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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Charges have been dismissed against one of five men charged in an ATV protest ride through an off-limits area in southeastern Utah last May.
Federal prosecutors on Friday dropped charges against Jay Redd, who spoke at a rally before the May ride in Recapture Canyon.
Some 50 people rode ATVs into the canyon to protest what they call the federal government's overreaching control of public lands.
The Bureau of Land Management closed the canyon to motorized vehicles after discovering an illegally constructed ATV trail had damaged archaeological sites.
Redd's lawyer argued his client did not use the speech to urge people to join the ride, and he eventually turned around after reaching the closed portion of the canyon.
A Dec. 22 trial date has been set for the other defendants.
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