Jury acquits leaders of Oregon standoff

The leaders of an armed group who occupied a national wildlife refuge in rural Oregon earlier this year were acquitted today. The group, led by Ammon Bundy, seized the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 2 as part of a long-running dispute over public lands in the West. Tumult erupted in the courtroom in Portland, Ore., today after the verdicts were read. An attorney for group leader Ammon Bundy demanded his client be immediately released, repeatedly yelling at the judge. U.S. marshals tackled attorney Marcus Mumford to the ground, used a stun gun on him several times and arrested him. The jury found Bundy, his brother Ryan Bundy, and several others not guilty of possessing a firearm in a federal facility and conspiring to impede federal workers from their jobs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.