UPDATE: Ammon Bundy arrested twice in two hours for violating order at Idaho Capitol - East Idaho News
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UPDATE: Ammon Bundy arrested twice in two hours for violating order at Idaho Capitol

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BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Ammon Bundy was arrested twice in Boise on Thursday, his fourth and fifth arrests in the past nine months, with four of those coming at the Idaho Capitol.

Idaho State Police took the Emmett resident into custody on a misdemeanor trespassing charge just after noon, according to ISP spokesperson Lynn Hightower, after he was seen on the second floor of the Statehouse. Simply being in public areas of the building is a violation of an Aug. 26 order that barred Bundy from the Capitol for a year.

“As I understand, he was not cooperative (with police),” Hightower told the Statesman.

Hightower said that Bundy was removed from the Capitol on a cart that is used to safely take out uncooperative individuals and others from the building. It’s not known why Bundy was at the Statehouse.

Bundy was taken to the Ada County Jail and booked on a misdemeanor trespassing charge at 12:44 p.m. His bail amount was $300, according to a jail spokesperson.

Hes Ammon Bundy
Ammon Bundy’s first arrest at the Statehouse Thursday | Courtesy Cody Ricks

Less than two hours later, Bundy returned to the Statehouse, with a trooper spotting him on the third floor, ISP said. Police arrested Bundy, who once more was not cooperative, according to ISP. He was taken to the Ada County Jail to be booked yet again on a misdemeanor trespassing charge, and also was charged with misdemeanor resisting or obstructing. He had to be wheeled out on the cart again, according to ISP.

Hightower told the Statesman that as of Thursday, there will be no additional security measures taken in light of Bundy’s repeated arrests at the Capitol. Additional troopers have been assigned there, however, since the 2021 legislative session began.

Bundy now has been taken to jail in Ada County five times since August, including twice in a 24-hour span that month after arrests at a special session of the Legislature. That led to the one-year ban.

His non-Statehouse arrest took place outside of the Ada County Courthouse on March 15. Bundy and another man, Aaron Schmidt, were set to appear on misdemeanor trespassing charges stemming from their August arrests. The two tried to enter the courthouse without wearing masks, a violation of coronavirus health measures that are part of an order from the Idaho Supreme Court.

When the two were not in court as a hearing began, a judge issued failure to appear warrants. Ada County sheriff’s deputies arrested Bundy and Schmidt outside the courthouse, leading to a scuffle between Bundy’s supporters and law enforcement. One man who was not in the confrontation with deputies was injured and taken to a hospital. Another man, Casey Baker, was arrested and later charged with battery on a law enforcement officer.

Afterward, Ada County Jail officials said Bundy “refused” to go through the jail booking process before a court hearing the next day.

Earlier this month, an Ada County magistrate judge ordered Bundy and Schmidt to go through mediation in an attempt to settle their cases before a trial. Bundy and his supporters have protested outside the judge’s home and outside the courthouse to condemn the charges against him.

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