Feathers and other parts of eagles are illegal to sell but widely used by Native Americans in ceremonies and during powwowsis expected to plead guilty Wednesday to shooting eagles on an American Indian reservation in Montana and selling their feathers and body parts on the black market.in eagle feathers despite a law enforcement crackdown in the 2010s that netted dozens of criminal indictments across the U.S. West and Midwest.
Less than two weeks later, law enforcement stopped Branson on the reservation and found in his vehicle the feet and feathers of a golden eagle he had shot near Polson, Montana, according to filings that included a photo of the bird's severed feet with their massive talons. The bird's carcass had been “cleaned” by the second defendant, Simon Paul, and was found in a nearby field, prosecutors wrote.
Branson could not be reached for comment before Wednesday's hearing in Missoula. His public defender declined comment while the case is pending.. A federal judge issued an arrest warrant for Paul when he did not show up for an initial court hearing in December. In a 2016 text message quoted by prosecutors, Branson appeared to acknowledge that shipping eagles internationally was illegal, adding, “I just get em for 99 cents...price of a bullet.”