Oregon Standoff Latest: Feds Drop Charges Against Defendant on Eve of Trial

With the trial against eight defendants connected to the 41-day armed takeover of the Malheur National Wlidlife Refuge set to begin Wednesday, it turns out now it will only be seven defendants. Charges have been dropped against Pete Santilli.

Judge Anna Brown approved a prosecution request to drop the charges against the internet radio host from Cincinnati. Last week she issued a ruling limiting the evidence that prosecutors would be able to present against Santilli.

Santilli, who maintains that he never spent a night at the refuge, choosing instead to stay at a motel in town, broadcast many hours from the refuge during the takeover.

He has said that his actions were covered by covered by the First Amendment. His lawyer has described him as a "shock jock."

Santilli still faces indictment in Nevada in connection with the 2014 standoff between Cliven Bundy - whose sons Ammon and Ryan are among the defendants scheduled to go on trial Wednesday - and the federal Bureau of Land Management.

In Nevada, he faces a 16-count indictment that includes charges of conspiring to assault federal officers, extort officers, and threaten officers.

Photo Multnomah County Sheriff's Office