ATV Protest Riders in Court Today
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – April 29, 2015 – Four men accused of riding ATVs through a closed southern Utah canyon to protest what they call federal government overreach are headed to trial after three rejected plea deals in the case.
The men pleaded not guilty to illegal use of ATVs and conspiracy during an ATV protest ride last year.
The May 2014 protest ride came shortly after Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy had a confrontation with Bureau of Land Management over similar issues, illustrating the simmering tension between the federal government and some residents in the West over land use.
About 50 people rode their ATVs on a trail off-limits to vehicles in a canyon that cuts through ruins that are nearly 2,000 years old and is home to dwellings, artifacts and burials left behind by Ancestral Puebloans hundreds of years ago before they disappeared.
The defendants are San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman, Monticello blogger Monte Wells and alleged participants Shane Marian and Franklin “Trent” Holliday. They have pleaded not guilty to illegal use of ATVs and conspiracy.
Lyman, and three others have pleaded not guilty to illegal use of ATVs and conspiracy.
U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby refused to toss the case earlier this month. He rejected arguments that the charges violated freedom of speech.
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