Ammon Bundy arrested in Emmett on outstanding warrant. He could be in jail all weekend

Police arrested far-right political activist Ammon Bundy on Friday night on an outstanding warrant in his latest brush with law enforcement, and he remained in custody at the Gem County Jail on Saturday, a Gem County Sheriff’s Office deputy told the Idaho Statesman.

Bundy was booked into the jail Friday night on the warrant, which an Ada County judge issued for contempt of court in April, Gem County Sheriff’s Sgt. White, who declined to provide his first name, told the Statesman.

Bundy’s bond was set at $10,000 for his release, which by Saturday morning had yet to be posted, White said. If Bundy does not post bail, he will be held in jail over the weekend before appearing before a judge in Gem County on Monday and then transferred to Ada County, White said.

District Judge Lynn Norton of Idaho’s 4th Judicial District issued the arrest warrant for Bundy after he violated a court order to avoid witness harassment and intimidation in a since-resolved civil lawsuit against him, the Statesman previously reported. The civil warrant for Bundy was issued in April for failure to obey a preliminary injunction order, Patrick Orr, spokesperson for the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed to the Statesman by phone Saturday.

Bundy ran as an independent candidate for Idaho governor in November 2022. Although he failed to unseat incumbent Republican Gov. Brad Little, Bundy earned more than 100,000 votes, or about 17% of the vote.

On Saturday morning, members of Bundy’s People’s Rights Network issued a “call to action” to supporters to show up outside the Gem County Sheriff’s Office, which is in a building adjacent to the jail. Since Bundy’s arrest, a number of people had called the jail to discuss his status, White said, while others were showing up in person.

“I do have individuals outside,” White told the Statesman. “What they are here for, I can’t make assumptions.”

Bundy was taken into custody at his son’s football banquet held Friday, according to a post on Bundy’s account on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Just before 9 p.m., the People’s Rights Network said in a text to group members that Bundy was arrested at The Packing Shed & Co. event center in Emmett. Bundy lives with his family in Emmett.

The video included in the post on X shows Bundy being led away from the event in handcuffs by at least six members of law enforcement. In the 25-second clip, Bundy shakes his head and says something inaudible to a deputy while some attendees jeer and shout at the arresting officers.

KTVB was first to report Bundy’s arrest, identifying the event as an Emmett High School football fundraiser.

Bundy’s arrest follows a lengthy legal case that St. Luke’s Health System brought against him and others — a case in which he refused to show up in court or participate. Jurors last month awarded St. Luke’s and other plaintiffs more than $52 million in damages in the defamation case against Bundy, his gubernatorial campaign, the People’s Rights Network and Diego Rodriguez, a close associate of Bundy’s and adviser for his campaign.

In March 2022, Bundy and Rodriguez organized protests at St. Luke’s locations in Meridian and downtown Boise after a child welfare case involving Rodriguez’s grandson.

Bundy has on more than one occasion been arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing in Idaho. In the most recent case, where he was convicted of trespassing and resisting or obstructing an officer, he avoided jail time and received one year of unsupervised probation and paid $3,315 in fines.

Seeking jury-awarded damages from Bundy, St. Luke’s lawsuit alleges ‘sham transaction’

‘I owe St. Luke’s nothing’: Jury ordered Bundy to pay millions. Will plaintiffs see a dime?

Threats, fears and Ammon Bundy ‘the bully’: A look at St. Luke’s defamation case so far