{"id":86580,"date":"2024-10-31T08:24:54","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T12:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=86580"},"modified":"2024-10-31T08:24:54","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T12:24:54","slug":"man-who-killed-eagles-and-trafficked-their-parts-faces-sentencing-thursday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/31\/man-who-killed-eagles-and-trafficked-their-parts-faces-sentencing-thursday\/","title":{"rendered":"Man who killed eagles and trafficked their parts faces sentencing Thursday"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) \u2014 A Washington state man who pleaded guilty to killing at least 118 eagles as part of a wildlife trafficking ring that operated on a Native American Reservation in Montana faces sentencing Thursday before a federal judge. The trafficking ring sold eagle feathers and parts on a black market that exploits high demand among tribal members who use them in powwows and other ceremonies. The yearslong poaching operation was centered on the Flathead Indian Reservation. The defendant and others killed at least 107 hawks and as many as 3,600 birds overall, prosecutors said. Travis John Branson of Cusick, Washington, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy and wildlife trafficking charges. A second person has been indicted in the case and prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office have said&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2024%2F10%2F31%2Fman-who-killed-eagles-and-trafficked-their-parts-faces-sentencing-thursday%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) \u2014 A Washington state man who pleaded guilty to killing at least 118 eagles as part of a wildlife trafficking ring that operated on a Native American Reservation in Montana faces sentencing Thursday before a federal judge. The trafficking ring sold eagle feathers and parts on a black market that exploits high demand among tribal members who use them in powwows and other ceremonies. The yearslong poaching operation was centered on the Flathead Indian Reservation. The defendant and others killed at least 107 hawks and as many as 3,600 birds overall, prosecutors said. Travis John Branson of Cusick, Washington, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy and wildlife trafficking charges. A second person has been indicted in the case and prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office have said... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2024%2F10%2F31%2Fman-who-killed-eagles-and-trafficked-their-parts-faces-sentencing-thursday%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Man who killed eagles and trafficked their parts faces sentencing Thursday - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/31\/man-who-killed-eagles-and-trafficked-their-parts-faces-sentencing-thursday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Man who killed eagles and trafficked their parts faces sentencing Thursday - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) \u2014 A Washington state man who pleaded guilty to killing at least 118 eagles as part of a wildlife trafficking ring that operated on a Native American Reservation in Montana faces sentencing Thursday before a federal judge. The trafficking ring sold eagle feathers and parts on a black market that exploits high demand among tribal members who use them in powwows and other ceremonies. The yearslong poaching operation was centered on the Flathead Indian Reservation. The defendant and others killed at least 107 hawks and as many as 3,600 birds overall, prosecutors said. Travis John Branson of Cusick, Washington, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy and wildlife trafficking charges. A second person has been indicted in the case and prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office have said\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/31\/man-who-killed-eagles-and-trafficked-their-parts-faces-sentencing-thursday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-31T12:24:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/31\\\/man-who-killed-eagles-and-trafficked-their-parts-faces-sentencing-thursday\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/31\\\/man-who-killed-eagles-and-trafficked-their-parts-faces-sentencing-thursday\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"Man who killed eagles and trafficked their parts faces sentencing Thursday\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-31T12:24:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/31\\\/man-who-killed-eagles-and-trafficked-their-parts-faces-sentencing-thursday\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":592,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"National News\",\"ticker\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/31\\\/man-who-killed-eagles-and-trafficked-their-parts-faces-sentencing-thursday\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/31\\\/man-who-killed-eagles-and-trafficked-their-parts-faces-sentencing-thursday\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/31\\\/man-who-killed-eagles-and-trafficked-their-parts-faces-sentencing-thursday\\\/\",\"name\":\"Man who killed eagles and trafficked their parts faces sentencing Thursday - 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