armed assault against federal law enforcement officers."

He is charged not only in connection with the Malheur takeover but the standoff in Bunkerville, Nevada with Cliven Bundy and several of his co-defendants in Oregon.

Federal Judge has said that Santilli can be released with conditions in the Oregon case.

The government is trying to change her mind and that will be the subject of the hearing Friday afternoon in Portland.

The portraits painted of Santilli could not be more different.

The government describes him as having "knowingly joined a criminal conspiracy to threaten and use force and violence" who worked to recruit gunment both to the Bundy Ranch in Nevada and the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.

Santilli's lawyer, on the other hand, says he is "a boisterous, right wing, libertarian, shock-jock, talk-show host and independent news reporter who has been highly critical of the FBI and the BLM."

Prosecutors, however, say he is not a journalist, saying "there is no evidence that Santilli independently reports on current events (and) most of his show's content simply features Santali and his opinions about how the world works.

"In this vein, he routinely interviews other like-minded individuals and will use his broadcast to deride anyone whose opinion differs from his own."

This part of the dispute has led the ACLU in Oregon to express some support for Santilli.

"There is no doubt that when Pate Santilli gets in front of the camera he is politically polarizing and, to many, downright offensive," the legal director of ACLU of Oregon, Mat dos Santos, said in a statement.

"But does he pose a real threat?"

dos Santos points out that Santilli's lawyer "highlighted his nonviolent record and presented videos of his compliance with law enforcement during the occupation" as well as "a note from the Harney County Sheriff thanking him for going on-air to request that his media followers cease all threats.

"Situations like this - where words alone are used to label a speaker so dangerous or somehow threatening as to warrant the deprivation of his liberty - demand the highest caution. Where there is any question, we should err on the side of the speaker."

The government, in court filings, spend page after page quoting Santali calling for militia to come out and speaking threateningly of law enforcement officers and prosecutors.

They quote him referring to the assistant United States Attorney who prosecuted the Hammonds, Oregon ranchers whose conviction was one of the sparks of the refuge takeover, as a "treasonous bastard working for the enemy which is the United States."

And, in another case, they quote him as saying:

"The federal government must get out of the State of Nevada. We want it done peacefully, but if they don’t want it to be peaceful it is by their choice. I’m calling on all Americans in the vicinity of Clark County, Nevada. If you’re in Nevada and can legally carry, get weapons out there. We are going to stand and fight in Clark County, Nevada. They will leave or else."

In an effort to undermine Santilli's credibility, they also take issue with his "claims that he is a disabled veterans and former executive with Coca-Cola who, according to him, became a whistleblower after discovering an inside wage skimming scheme.

"None of these claims, however, is corroborated by any evidence."

In court papers, however, Santilli's lawyer includes evidence of both.

"A simple Google search would have produced a copy of the lawsuit and several articles written about that action," his lawyer writes.

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