Ammon Edward Bundy (born September 1, 1975)
is an American anti-government militant and activist.
A car fleet manager by profession, Bundy gained widespread attention by leading the 2016
occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
On January 2, 2016, an armed group of far-right extremists seized and occupied the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon, and continued to occupy it until law enforcement made a final arrest on February ...
.
He is the son of rancher
Cliven Bundy
Cliven D. Bundy (born April 29, 1946) is an American cattle rancher who was charged and underwent pre-trial detention for his role in the 2014 Bundy standoff. Bundy vocally advocated a philosophy opposed to what he views as federal government o ...
, who was the central figure in the
2014 Bundy standoff regarding unpaid
grazing fee A grazing fee is a charge, usually on a monthly basis, for grazing a specific kind of livestock.
Australia
In New South Wales, Australia, maximum grazing fees have been set by regulation at $1.00 per head of large stock or per 10 (or less) head of ...
s on federally-owned
public land
In all modern states, a portion of land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land, state land, or Crown land (Australia, and Canada). The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countrie ...
.
In March 2020, Bundy created the
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
People’s Rights network. During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, Bundy was arrested more than five times for protests and disruptions against
COVID-19 mitigation efforts by the Idaho government.
On June 19, 2021, Bundy announced his intent to
run for governor of Idaho.
[Far-right activist Ammon Bundy is running for Idaho governor, tapping an anti-establishment trend]
''Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', Paulina Villegas, June 19, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021. After initially filing to run in the
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
primary, he decided instead to run as an independent in the general election. Bundy lost and placed third in the 2022 election.
Personal life
Ammon Bundy owns a truck repair company and was listed as a member of several
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
companies. Prior to the
Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
On January 2, 2016, an armed group of far-right extremists seized and occupied the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon, and continued to occupy it until law enforcement made a final arrest on February ...
, he had lost a home in a short sale and was behind on his property taxes.
He has a wife, Lisa, as well as three daughters and three sons. They own a home in
Emmett, Idaho
Emmett is a city in Gem County, Idaho, United States. The population was 6,557 at the 2010 census, up from 5,490 in 2000. It is the county seat and the only city in the county. Emmett is part of the Boise− Nampa, Idaho Metropolitan Statistic ...
.
2014 Bundy standoff in Bunkerville
Standoff
![Ammon Bundy (14722394872)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Ammon_Bundy_%2814722394872%29.jpg)
On April 9, Bundy drove an
all-terrain vehicle
An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is stra ...
in front of a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) truck to block it from leaving. Officers told him to move his ATV, and he refused, yelling and approaching them belligerently. When two officers pointed
tasers
A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed darts intended to ...
at him and ordered him to back up, Bundy continued to advance. An officer with a
police dog approached to compel him to back away from the officers. He repeatedly kicked the police dog and was tasered moments later. After Bundy ripped off the taser wires and advanced toward the officers again, he was tasered a second time. He acknowledged in an interview that he had also climbed on a dump truck that he believed contained his father's cattle.
On or before April 10, Bundy asked the
Oath Keepers
Oath Keepers is an American far-right anti-government militia whose leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the government of the United States, including the transfer of Presidential power as prescribed by the US Constitution. ...
to request that their volunteers who came to the protest follow certain rules. He asked that they not wear
military camouflage
Military camouflage is the use of camouflage by an armed force to protect personnel and equipment from observation by enemy forces. In practice, this means applying colour and materials to military equipment of all kinds, including vehicles, ...
and to leave their
rifle
A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...
s in their vehicles rather than
open carry
In the United States, open carry refers to the practice of visibly carrying a firearm in public places, as distinguished from concealed carry, where firearms cannot be seen by the casual observer. To "carry" in this context indicates that the fir ...
them. He also asked that they check in with him when they arrived at the protest rally point. In addition, Bundy asked that they not drive past the rally point to the Bundy ranch. He also asked that no protester give a media interview, instead referring the media to Bundy family members, in particular him, his father, or one of his brothers.
On April 10, Cliven and Ammon were interviewed on-air by
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
'
Greta Van Susteren
Greta Conway Van Susteren (born June 11, 1954) is an American commentator, lawyer, and television news anchor for Newsmax TV. She was previously on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. She hosted Fox News's ''On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren'' for 14 ...
. Cliven said he would only accept a court order from a Nevada state court since he believed that a federal court does not have competent jurisdiction. To that, Ammon added, "If someone came in, busted into my house and abused my children, and so I call the cops, they don't respond, and then I take them to court. I show up at the courtroom, look on the stand, and it's the very person that abused my children looking down at me in a black robe. How in the world are we going to get justice in that court?"
On the morning of April 12, BLM had corralled about 400 of Cliven's cattle. Ammon and a group of protesters went to the makeshift impoundment site and formed a line across it. Bureau of Land Management agents called for backup but were outnumbered, with about 400 protesters to the 50 officers present at the scene. The officers ordered the crowd to disperse over a loudspeaker, but they would not. Instead, gunmen started to gather, causing the officers to retreat.
On April 14, Ammon, along with Cliven and his brother
Ryan, were interviewed on-air by Fox News'
Sean Hannity
Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commentar ...
. Ammon said, "I'd
articipate in the standoffagain, and after it was all over, I couldn't have felt better." Asked about remarks from
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...
that the situation was not over, despite BLM's withdrawal from the standoff, Ammon responded, "Well, if he doesn't have enough moral fiber in his bones at all to see what happened, that 'We the People' got together and made something right, then I don't think there’s any hope for him, and he needs to be kicked out of office, even if he is the Senate majority leader, it doesn’t matter."
Prosecution
On February 7, 2016, Ammon Bundy—along with his father Cliven, brother Ryan, and others—were indicted in the
U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
for their roles in the 2014
Bundy standoff
The 2014 Bundy standoff was an armed confrontation between supporters of cattle rancher Cliven Bundy and law enforcement following a 21-year legal dispute in which the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) obtained court orders direct ...
. The men were charged with 16
felony
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
counts: one count of "
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
to commit an offense against the United States"; one count of "conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer"; four counts of "using and carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence"; two counts of "assault on a federal officer"; two counts of "threatening a federal law enforcement officer"; three counts of "obstruction of the due administration of justice"; two counts of "
interference with interstate commerce by extortion"; and one count of "interstate travel in aid of extortion."
This prosecution is separate from the Malheur Refuge occupation prosecution in the
U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
The United States District Court for the District of Oregon (in case citations, D. Ore. or D. Or.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Oregon. It was created in 1859 when the state was admitted to the Union. ...
. In early April 2016, Judge Brown of the Oregonian prosecution approved an order to send the four defendants charged in both cases, including Ammon and Ryan Bundy, to Nevada to make an appearance in court there.
The men were transported to
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
by
U.S. Marshals
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...
, and on April 16, 2016, Ammon Bundy and the four other militants refused to enter
plea
In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a criminal case under common law using the adversarial system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response ...
s in regards to their roles in the standoff, prompting
U.S. Magistrate
In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduc ...
Judge George Foley Jr. to enter not-guilty pleas on their behalf. In the unusually long
arraignment
Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the charges against them. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary among jurisd ...
, Bundy asked for the 64-page indictment to be read aloud in court.
The trial for the
Bundy standoff
The 2014 Bundy standoff was an armed confrontation between supporters of cattle rancher Cliven Bundy and law enforcement following a 21-year legal dispute in which the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) obtained court orders direct ...
case was set for February 2017 in Nevada.
Mistrial and acquittal
On January 8, 2018, Navarro declared the mistrial to be
with prejudice
Prejudice is a legal term with different meanings, which depend on whether it is used in criminal, civil, or common law. In legal context, "prejudice" differs from the more common use of the word and so the term has specific technical meanings. ...
, effectively dismissing the charges, on the grounds that the defendants could not receive a fair trial. "The court finds that the universal sense of justice has been violated," the federal judge was quoted to have written in an order, as reported in the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
''.
Appeal
In August 2020, the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco denied an appeal by federal prosecutors to reinstate the criminal prosecution of the Bundy's related to the
2014 armed standoff in Nevada and the 2016 armed protest and
occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
On January 2, 2016, an armed group of far-right extremists seized and occupied the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon, and continued to occupy it until law enforcement made a final arrest on February ...
in Oregon. The appeals court upheld the dismissal of the case on grounds of the prosecution's withholding of materials requested by defense attorneys was proper. The court stopped short of affirming that prosecutorial misconduct had occurred and stated that "misjudgments" by prosecutors did not rise to professional misconduct in the case.
2016 militant occupation
Prelude to the occupation
In 2015, ranchers Dwight and Steve Hammond were resentenced to five years for two counts of
arson
Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...
on
federal land
Federal lands are lands in the United States owned by the federal government. Pursuant to the Property Clause of the United States Constitution ( Article 4, section 3, clause 2), Congress has the power to retain, buy, sell, and regulate federal l ...
, after their original sentence was vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. By late 2015, the Hammond case had attracted the attention of Ammon and (his brother) Ryan Bundy. Although the ranchers rejected Bundy's assistance,
Bundy decided to lead an armed occupation of the headquarters area of the
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located roughly south of the city of Burns in Oregon's Harney Basin. Administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the refuge area is roughly T-shaped with the sout ...
on January 2, 2016. He referred to his group as the
Citizens for Constitutional Freedom
Citizens for Constitutional Freedom (C4CF), later also known as People for Constitutional Freedom (P4CF), was the name taken on January 4, 2016, by an armed private U.S. militia that occupied the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Malheur Nationa ...
and remarked that it could be a lengthy stay.
Occupation
![BundyFBINegotiator](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/BundyFBINegotiator.jpg)
Bundy's father
Cliven said that he was not involved in the occupation, and that it was "not exactly what I thought should happen".
Early in the standoff, a
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
user claiming to be Ammon Bundy tweeted a statement comparing the group to civil rights activist
Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "the ...
. The account was later found to be a hoax. Despite this, other involved militants have made comparisons with Parks.
Speaking through his lawyer Mike Arnold the day after his arrest (see
below
Below may refer to:
*Earth
*Ground (disambiguation)
*Soil
*Floor
*Bottom (disambiguation)
Bottom may refer to:
Anatomy and sex
* Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
), Bundy urged those remaining at the refuge to "please stand down" and go home.
Apprehension
Bundy was peacefully arrested on January 26, 2016, when the vehicle he was traveling in was pulled over by a joint force of FBI agents and troopers from Oregon State Patrol. He was with other militants from the occupation attempting to drive to
John Day, Oregon
John Day is a city located about north of Canyon City in Grant County, Oregon, at the intersection of U.S. Routes 26 and 395. The city was named for the nearby John Day River, which had been named for a Virginian member of the 1811 Astor Expedi ...
for a public meeting where he was scheduled to speak. Another vehicle in the convoy fled the traffic stop until it encountered a roadblock, where Oregon State Patrol officers shot and killed
LaVoy Finicum
Robert LaVoy Finicum (January 27, 1961 – January 26, 2016) was one of the activists that staged an armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in January 2016. After it began, the group organized themselves as the Citizens for ...
.
Pretrial court appearances and indictment relating to Malheur
On January 29, Bundy appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman alongside several other jailed militants. He explained the motives of the occupation to the court, saying that his "only goal from the beginning was to protect freedom for the people." However, Judge Beckerman denied him and the other militants release from jail, explaining that she would not release them as long as the occupation continued. That same day, Bundy offered to plead guilty to the federal conspiracy charge alone, in exchange for the dismissal of the other charges against him, the dismissal of all of the charges filed against the other militants in custody at the time, and letting militants still at the refuge to leave peacefully without arrest. However, federal prosecutors rejected the offer. Bundy later repeatedly urged the militants remaining at the refuge to stand down and go home.
In a March 3 interview, Bundy described his life in jail and continued to explain his motives regarding the occupation. Although he did not witness Finicum's death, Bundy also asserted Finicum had been cooperating with officers before they shot him.
On March 8, the
federal grand jury in Oregon returned a new, superseding
indictment
An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...
that unsealed the following day, charging Bundy and 25 co-defendants with a variety of crimes in relation to the occupation. Bundy was charged with a total of three offenses: conspiracy to impede officers of the United States by force, intimidation, or threats; possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in federal facilities; and using and carrying firearms in relation to a crime of violence. The latter offense carries a possible
life sentence
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
.
Bundy's attorney, Mike Arnold of
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.
As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...
, was accused of organizing a social media harassment campaign against the public agencies involved in evidence gathering and prosecution of the case, and in particular the Oregon State Police. The
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...
reported that
sovereign citizen movement
The sovereign citizen movement (also SovCit movement or SovCits) is a loose grouping of litigants, activists, tax protesters, financial scheme promoters and conspiracy theorists, who claim to be answerable only to their particular interpret ...
members also attempted to insert themselves into the case, filing a flurry of paperwork in a tactic common to the movement known as
paper terrorism
Paper terrorism is a neologism to refer to the use of false liens, frivolous lawsuits, bogus letters of credit, and other legal documents lacking sound factual basis as a method of harassment. These methods are popular among some American anti-g ...
. Arnold also faced ethics complaints regarding attempts to unduly influence the potential jury pool and for possible ethical violations involving visits by Arnold's law firm to Bundy and other militants prior to their arrests, offering legal services. The complaint was later dropped by the
Oregon State Bar
The Oregon State Bar Association (OSBA) is a public corporation and instrumentality of the Oregon Judicial Department in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 1890 as the private Oregon Bar Association, it became a public entity in 1935 that regulat ...
on the basis that there was no sufficient basis to refer the lawyers to disciplinary counsel.
On May 9, Bundy's legal team filed new court papers stating that he believed the occupation would result in a civil court taking up the constitutionality of the U.S. government's federal land management policy. The papers also said that Bundy did not expect the militants to be indicted and arrested on federal charges in criminal court. As a result, he began urging the court to dismiss the indictments against the militants, citing his legal team's defense strategy.
His lawyers also explained Bundy's beliefs that two
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
cases addressing his defense strategy "were wrongly decided and should be overruled": a 1935 ruling that the government has had ownership over the refuge's wetlands and lake-beds since the 1840s; and a following ruling that the country's laws have sole control over the disposition of title to its lands, and that the states have no power to establish limitations or restrictions over that control. Bundy countered the rulings with
Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which limits the federal government's powers to acquire and own property, and the fact that no federal court has addressed the question of whether the government can hold "the majority of the land within a state."
[ These motions were rejected by U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown, citing longstanding Supreme Court precedent establishing the federal government's power to own and manage public land under the ]Property Clause
Article Four of the United States Constitution outlines the relationship between the various states, as well as the relationship between each state and the United States federal government. It also empowers Congress to admit new states and admi ...
as being "without limitations," and ruled that Bundy was "mistaken" in his belief that the existence of the wildlife refuge is unconstitutional.
On May 26, Bundy filed a "substitution of counsel" document, removing the Arnold Law Firm from the case and hiring J. Morgan Philpot as his lawyer. On June 7, a ''pro hac vice
In the legal field, ''pro hac vice'' () is a practice in common law jurisdictions whereby a lawyer who has not been admitted to practice in a certain jurisdiction is allowed to participate in a particular case in that jurisdiction. Although ''pro ...
'' special admission request was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon to allow Utah attorney Marcus Mumford to assist Bundy.
On June 10, Judge Brown dismissed one of two firearms charges against Bundy and seven other militants, finding that the underlying conspiracy charge does not meet the legal definition of a "crime of violence" as defined by Ninth Circuit case law.
On June 30, Bundy's defense team filed a motion asking for a delay for their client's September 7 Oregon trial, explaining they needed more time to prepare. In the motion, the defense team argued that several pretrial motions were not resolved and Bundy's continued detention in jail "has rendered it virtually impossible for him to participate meaningfully in his defense." The lawyers also asked the court to "allow Bundy another two months to argue for his release pending trial and to help prepare his defense to challenge the federal charges". On July 6, Judge Brown denied this request for a delay in trial.
On August 2, Bundy made plans to appeal two federal court orders to keep him in custody pending trial. His lawyer informed the U.S. District Court of Oregon that he would file an emergency motion to postpone the trial unless they examine his client's appeal.
In September 2016, Ammon and Ryan Bundy (through Ammon's lawyers, Philpot and Marcus Mumford), filed a motion seeking to permit his client to wear "cowboy" attire in court. The U.S. Marshals Service's policy barred the defendants from wearing ties, boots, and belts, for safety reasons. Denying the motion on grounds that this policy is rational and that the Bundys did not show their attire would prejudice their case, Judge Brown said Ammon was "dressed better than most people in the building, period." On October 27, 2016, a jury acquitted seven of the defendants. Five of them were released but Ammon Bundy and his brother Ryan remained in federal custody pending trial on charges related to the 2014 Bundy standoff
The 2014 Bundy standoff was an armed confrontation between supporters of cattle rancher Cliven Bundy and law enforcement following a 21-year legal dispute in which the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) obtained court orders direct ...
.
Trial dates relating to Malheur and verdict
Jury selection for Bundy's trial began on September 7, 2016. Judge Brown said the case would require an unusually large jury pool
Jury selection is the selection of the people who will serve on a jury during a jury trial. The group of potential jurors (the "jury pool", also known as the ''venire'') is first selected from among the community using a reasonably random method. ...
. Eleven of 31 potential jurors were excused for a variety of reasons, such as opinions regarding the occupation and also personal hardships. By September 9, 2016, 62 people were identified as potential jurors. Twelve jurors (consisting of eight women and four men) and eight alternates were selected by the end of the day. Opening statements were scheduled for September 13, 2016.
Eight other co-defendants in the occupation were also originally set for trial on that September 7, 2016, and a further nine co-defendants were set for trial beginning February 14, 2017.
In July 2016, with six weeks before the beginning of the first trial in the case, nine of Bundy's fellow militants pleaded guilty, including three of nine militants who were part of Bundy's "inner circle". Of those three, two were reported to be negotiating "a resolution to a federal indictment in Nevada as well" (see below
Below may refer to:
*Earth
*Ground (disambiguation)
*Soil
*Floor
*Bottom (disambiguation)
Bottom may refer to:
Anatomy and sex
* Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
). By August, the total number of militants pleading guilty had increased to eleven.
On October 27, 2016, Ammon Bundy was found not guilty on all counts.
Post-occupation
Statements on LDS church
Bundy also claimed that the federal government's prosecution of him and his supporters following confrontations in Nevada and Oregon is really a “battle of High priest (Latter Day Saints)” of the LDS church. He said he, his father, and his attorney are all high priests in the church, as well as the lead U.S. attorney prosecuting his family, the chief judge in Oregon, and former Nevada Senator Harry Reid.
Bundy has publicly claimed to be an active and devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Concerning the Oregon occupation, the church stated that "Church leaders strongly condemn the armed seizure of the facility and are deeply troubled by the reports that those who have seized the facility suggest that they are doing so based on scriptural principles."
Disavowal of militia movement
In December 2018, Bundy disavowed the militia movement due to his disagreement with President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's immigration policy, specifically regarding the Central American migrant caravan. He said, "To group them all up like, frankly, our president has done — you know, trying to speak respectfully — but he has basically called them all criminals and said they’re not coming in here. What about individuals, those who have come for reasons of need for their families, you know, the fathers and mothers and children that come here and were willing to go through the process to apply for asylum
Asylum may refer to:
Types of asylum
* Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome
* Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute
* Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea
...
so they can come into this country and benefit from not having to be oppressed continually?" Bundy also claimed that nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
does not equal patriotism
Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...
and compared the modern-day United States to 1930s Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. In 2018, Bundy compared Trump to Adolf Hitler.[Roger Stone Backs Idaho Governor Bid by Ammon Bundy, Who Likened Trump Term to 1930s Germany](_blank)
''Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'', Jason Lemon, October 17, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
Black Lives Matter movement
Bundy has expressed support for the Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
and defund the police
"Defund the police" is a slogan that supports removing funds from police departments and reallocating them to non-policing forms of public safety and community support, such as social services, youth services, housing, education, healthcare and o ...
movements. In July 2020, he said "you must have a problem in your mind if you think that somehow the Black Lives Matter is more dangerous than the police" and "there needs to be a defunding of government in general, and especially the police forces because they’re the ones who are actually going to seek and destroy us."
Idaho stay-at-home order and COVID-19 legislation protests
On March 26, 2020, Idaho's Governor Brad Little
Bradley Jay Little (born February 15, 1954) is an American politician serving as the 33rd governor of Idaho since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 42nd lieutenant governor of Idaho from 2009 to 2019 and as an Ida ...
issued a stay-at-home order
A stay-at-home order, safer-at-home order, movement control order (more common in Southeast Asia), or lockdown restrictions (in the United Kingdom) – also referred to by loose use of the terms (self-) quarantine, (self-) isolation, or lockdow ...
due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Idaho. After the order, Bundy held a meeting at an industrial building in Emmett with "Bundy pledging to help provide legal, political and physical defense to people who are pressured by the "authorities" or anybody else to comply with the order."
On April 21, after anti-vaccination
Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abou ...
activist Sara Walton Brady was arrested for misdemeanor trespassing, Bundy and a group of 40 people stood outside the arresting police officer's home for 30 minutes.
On August 24, Ammon Bundy led a large number of maskless protesters at the Idaho State Capitol to protest the Idaho mandate that people in public are required to wear face masks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bundy and the protesters with him disrupted an emergency legislative session which was considering legal immunity legislation related to the reopening of public schools in the State of Idaho.
On August 25, the speaker of the Idaho House of Representatives closed the auditorium at the State Capitol and ordered protesters to leave the building. Ammon Bundy and three others refused to leave when directed to do so by Idaho State Police Officers, and were arrested for criminal trespass. Bundy was also charged with resisting arrest and was wheeled out of the building handcuffed in a rolling chair.
On August 26, Bundy and a number of protesters returned to the State Capitol during the emergency legislative session. Ammon Bundy was served with a no-trespass letter directed to him from the Governor of Idaho, the Speaker of the Idaho House of Representatives, and a State Administrative official and told to leave the building. He again refused to leave and was arrested by Idaho State Police for criminal trespass and resisting arrest, and was taken out of the building handcuffed in a wheelchair. On August 31, Bundy posted a one-hour video on YouTube explaining his version of the events that transpired at the Idaho State Capitol Building which led to his arrest following over two days of protest activities of the Idaho Legislature Special Session. Bundy claimed that he had the permission of the Speaker of the Idaho House of Representatives to be present at the special session and that he had been respectful of the legislative process, and peaceful at all times during the protests. Bundy also disavowed that he was the leader or organizer of the protests and that the protesters were very much acting on their own when they disrupted the emergency legislative session of the Idaho Legislature. Bundy's trial for trespassing and resisting arrest charges ran from Monday, June 28, 2021 to Thursday, July 1, 2021. He was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to 48 hours community service in lieu of five days jailtime, and was required to pay a $500 fine plus court costs of $417.
Bundy attended a football game between Emmett and Caldwell High Schools on October 2, 2020; he refused to wear a mask and was denied entry. After attempting to watch the game from the parking lot, he was asked to leave but refused. The game was declared over at halftime due to threats made toward the school by those who had refused to wear masks.
On March 15, 2021 he was once again arrested after refusing to wear a face mask
The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human Personal identity, identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental d ...
inside an Idaho courthouse and missing the court date for his offenses regarding the Idaho legislature protests.
On April 8, 2021, Bundy was arrested two more times at the Idaho State Capitol on two charges of misdemeanor trespassing and one charge of misdemeanor resisting or obstructing.
2022 Idaho gubernatorial election
On May 21, 2021, Bundy filed paperwork to run for governor in the state of Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
in 2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
. However, being his own campaign treasurer and not being a registered voter in the state, his paperwork was rejected. He had later claimed that while he did file treasurer appointment paperwork, he had not made up his mind regarding a gubernatorial run. On June 19, 2021, he announced a bid for the Republican nomination, indicating that his aims are to protect Idaho from "Joe Biden and those in the Deep State that control him," stating that they are attempting to eliminate freedom of religion, gun rights, and parental rights. Bundy says he wants to eliminate property taxation and Idaho state income taxes.[ Bundy's electoral bid was endorsed by Trump advisor ]Roger Stone
Roger Jason Stone (born Roger Joseph Stone Jr.; August 27, 1952) is an American conservative political consultant and lobbyist.
Since the 1970s, Stone has worked on the campaigns of Republican politicians, including Richard Nixon, Ronald Rea ...
, despite Bundy's vocal opposition to Trump's immigration policies.
On February 17, 2022, after reports began circulating that he had cut a mutual endorsement deal with Republican Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin
Janice K. McGeachin (; born January 18, 1963) is an American far-right politician and businesswoman serving as the 43rd lieutenant governor of Idaho since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was previously a member of the Idaho H ...
, Bundy made a post on Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
calling those reports false, declaring, “the Republican establishment in Idaho is full of filth and corruption and they refuse to put forth the party platform,” and they are in a “corrupt and wicked state.” After attacks on various prominent Idaho Republicans, including state party Chairman Jonathan Parker
Sir Jonathan Frederic Parker (born 8 December 1937) is a retired British Lord Justice of Appeal.
Education
Sir Jonathan was born in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, the son of Sir Edmund Parker (1908–1981) and Elizabeth Mary Butterfield ...
(“wearing a wig and masturbating in public)”, U.S. Senator Mike Crapo
Michael Dean Crapo ( ; born May 20, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Idaho, a seat he has held since 1999. A member of the Republican Party, Crapo previously served as the U.S. repres ...
and former governor Butch Otter
Clement Leroy "Butch" Otter (born May 3, 1942) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 32nd governor of Idaho from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in 2006, and reelected in 2010, and 2014. Otter ...
(arrests for DUI
Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...
), state representative Greg Cheney
Greg Cheney is an American politician. He is the member for the 18th district (Position 2) in the Washington House of Representatives.
Life and career
Cheney was a lawyer.
In August 2022, Cheney defeated Brad Benton and John Ley in the non ...
'' ic' (domestic violence and suicide threats), state senator Fred Martin (entering a high school girls’ bathroom, twice), Ada County
Ada County is located in the southwestern part of Idaho, United States. As of the 2021 United States census estimate, the county had a population of 511,931, making it by far the state's most populous county; it is home to 26.8% of the state's p ...
Sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
Steve Bartlett (trading promotions for sexual favors), and U.S. Senator Larry Craig
Lawrence Edwin Craig (born July 20, 1945) is an American retired politician from the state of Idaho. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he served 18 years in the United States Senate (1991–2009), preceded by 10 years in the U.S. ...
(soliciting sex in an airport bathroom), Bundy concluded by stating his intention to reclaim the Republican Party, "take back control of the Idaho government," and "restore... conservative values" by running as an independent candidate
An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent.
Some politicians have political views th ...
"behind the actual Republican platform" rather than in the Republican primary. Bundy's campaign was interrupted on March 12; he was arrested for trespassing at a hospital in Idaho. Bundy was attempting to interfere with officers investigating reports of child neglect. He came in third in the November 8, 2022, Idaho general election.
Electoral history
References
External links
Bundy family's official blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bundy, Ammon
1975 births
American activists
American prisoners and detainees
Bundy standoff
Idaho Republicans
Latter Day Saints from Arizona
Latter Day Saints from Idaho
Latter Day Saints from Nevada
Living people
People from Bunkerville, Nevada
People from Emmett, Idaho
People from Phoenix, Arizona
Right-wing populism in the United States
Alt-right activists
Far-right politicians in the United States
Sovereign citizen movement individuals