Ken Ritter / AP
Nevada ranching standoff defendant Ryan Payne, facing camera, hugs a friend outside the U.S. District Courthouse in Las Vegas following his release on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017, after 22 months in federal custody. Payne, 34, of Anaconda, Mont., was arrested in 2016 in Oregon following an occupation of a federal wildlife refuge. He stood trial with Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and two Bundy sons in a 2014 armed confrontation with federal agents.
Friday, Dec. 1, 2017 | 4:14 p.m.
A Montana man who took part in an Oregon wildlife refuge occupation and is standing trial in an armed Nevada ranch standoff has been released from jail to house arrest in Las Vegas.
Ryan Payne kissed his fiancé, Ariel Rincon, hugged friends, and prayed with supporters after he walked out of the U.S. District Courthouse in Las Vegas on Friday after 22 months in federal custody.
He declined to speak with reporters.
Payne led a self-described militia in Anaconda, Montana, and is standing trial with Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and two sons on federal charges in the April 2014 armed confrontation with federal agents in southern Nevada.
Payne pleaded guilty in July 2016 in Portland, Oregon, to a felony conspiracy charge before a trial at which Ammon Bundy and his elder brother, Ryan Bundy, were acquitted of all charges.
