Ammon Bundy Arrested at Fundraiser

UPDATE Aug 12, 2023 7:00 AM CDT

Ammon Bundy has been arrested in Idaho. KTVB reports that the 47-year-old anti-government extremist was taken into custody Friday night while attending a high school football fundraiser in Emmett. The station has video of an annoyed-looking Bundy being handcuffed and led away by law enforcement. Bundy was arrested on a contempt charge out of Ada County, per Gem County Jail records, apparently over his legal battle with St. Luke's Health System, which recently brought a defamation case against him. "The contempt charges relate primarily to Mr. Bundy's harassment and intimidation of witnesses in the case," Erik Stidham, an attorney for the hospital, tells KTVB. "The rule of law applies to everyone, including Mr. Bundy." If Bundy doesn't post his $10,000 bond, he'll be detained over the weekend, then transferred to the Ada County Jail early next week.

Jul 25, 2023 1:10 PM CDT

One of anti-government activist Ammon Bundy's high-profile protests may prove costly to him, though it doesn't sound like he has any intention of paying up. A jury in Idaho ordered Bundy and his associates to pay a total of $52.5 million to St. Luke's Health System, the state's largest hospital system, reports the Idaho Capital Sun. Bundy and his supporters staged protests at hospitals in Boise and Meridian in 2022 over a child welfare case, per the Idaho Statesman. The protests caused a hospital shutdown and the diversion of ambulances, and hospital doctors and staffers were subjected to harassment campaigns that alleged they were part of a child trafficking ring, per KTVB.

The controversy started when child services officials took custody of an infant, the grandson of Bundy associate Diego Rodriguez, because they said the child was malnourished. Neither Bundy nor Rodriguez participated in the trial. Bundy is on the hook for more than $12 million in penalties and Rodriguez for more than $13 million. Various groups associated with them—including the Ammon Bundy for Governor campaign—made up the rest of the total.

• Hospital: "Taking legal action is not something we take lightly," says St. Luke's in a statement. "But standing up to the threats, bullying, intimidation, disruption, and self-serving actions of the defendants was necessary. Inaction would have signaled that their menacing behavior was acceptable."
• Bundy: "The Ada County courts are embarrassing," Bundy tells the Statesman. "This recent verdict confirms everything I have been saying. I am glad I did not participate and legitimize this mockery of [justice]."

(More Ammon Bundy stories.)