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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Ammon Bundy, leader of refuge standoff, returns to Oregon

This Jan. 27, 2016 photo  shows Ammon Bundy. A jury found brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy not guilty a firearm in a federal facility and conspiring to impede federal workers from their jobs at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, 300 miles southeast of Portland where the trial took place. (File/Multnomah County Sheriff via Associated Press)
Associated Press

PORTLAND – Ammon Bundy, the leader of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge takeover, is back in Oregon.

KATU-TV reports that Bundy was transferred from custody in Las Vegas, where he’s been held on charges from a different standoff with government agents, to the Multnomah County Jail on Friday night.

He’s expected to be called as a defense witness in the second trial stemming from the refuge occupation. Bundy was acquitted along with five others in the first trial last year.

Fellow occupier Ryan Payne is also in Portland and is expected to testify next week.

Federal prosecutors are close to resting their case against the four defendants. Like the defendants in the first trial, the four face a primary charge of conspiracy to impede Interior Department employees from doing their jobs at the refuge through the use of force, threats or intimidation.