Trial for the Recapture Canyon protest delayed

There have been delays in the trial of four local residents who face federal charges related to the May 10 Recapture Canyon protest.
The trial was scheduled to take place on two days this week at the Federal Courthouse in Salt Lake City. The trial is now scheduled to begin on March 24, 2015 before U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby.
While the trial has been delayed for three months, a hearing on the court-appointed legal counsel for one of the defendants in the case is scheduled this week.
Federal prosecutors have filed a motion to reconsider the appointment of legal counsel for San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman.
The federal prosecutors are asking if Lyman is financially eligible for the court-appointed counsel.
The hearing, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Evelyn Furse, was scheduled to take place on December 23.
Lyman, and the other three remaining defendants, received court-appointed legal counsel at the October 17 initial hearing.
Five men were initially charged for their involvement in the May 10 protest of the closure of Recapture Canyon. They include Lyman, Monte Wells, Trent Holliday, Shane Marian and Jay Redd.
Each of the defendants faced two misdemeanor counts, one for conspiring to break the law by riding into a closed area and a second for breaking the law by riding into a closed area.
Charges against Jay Redd were dropped in November after prosecutors said he was not involved in the organization of the protest.
On May 10, 2014, up to 200 local residents and visitors participated in a protest, at Blanding’s Centennial Park, against the 2007 closure of Recapture Canyon by the Bureau of Land Management.
Afterwards, about 100 people drove ATVs and other vehicles along a maintenance road into a closed portion of the canyon. Another 53 protesters then traveled through the canyon on a more primitive road.
Many local residents have wondered how the charges were determined since significantly more people were involved in the protest than were charged.