Ryan Bundy, a protester who helped lead the Oregon militia standoff, attempted to escape jail with a rope made of bedsheets, federal prosecutors alleged in court on Monday.
The incarcerated rancher, however, denied that he was attempting to break out of jail in Portland and said he was simply “trying to practice braiding rope”.
Bundy, 43, is one of 26 protesters charged in the federal case surrounding the January takeover of the Malheur national wildlife refuge in rural Harney County and is scheduled to face a trial in September.
Along with his brother Ammon Bundy, Ryan led a group of activists in an armed occupation of the federally controlled bird sanctuary in eastern Oregon to protest government land-use rules and restrictions against ranchers.
While some have pleaded guilty, the Bundy brothers have continued to argue that the federal government has no right to control public lands and have said they plan to bring their case forward in a trial.
In a pretrial hearing on Monday in court in Portland, federal officials accused Ryan of attempting to escape Multnomah county jail, disclosing that deputies found the inmate on 8 April with torn sheets braided together under his mattress, the Oregonian reported.
Prosecutors said that deputies also found two strips of torn sheets, extra pillowcases, towels and unauthorized food containers.
Bundy responded that he was a “rancher trying to practice braiding rope”, adding: “It’s self-serving speculation and simply not true, your honor,” according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Steve Alexander, spokesman for the Multnomah Count
