PORTLAND, Ore. - Government prosecutors have filed a motion to push back the trial dates for those arrested following a 41-day standoff at an Oregon wildfire refuge.
The prosecutors want a federal judge to deem the case complex, which would delay the defendants' right to a speedy trial and likely send the case into 2017. They cite the unique crime scene, the large number of defendants and complicated pre-trial discovery issues.
Defense attorney Lisa Hay filed a document opposing efforts to designate the case as complex.
Standoff leader Ammon Bundy and 15 others are scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on conspiracy charges. Prosecutors say a superseding indictment with additional charges could be filed early next month, after investigators finish processing the crime scene near Burns, Oregon.
