Bundy Releases New Recording From Jail Calling For Free Speech Protection

Ammon Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, speaks with reporters during a news conference at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, near Burns, Ore. Bundy, who was invol... Ammon Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, speaks with reporters during a news conference at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, near Burns, Ore. Bundy, who was involved in a 2014 standoff with the government over grazing rights, told reporters on Monday that two local ranchers who face long prison sentences for setting fire to land have been treated unfairly. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) MORE LESS
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Ammon Bundy, the leader of the occupation at an federal wildlife refuge in Oregon, released a new statement from jail through his lawyers on Monday.

In the statement recorded on Saturday and published on YouTube by his lawyers on Monday, Bundy called on state lawmakers to visit their constituents in prison and protect their rights to free speech from the federal government.

“This is a call to action for any elected representative in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, the State of Washington, and Ohio. You have constituents in federal custody. Please visit and contact them to voice your support for free speech, the right to assemble, and civil disobedience,” Bundy said in the statement. “It is your duty to hold federal agencies at bay, protecting the people in your state,” he continued in his statement to state officials.

“And to those who disagree with my speech, or our civil disobedience, and may dislike our ideas regarding that the land belongs to the people: Please remember that you do not want free speech to be retaliated against by government officials. If you do not advocate for government to tolerate ideas that it hates, then the First Amendment and free speech mean nothing,” he continued. “Arm yourself with ideas. Arm yourselves with education. Argue and disagree. Be free.”

Bundy has released several statements through his lawyer since he was arrested in January.

In a statement read by Mike Arnold, one of his attorneys, shortly after his arrest, Bundy called on his fellow militiamen to leave the refuge and go home. In a recording released late last week, Bundy told the Oregon State Police and the FBI to go home.

Bundy and 15 others linked to the occupation at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge were indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to impede officers of the United States. Four of the militiamen named still remain at the refuge, according to The Oregonian.

Listen to Bundy’s latest statement:

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