Kenneth Medenbach, Land Occupation, Oregon 2016

EUGENE, Ore. – In a shocking verdict, a federal jury in Eugene, Oregon, convicted Kenneth Medenbach, 63, of Crescent, Oregon, for unlawful occupying federal lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Medenbach was charged with two counts: unlawful occupation of federal lands and illegal camping. The charges stem from May 2015, when Medenbach delivered a letter to BLM claiming ‘adverse possession’ of 320 acres of federal public lands in Josephine County, Oregon.

Despite repeated warnings by BLM, Medenbach erected a small cabin on public lands along a BLM road and refused to remove it. BLM regulations provide that a person may not camp or occupy the same site for more than 14 days without authorization.

Medenbach argued that the public land he was occupying did not belong to the United States because the federal government did not have constitutional authority to possess public lands in Oregon. He also claimed that federal courts did not have authority to interpret the U.S. Constitution.

U.S. District Judge Michael McShane rejected both legal claims and the jury convicted Medenbach on both of the charges at trial. Judge McShane ordered the removal of Medenbach’s illegal cabin after the jury verdict.

Medenbach will be sentenced on August 1, 2016. He faces up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine for his crimes.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Douglas W. Fong.

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