Case 4:17-mj-00339-N/A-BPV Document 166 Filed 01/18/19 Page 1 of 3

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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United States of America,

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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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Natalie Renee Hoffman, Oona Meagan )
Holcomb, Madeline Abbe Huse,
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Zaachilda Isabel Orozco-McCormick,
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Defendants.
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_________________________________ )

NO.

M 17-00339-N/A(BPV)

VERDICT

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The U.S. Department of Interior is charged with the duty of maintaining the Cabeza

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Prieta Refuge and Wilderness Area in its pristine nature. The Refuge is surrounded by the

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U.S. Department of Defense via the Barry Goldwater Bombing Range, U.S. Border Patrol

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via the U.S./Mexico International Border, and the Tohono O’Odham Nation. Consequently,

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the preserve is littered with unexploded military ordinance, the detritus of illegal entry into

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the United States, and the on-road and off-road vehicular traffic of the U.S. Border Patrol

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efforts to apprehend illegal entrants/undocumented immigrants. None of the above obtain

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access permits from the Department of Interior. There is, however, a federal law that

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requires people who access Cabeza Prieta to obtain a permit authorizing entry. The permit

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requires the applicant to remain on designated roads, not travel on restricted roads, and not

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leave anything within the Refuge. In short: with authorized permits, pack it in/pack it out.

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Violators of the access regulations may be verbally admonished to comply with the

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rules of the Refuge, cited for a violation of the pertinent regulations, banned from the area,

 Case 4:17-mj-00339-N/A-BPV Document 166 Filed 01/18/19 Page 2 of 3

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or summoned into Court for criminal prosecution. The choice of action to be taken is at the

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sole discretion of the Refuge’s law enforcement officer, except the latter, which requires the

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U.S. Attorney’s exercise of its discretion to authorize the criminal prosecution.

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In the case before the Court, the Department of Interior and the Department of Justice

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authorized a criminal prosecution of the Defendants. The Defendants are all members of No

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More Deaths and act in support of its objectives. The Defendants did not get an access

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permit, they did not remain on the designated roads, and they left water, food, and crates in

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the Refuge. All of this, in addition to violating the law, erodes the national decision to

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maintain the Refuge in its pristine nature.

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The Defendants assert a modified Antigone defense, in that they are acting in

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accordance with a higher law. One of the Defendants claims her conduct is not civil

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disobedience, but rather civil initiative, which is somehow not a criminal offense.

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Each Defendant made a decision to act without knowing her conduct could be

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punishable by up to six months incarceration. Each one acted on the mistaken belief that the

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worst that could happen was that they could be banned, debarred (meaning unknown to the

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Defendants), or fined. No one in charge of No More Deaths ever informed them that their

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conduct could be prosecuted as a criminal offense nor did any of the Defendants make any

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independent inquiry into the legality or consequences of their activities. The Court can only

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speculate as to what the Defendants’ decisions would have been had they known the actual

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risk of their undertaking.

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The Defendants have failed to establish the facts necessary to support their asserted

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affirmative defenses. The Government has established their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt

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and each Defendant is guilty of the offenses set forth in the Information as follows:

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Natalie Renee Hoffman:

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Count 1) Operating a Motor Vehicle in a Wilderness Area; Count 2) Entering a

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National Wildlife Refuge Without a Permit; and Count 3) Abandonment of Property.

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 Case 4:17-mj-00339-N/A-BPV Document 166 Filed 01/18/19 Page 3 of 3

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Oona Meagan Holcomb:

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Count 2) Entering a National Wildlife Refuge Without a Permit; and Count 3)

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Abandonment of Property.

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Madeline Abbe Huse:

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Count 2) Entering a National Wildlife Refuge Without a Permit; and Count 3)

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Abandonment of Property.

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Zaachilda Isabel Orozco-McCormick:

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Count 2) Entering a National Wildlife Refuge Without a Permit; and Count 3)

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Abandonment of Property.

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IT IS ORDERED that all pending Motions are denied.

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Counsel shall, within ten days, consult to reach an agreeable date for entry of

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Judgment and sentencing and inform the Court of same. The Court is not available the week

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of February 18, 2019.

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DATED this 18th day of January, 2019.

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