Ammon Bundy, a former candidate for governor of Idaho, has been detained once more, according to KTVB anchor and investigator Morgan Romero on Saturday night.
“Got this video from a source of Ammon Bundy getting arrested. Was told it occurred at a football fundraiser in Emmett. Bundy’s People’s Rights Network also sent out a blast text. We are working to verify more information,” Romero shared on Twitter.
Got this video from a source of Ammon Bundy getting arrested. Was told it occurred at a football fundraiser in Emmett. Bundy’s People’s Rights Network also sent out a blast text. We are working to verify more information: pic.twitter.com/9bqjUpLfGM
— Morgan Romero (@MorganRomeroTV) August 12, 2023
The arrest was confirmed by the Gem County Sheriff’s Office, which also stated that Bundy was being held at the Gem County Jail at the time. According to Idaho News, he is being held under a $10,000 bail.
The precise causes of Bundy’s arrest are still unknown as of right now. There are rumors that it has something to do with a St. Luke’s defamation action, although there is no official confirmation of this.
Here is more from KTVB:
In a new lawsuit, St. Luke’s Health System has accused Ammon Bundy of fraudulently transferring his assets to other people in order to avoid paying damages owed to the hospital following the anti-government activist’s jury trial.
Bundy and his associate, Diego Rodriguez, were ordered by a jury to pay over $52 million in damages to the hospital and doctors due to a days-long protest over a child protective services case outside the St. Luke’s Boise and Meridian locations in March of 2022.
On May 11, St. Luke’s, their doctors and CEO filed a lawsuit against Bundy, his campaign and his organization “The People’s Rights Network,” along with Rodriguez, his blog “Freedom Man Press” and Freedom Man PAC over defamation rooted in a child protective services case.
Rodriguez’s infant grandson was taken into the custody Department of Health and Welfare last year because doctors observed the infant was malnourished and dehydrated. The child was hospitalized first at St. Luke’s Meridian and was then re-admitted to St. Luke’s Boise. This gave way to days-long protests outside the St. Luke’s hospitals by Bundy, Rodriguez and their followers claiming the hospital kidnapped the child and were engaging in human trafficking, causing emergency services to re-route patients and put the property on lockdown.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit say the two had given a concerted effort to disrupt hospital business, make false statements about CPS and the hospital and that its staff were attacked online. In April, a judge issued a default judgement, meaning the allegations could move forward in court against the two because they were frequently refusing to show for depositions in the ongoing legal action.
Perhaps Bundy’s most notorious incident is the 2014 shootout between Cliven Bundy’s supporters and law enforcement over a land dispute. Additionally, he gained notoriety in 2016 due to the siege at an Oregon wildlife reserve.
A hospital was also overrun by Bundy’s supporters in 2021 in support of a woman who claimed that her mother had been the victim of “medical kidnapping.” In the end, they prevailed, and the woman was set free.
Following two arrests in August 2021, Bundy was prohibited from entering the Idaho Capitol for a year, according to the Idaho Statesman.
Officials decided to halt the high school football game at halftime because Bundy insisted on not donning a mask.