A far-right provocateur running to be Idaho’s next governor was arrested on Saturday morning on misdemeanor trespassing charges—just days before he is set to stand trial on similar charges.
Ammon Bundy, the 46-year-old leader of the “People’s Rights” movement and an independent candidate, was arrested on several misdemeanor charges, including trespassing and resisting or obstructing officers, after allegedly refusing to leave an Idaho hospital on Friday night. The Meridian Police Department said Bundy failed to leave the St. Luke’s Meridian Medical center in relation to a child welfare case of a 10-month-old.
In a statement posted on Twitter, Bundy said he was arrested outside of the Capitol “for the crime of disagreeing with the hospital and [child protective services].”
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“Make no mistake about it, this was an ambush arrest with no legal grounds,” the gubernatorial candidate added, noting that he went to the hospital “in support of the Anderson family, whose baby Cyrus had been medically kidnapped earlier in the night due to a missed non-emergency doctor’s appointment.”
Bundy, a well-known far-right activist known for armed standoffs with law enforcement, is set to stand trial on Monday in connection with a trespassing case at the Idaho Capitol. He was previously sentenced to 40 hours of community service for a first misdemeanor trespassing offense after refusing to leave the Capitol during the August 2020 special session.
On Saturday afternoon, Bundy was seen at a protest outside St. Luke’s hospital in relation to the child services case.
Bundy wrote on Facebook and Twitter that the infant involved in the case is the grandchild of far-right Idaho pastor Diego Rodriguez. A pastor at the Boise Freedom Tabernacle Church, Rodriguez is a regular speaker at the “People’s Rights” events, including a July 2021 event where he ranted against “fake news” and proudly insisted that Bundy “is literally the mortal enemy of both BLMs.” The Anderson family or Rodriguez did not immediately respond for comment.
“Ask yourself this, if they can revoke your parental rights and take custody of your child over a missed doctor appointment, what else can they do and how did they get this power?” Bundy said in the Saturday statement, before seemingly making the moment a campaigning opportunity.
“That can be answered by looking at one of the many emergency orders imposed by the people of Idaho by Governor Brad Little. Idaho must unite against medical tyranny and take back our rights,” he added.
The incident has already caught the attention of other gubernatorial candidates—including Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, who has been admonished by her own Republican party after taping a speech for a white-nationalist conference in Orlando.
In a Saturday statement on her Facebook, McGeachin said she is “very concerned by the reports regarding Baby Cyrus being taken away from his parents” and reached out to Gov. Brad Little and his team “requesting a phone call regarding this situation.” “Taking a child from his parents must always be a very last resort. This kind of thing must not happen in Idaho. I will continue to investigate this situation,” the Trump-endorsed gubernatorial candidate added.
Authorities said that on March 1, they were made aware that a 10-month-old was admitted to the hospital “after medical personnel determined the child was suffering from severe malnourishment.” The child, which was “able to gain enough weight,” was ultimately discharged to its parents on March 4.
This week, however, police said that the child again “lost a significant amount of weight and the parents canceled the next follow-up appointment and could not be located.” Police were finally able to contact the infant’s father, who agreed to find the child in for an exam—but then failed to show up again.
Ultimately, officers went to the family’s house in Meridian, but the occupants “were uncooperative and refused to let officers check on the child’s welfare.” When a warrant was granted, police discovered the parents had left, but were later found during a traffic stop in Garden City. The Meridian Police ultimately took the child into custody and brought it to St. Luke’s hospital for medical care.
“Alert, Alert, Alert!!!! CPS is trying to take Baby Cyrus,” Bundy’s campaign Facebook page posted late Friday night. “This is Diego Rodriguez's grandchild. They have the car surrounded in Garden City at the Chevron on Chinden & 36th Street. Please show up immediately and film the police.”
Bundy and “several of his followers showed up” to the local hospital “and refused to leave the property when asked to do so,” the police said. “After several attempts to get Bundy to leave the property and his continual refusal to do so, the Meridian Police Department arrested Bundy for trespassing.”
Police also arrested 69-year-old Wendy Kay Whitmaker, who allegedly attempted to stop Bundy’s arrest and also refused to leave the hospital. Miranda Chavoya, 23, and 21-year-old Marissa Anderson were also arrested for resisting officers at the scene of the Garden City traffic stop when police found the child.
All of those arrested were out of jail by Saturday afternoon.
Shortly after he was released from jail, a cowboy-hat-clad Bundy posted a YouTube video about the incident, saying he has never seen a willingness for “law enforcement to do whatever they are told.” Bundy insisted that the child is “healthy, happy, and he couldn’t be loved more.”
“I just got back, it’s pushing five o-clock. I went to the hospital and they arrested me. And they arrested Wendy, my campaign manager,” Bundy says in the video. “I have lived in Nevada, I have lived in Arizona....and I have never ever seen the wickedness that I have experienced here in Idaho. Even very liberal wicked states won’t take babies away from their parents.”
