PORTLAND — A federal court judge has allowed Oregon standoff defendant Kenneth Medenbach to be released from jail while awaiting trial, but he will keep the last holdout in the armed takeover in custody.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Jones said Wednesday he remained concerned about David Fry’s mental instability, threats of “suicide by cop” before his surrender to FBI agents and that he came to Oregon in violation of the conditions of his Ohio probation, the Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
Jones also said a psychological report on Fry states that Fry is concerned about invasions from outer space and has spoken of a wish to be reincarnated as a woman.
Fry, 27, objected to the judge’s characterization of those statements, saying he’s never been diagnosed with a particular mental illness, that he has the right to believe in what he chooses to believe in, and that he had said he’d rather be a woman “because it seems easier.” Suicidal statements he made before his surrender at the refuge were caused by fears of being raped in jail, he told the judge.
