Medicine man ordered freed from jail

Federal prosecutors lost an appeal Thursday to keep a self-described medicine man in jail pending his trial on charges of peyote possession and distribution.

After a two-hour hearing, U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart ruled that James "Flaming Eagle" Mooney didn't pose a threat to the community and was not a flight risk.

The ruling upholds a decision Tuesday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Samuel Alba. Federal prosecutors had appealed that decision to Stewart.

"During four years of state prosecution the defendant posed no problem. He has no criminal history. Although warned that he may be prosecuted at the federal level, he did not flee," Stewart said.

Mooney, 61, and his wife Linda were arrested last month on felony drug charges for their involvement in peyote ceremonies for the Oklevueha EarthWalks Native American Church, which the couple founded in 1997.

Linda Mooney, 51, was released at a detention hearing last week.

Federal defendants are usually released pending trial. But those facing charges that carry penalties of 10 years or more — like the Mooneys — are usually detained unless the court is convinced otherwise.

Veda Travis, a prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney's office, argued Mooney's defense had not proved he should be released.

She said Mooney had continued to use and distribute peyote while the Utah County Attorney's office prosecuted him for giving peyote to non-American Indian church visitors.

"If James Mooney's released he will continue to desecrate the sacred ceremonies of Native Americans," Travis said.

Travis also pointed to testimony from a former Mooney employee who said the church leader felt the federal government was after him and believed his church should "arm ourselves to protect ourselves from the government."

Travis likened the threat to the kind of rhetoric that lead to law enforcement standoffs at places like Waco, Texas and Ruby Ridge in northern Idaho.

Mooney's attorney Steven Killpack called the assumption "tremendously exaggerated."

"Here we have a man who has lived under the umbrella of prosecution since 2000, he has never missed a hearing," Killpack said.

Stewart ruled Mooney could be released, agreeing with several conditions Alba imposed during the earlier detention hearing.