Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Former county commissioner Phil Lyman is scoffing at the argument by federal prosecutors that he should increase his monthly restitution payment for leading an illegal ATV protest ride in 2014 because he's a now state legislator, accusing the government of "jiggery pokery."
Lyman wrote in a court filing Friday that he makes $25,000 less as a state lawmaker than what he was paid as a San Juan County commissioner. He accused the U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah of harming his reputation and harassing him, motivated by politics.
Prosecutors argued earlier this month that Lyman has a "heightened moral obligation" to increase his monthly payment five-fold to $500 a month because he receives taxpayer money.
Lyman revived an argument he tried to make during his 2015 trial that prosecutors colluded with environmental groups to make him look like a criminal. Prosecutors rejected that theory at a trial that ended with a jury finding Lyman guilty of misdemeanor illegal use of ATVs and conspiracy.
"I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars simply to bring this decay to light, not only for my own acquittal but for the exoneration of others in my community whose lives have been destroyed by this same jiggery pokery," said Lyman, who is representing himself in the case.
The term jiggery pokery means underhanded manipulation or dealings.
Lyman became a cause celebre in a movement challenging federal management of Western public lands when he organized an ATV ride through a canyon closed to vehicles that is home to Native American cliff dwellings.
Prosecutors want him to pay $500 a month, up from $100. That would pay off the $90,000 he still owes of the $96,000 in restitution imposed by a judge in 2015 who sentenced Lyman to 10 days in jail and three years of probation.
The U.S. Attorney's Office declined comment Tuesday through spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch, who said prosecutors would respond in a court filing at a future date.
The Deseret News first reported the story.
Lyman, an accountant from Blanding, Utah, didn't mention how much he makes from that business, only writing about his pay as a state legislator.
In his nine-page filing, Lyman defended his actions in the 2014 ride and called his prosecution a "travesty."
"I recognize that there are criminals in the world, but I also know that I am not one of them and that I did everything possible to ensure that the protest was carried out legally and peacefully," Lyman wrote.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
