Far-right activist Ammon Bundy was arrested this Friday, which has caused a stir among his followers. He was arrested at a football banquet due to an active arrest warrant that had been out since April.
Ammon has been arrested almost a year after his involvement in the St. Luke Hospital defamation case and is liable to pay the damages in millions of dollars. Read on to learn more about why he was arrested and the severity of the case.
Who Is Ammon Bundy?
Ammo Bundy is a far-right activist and American anti-government militant. He was arrested more than five times for protests and disruptions against the Idaho government’s COVID-19 mitigation efforts.
He led the Bundy standoff case in 2014. Bundy, his father, Cliven, and brother Ryan, were indicted in the case in 2016. They were charged with 16 felony counts. In August 2020, Ammon led many maskless protesters to protest the mandate that required people to wear masks in public due to the pandemic. He has been arrested several times on charges of trespassing as well as his refusal to wear face masks.
Bundy also led a campaign against St. Luke’s Hospital, spreading false information that the government and hospital were working together in trafficking children.
Why Was Ammon Bundy Arrested?
St. Luke’s Health System had filed a civil lawsuit against Ammon Bundy for defamation. Bundy was found in contempt of court for his refusal to show up for legal proceedings for nearly a year, and an active arrest warrant was out for him since mid-April, as a result of which he was recently arrested.
Bundy’s bail has been set at $10,000. The County Sheriff initially hesitated to serve the legal notices to Bundy as he did not want his officials to be risked over a civil issue. If Bundy does not post bail, he will be jailed over the weekend and appear before the Gem County judge on Monday before being transferred to Ada County.
The St. Luke Hospital Defamation Case Explained
In March 2022, the 10-months old grandson of Diego Rodriguez (associate of Ammon Bundy) was put into protective care as he had been found severely malnourished. Bundy staged a protest outside the hospital and demanded the boy back. In the court case, medical professionals testified that the child would have died had he not been treated. Bundy was arrested for trespassing and sentenced to jail.
Bundy then directed his followers to protest at the hospital as well as at the homes of the workers involved with the child protection case. Bundy also claimed that the hospital engaged in the kidnapping, trafficking, and killing of Idaho children. He spread false words about the Idaho government being involved in child trafficking for profit.
Eventually, St Luke’s sued Bundy, Rodriguez, and their affiliated organizations for defamation since they had harassed the medical staff and created a smear campaign against the hospital. The hospital was forced to lock down the facility, divert emergency patients, and postpone or cancel numerous appointments. The hospital also cites evidence that Bundy and his accomplices spread lies through videos and blog posts by claiming the hospital and government were seizing children from Christian families to let same-sex couples abuse them.
Bundy refused to appear in court and was found in default after not responding to the court’s summons and orders. After a civil trial in Ada County, all the defendants were awarded a total of $52.5 million in damages. Bundy was personally liable for $12.17 million.
A tweet was posted on the official Twitter account of Bundy claiming that it is continued harassment of a ‘wonderful man.’ The tweet directs people to gather at Gem County Sheriff’s office at Emmett and make continuous calls complaining about his ‘harassment.’
What is your take on the arrest of Bundy? Tell us how you feel about the volatile situation in the comments below.
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