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A federal jury in Las Vegas did not return any guilty verdicts Tuesday against four men accused of conspiracy and weapons charges for their roles in the 2014 Bundy Ranch standoff.Jurors returned not guilty verdicts on some counts and deadlocked on others after four days of deliberation, delivering a second surprising defeat to federal prosecutors in the case.Jurors notified U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro on Tuesday that they had reached an impasse on several counts, and the defendants were called into court at 2 p.m. when the verdicts were returned.Richard Lovelien of Oklahoma and Eric Parker, Steven Stewart and O. Scott Drexler, all of Idaho, were being retried on conspiracy, extortion, assault and obstruction charges for helping Cliven Bundy fend off a government roundup of his cattle in what became known as the Battle of Bunkerville.A jury in April deadlocked on charges against the four men. It convicted two other defendants on multiple counts. But the jury could not agree on conspiracy charges — a key component of the government's case — against any of the six.The government launched its second prosecution last month. The case ended dramatically last week, when defense attorneys waived closing arguments as part of a protest about court proceedings and legal rulings they said prevented them from offering a proper defense.
