Bundy brothers want federal prosecutors to join them behind bars until trial: 'That would only be fair'

Ammon and Ryan Bundy will be allowed to meet together in jail to coordinate their defense -- but now they want prosecutors to join them behind bars until they are tried for their roles in plotting the armed takeover of an Oregon wildlife reserve.

Local law enforcement preferred not to house the two co-defendants together in the Multnomah County Jail, but a federal judge cited the brothers' "exceptional relationship" and their roles in an "exceptional case" to order Ammon Bundy returned to the downtown Portland jail, reported The Oregonian.

U.S. District Robert E. Jones granted the Bundys' request on coordinating their defense, and he will rule later this month on additional requests by the brothers.

Ryan Bundy, who gave the judge a copy of the annotated "pocket Constitution," wants the court to place a protective order on his recorded jail calls to prevent them from being shared with law enforcement.

Jones said he would order sheriff's deputies standing guard over the brothers do not reveal the contents of their calls to their attorneys.

But an order to seal their recorded phone calls from jail could set a precedent.

Inmates don't have an expectation of privacy while jailed and are cautioned that their phone calls are being recorded and could be shared with investigators.

"Inmates don't have an expectation of a Fourth Amendment right against the monitoring of their phone calls or letters," argued Carlos Calandriello, Multnomah County assistant counsel. "The law is well settled that the privacy rights of prison and jail inmates are 'severely curtailed' by virtue of their incarceration."

Defense attorneys may register some phone numbers as confidential, but all others are monitored and recorded.

Ryan Bundy, who is acting as his own attorney in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge case, said he's not asking for special privileges.

"I believe I'm being impeded and violated at every turn," he complained. "I have not committed any crime, your honor. I am not guilty ... yet we're being treated as though we are guilty."

Ryan Bundy previously complained that he had not been permitted to wear Mormon religious garments or carry a firearm while jailed.

“My rights are being violated. My right to life is being violated. All of my First Amendment rights are being violated. My right to freedom of religion is being violated,” Ryan Bundy argued. “My Second Amendment rights are being violated. I never waived that right. My Fourth Amendment rights are being violated."

The brothers plan to seek their release from jail as they await trial on a variety of federal charges in connection with the Maleur occupation. They also face charges in Nevada in connection with an armed standoff in 2014 with federal agents at their father's ranch.

If that request is not granted by the court, Ryan Bundy told the judge that he believed federal prosecutors should be jailed alongside the two brothers until their trial later this year.

"I would think that would only be fair,'' Ryan Bundy said.

Ammon Bundy said he and his brother plan to seek their release from custody pending trial. "I don't want to waste too much energy talking about jail concerns when we're seeking pretrial release,'' he told the judge.

"Keep in mind with a Nevada hold,'' Jones responded, "there's not a lot that can be done.''

Moments earlier, the judge ordered co-defendant Jason Patrick, who does not face prosecution in Nevada, to be released to his mother and sister pending trial.

Ammon Bundy continued, "I shouldn't be punished because the government seeks to prosecute simultaneously'' in two different states.

"My question is at what point does a person lawfully lose his or her rights?" Ammon Bundy asked.

Jones gave a hypothetical: If someone is accused of killing another person or is an alleged terrorist, should that person not be jailed pending trial?

Ammon Bundy said he'd agree that jail would be appropriate, but added, "In our situation, we're certainly not that.''

His brother Ryan Bundy suggested that federal prosecutors Ethan Knight, Geoffrey Barrow and Craig Gabriel "be placed in jail cells next to me'' so they face the same conditions he and his brother face as they prepare for a Sept. 7 trial.

"I would think that would only be fair,'' Ryan Bundy said.