PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A federal judge has given a blogger until noon Wednesday to delete information he published about the confidential informants who helped law enforcement during last year’s takeover of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon.
U.S. District Judge Anna Brown said in an opinion posted last week that Gary Hunt will face “coercive sanctions” if he does not comply.
The 71-year-old California man said at an August hearing he believes it’s his right to publish the names of the informants and other material, but would comply with the judge’s order if she ruled against him.
Prosecutors said the information that Hunt posted had been given to defense attorneys during the trial of takeover leader Ammon Bundy and six others. They were under orders not to share it with outside parties. Hunt said a thumb drive with the information appeared in his mailbox, and he doesn’t know who sent it.