TACOMA, Wash. - Two Makah tribal members who led a rogue gray whale hunt last September have been convicted of federal misdemeanor charges in Tacoma, Wash.

U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Kelley Arnold found Wayne Johnson and Andy Noel guilty after the pair waived their right to a jury trial and admitted their roles.

Defense attorneys say their clients agreed to waive the jury trial so they could get on with appealing some of the rulings made in the case, including one in which Arnold determined their actions were not protected under the 1st Amendment right to religious freedom.

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