Photo: Kelsey Gray/APIdaho Judge Issues New Arrest Warrant for Far-Right Activist Ammon Bundy
Anti-government activist violates court rules after failing to appear $52.5 million defamation hearing
An Idaho judge has issued a $250,000 arrest warrant for Ammon Bundy, an anti-government activist, after he repeatedly did not appear in court.
The 48-year-old son of controversial Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and the organizer of the takeover of an Oregon wildlife refuge, which left one of his supporters dead, violated court rules after failing to appear for a hearing in a $52.5 million libel case against him and his political organization.
He was scheduled to appear in court on Monday, but again failed to appear. Instead, he sent an email saying his life was “consumed by political persecution.”
In response, District Judge Nancy Baskin revoked Bundy's $10,000 bond and ordered arrest him. .
“This court is doing everything in its power to protect Mr. Bundy's rights and give him the opportunity to confront and cross-examine witnesses so that his motion to dismiss can be heard. I just can't do that unless he's actually in court,” Judge Baskin said, according to the Idaho Capitol Sun.
She also announced she was issuing a new arrest warrant with $250,000 bond: “Mr. Bundy again thinks he can just say he doesn't need to go to trial. Again, that’s not how the rule of law works in this country.”
Bundy, who ran and lost a bid to become Idaho governor last year, has often criticized authorities on social media.
On Monday night, he wrote on X: “Judge Baskin issued a warrant today on my arrest in the amount of $250,000. The only thing I want to say is that I have no regrets.”
He added, along with photos of himself and his wife holding their baby: ” I have been honest in everything I say…Please pray for my family.”
Previously, Bundy twice managed to evade authorities' attempts to convict him. In 2016, a jury acquitted Ammon and his brother Ryan Bundy, along with five others, of all charges related to the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.
Later in 2018. A federal judge has dismissed all charges against Cliven Bundy and his sons in connection with a 2014 standoff at Bundy's ranch that stemmed from a fight over grazing fees.
Bundy's latest violation of the law follows a court decision earlier this year that found him and another defendant, Diego Rodriguez, guilty of defaming St. Luke's Medical Center in Boise.
In the spring of 2022, he organized protests in Boise after authorities took Rodriguez's grandson into custody over concerns for his well-being and transferred him to a hospital.
The protests were so great that they closed the hospital's downtown campus and forced medical staff to reroute ambulances. Reports at the time said some protesters, some armed, were attempting to force their way to the hospital's locked exits.
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In July, a jury convicted Bundy, Rodriguez and several other members of Bundy's political organization, the Human Rights Network. guilty. after a 10-day trial.
They were ordered to pay a total of $52.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages and to remove 18 months of material discrediting the hospital from the Internet.
During the trial, Doctor Emergency room worker Rachel Thomas told the court that the 10-month-old child was malnourished and that his stomach was distended.
Bundy was not present at the hearing. or hire a lawyer because he says he can't afford one.
After the decision, the hospital said: “The jury's decision places responsibility for an ongoing campaign of intimidation and harassment. and the disinformation carried out by these defendants.”
It added: “It also reaffirms the importance of protecting health care providers and other government officials from attacks designed to prevent them from fulfill your duties.” “
Bundy did not immediately respond to the Guardian's request for comment on Tuesday. It is unclear whether he had a lawyer to represent him during his last appearance.
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