Key defendant in Bundy armed takeovers to plead guilty in Oregon case

Ryan Payne, a key defendant in the Nevada and Oregon armed takeovers involving the Bundy family, is pleading guilty in the Oregon case, according to court documents.

A change of plea hearing for Payne, a militia leader from Montana, is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday in Portland, before U.S. District Judge Anna Brown. He faces a conspiracy and a firearms charge stemming from the 41-day standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon that ended in February.

Payne’s plea agreement won’t be made public until after he appears in court next week.

His Portland public defender, Rich Federico, declined to comment on the pending deal, and his public defenders in Las Vegas could not be reached late Thursday.

But Payne’s guilty plea is likely to have an impact on his federal case in Las Vegas, where he is charged as one of the Bundy group’s leaders in the 2014 armed standoff with law enforcement near Bunkerville.

Last week, Blaine Cooper, a Bundy family bodyguard who also is charged in both cases, pleaded guilty to a felony conspiracy charge in Portland. He is expected to strike a deal in Nevada, as well.

Payne, 32, and Cooper, 37, are among 19 defendants — including Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and four of his sons — facing an array of federal charges in the Bunkerville confrontation.

All of the Nevada defendants, who are in federal custody, are charged with conspiring to assault BLM agents on April 12, 2014, and take back impounded Bundy cattle that had been grazing on federal land.

A Feb. 6 trial date has been set in the high-profile case.

Federal prosecutors have alleged that Payne was in the leadership group with Bundy and his sons Ammon, Ryan, Mel and Dave during the Bunkerville confrontation. He recruited and organized gunmen and other Bundy followers and helped lead the armed assault on the federal officers, according to prosecutors.

Payne also is alleged to have helped Ammon Bundy organize the takeover of the government wildlife refuge in Oregon.

Cooper, who lives in Arizona, has been described by authorities as a “mid-level leader and organizer” in Bunkerville. He went on reconnaissance missions and provided protection for the Bundys and others during the Nevada standoff, prosecutors alleged.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Follow @JGermanRJ on Twitter.