1. Ammon Edward Bundy was born on September 1,1975 and is an American anti-government militant and activist who led the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.
50 Facts About Ammon Bundy
1. 2.
Ammon Bundy is the son of rancher Cliven Bundy, who was the central figure in the 2014 Bundy standoff in Nevada regarding unpaid grazing fees on federally-owned public land.
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In March 2020, Bundy created the far-right People's Rights network.
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Ammon Bundy ran for governor of Idaho in the 2022 election.
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Ammon Bundy owns a truck repair company and was listed as a member of several Arizona companies.
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When two officers pointed tasers at him and ordered him to back up, Ammon Bundy continued to advance.
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Ammon Bundy repeatedly kicked the police dog and was tasered moments later.
8.
Ammon Bundy acknowledged in an interview that he had climbed on a dump truck that he believed contained his father's cattle.
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Ammon Bundy asked that they not wear military camouflage and to leave their rifles in their vehicles rather than open carry them.
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Ammon Bundy asked that they check in with him when they arrived at the protest rally point.
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Ammon Bundy 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.
12.
Ammon Bundy referred to his group as the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom and remarked that it could be a lengthy stay.
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Early in the standoff, a Twitter user claiming to be Ammon Bundy tweeted a statement comparing the group to civil rights activist Rosa Parks.
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Ammon 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.
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Ammon Bundy was with other militants from the occupation attempting to drive to John Day, Oregon for a public meeting where he was scheduled to speak.
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In January 2016, Bundy appeared before US Magistrate Judge Stacie F Beckerman alongside several other jailed militants.
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That same day, Ammon 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.
18.
In interviews, Ammon Bundy said jail was the "most difficult thing I've ever done".
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Ammon Bundy's lawyers wrote that Bundy believed that two US Supreme Court cases, upholding the federal government's broad power over federal lands, were wrongfully decided.
20.
On May 26,2016, Bundy replaced his legal counsel, removing the Arnold Law Firm from the case and hiring J Morgan Philpot as his lawyer.
21.
Ammon Bundy retained Utah attorney Marcus Mumford to assist Bundy.
22.
Jury selection for Ammon Bundy's trial began on September 7,2016.
23.
On October 27,2016, Ammon Bundy was found not guilty on all counts.
24.
Ammon Bundy claimed that the federal government's prosecution of him and his supporters following confrontations in Nevada and Oregon is really a "battle of High priests" of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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Ammon Bundy said he, his father, and his attorney are all high priests in the church, as well as the lead US attorney prosecuting his family, the chief judge in Oregon, and former Nevada Senator Harry Reid.
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Ammon Bundy says he is an active and devout member of the LDS Church but claimed that it had been infiltrated by socialists.
27.
In December 2018, Ammon Bundy disavowed the militia movement due to his disagreement with President Donald Trump's immigration policy, specifically regarding the Central American migrant caravan.
28.
Ammon Bundy has expressed support for the Black Lives Matter, defund the police, and prison abolition movements.
29.
In March 2020, Ammon Bundy founded an organization called the People's Rights Network.
30.
In 2021, Ammon Bundy's group engaged in a standoff with the government over water usage from the Klamath River.
31.
Ammon Bundy's group occupied a segment of land next to a canal in the Klamath Basin near Klamath Falls, Oregon and threatened to unilaterally force the headgates open.
32.
The Southern Poverty Law Center reported in May 2023 that a number of extremist organizations, including Ammon Bundy's PNM, received donations laundered through the cryptocurrency Ethereum to hide a donor's identity; PRN received approximately $93,000.
33.
Ammon Bundy was charged with resisting arrest and was wheeled out of the building handcuffed in a rolling chair.
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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.
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Ammon Bundy 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.
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Ammon 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.
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Ammon Bundy 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.
38.
Ammon Bundy 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.
39.
Ammon 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.
40.
Ammon Bundy was sentenced to five days in jail, fined and ordered to do 40 hours of community service which could not include any work of use to himself.
41.
At the protest at the hospital, Ammon Bundy was arrested for trespassing.
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Ammon Bundy was then sentenced to 90 days in jail and one year of unsupervised probation, meaning that he did not have to serve any more time in jail.
43.
On May 21,2021, Ammon Bundy filed paperwork to run for governor in the state of Idaho in 2022.
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Ammon Bundy had later claimed that while he did file treasurer appointment paperwork, he had not made up his mind regarding a gubernatorial run.
45.
Ammon Bundy says he wants to eliminate property taxation and Idaho state income taxes.
46.
Brad Little, the Republican incumbent, won reelection with 358,598 of the vote; Democratic challenger Stephen Heidt received 120,160 , and Ammon Bundy received 101,835 votes.
47.
Ammon Bundy claimed that St Luke's "engaged in widespread kidnapping, trafficking, and killing of Idaho children" and claimed that the Idaho government and others were engaged in "child trafficking" for profit.
48.
Ammon Bundy refused to appear in court either personally or through legal counsel; after failing to respond to court orders, he was found in default.
49.
In May 2022 St Luke's sued Ammon Bundy, asking him to remove "defamatory and false material" which Ammon Bundy had posted about St Luke's on one of his websites.
50.
From his hideout, Ammon Bundy has issued veiled threats to the St Luke's hospital staff, to his bank tellers, to some of his far right wing supporters, and to the "Freedom Movement" which had previously voiced its support for Ammon Bundy.