Ammon Bundy, an independent candidate for governor of Idaho, was arrested early Saturday morning at St. Luke’s in Meridian. | SARAH A. MILLER SMILLER@IDAHOSTATESMAN.COM
MERIDIAN (Idaho Statesman) – Ammon Bundy, an independent candidate for governor of Idaho, was arrested early Saturday morning at St. Luke’s Meridian Medical Center on suspicion of misdemeanor trespassing. He failed to leave the property in relation to a child welfare case, according to Meridian Police.
Bundy was arrested around 1:15 a.m. Saturday morning, said Kelsey Johnston, spokesperson for the police department.
“He was asked to leave the property and did not,” Johnston told the Idaho Statesman. One other person was also arrested and charged with trespassing at the hospital, and two people were arrested earlier Friday in a related incident.
On Friday, Meridian Police were directed by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to take a child into protective custody, Johnston said.
Police were informed that a 10-month-old child who had been taken to a hospital March 1 was determined by medical staff to be “suffering from severe malnourishment,” according to a news release from the Meridian Police Department. On March 4, the child was discharged from the hospital under the care of their parents.
During a follow-up appointment the following week, “it was determined the child had again lost a significant amount of weight and when the parents canceled the next follow-up appointment and could not be located, the Meridian Police were contacted and advised this child’s condition could lead to severe injury or even death if not treated,” the release said.
Health and Welfare eventually contacted the child’s father, who said he would bring the child in for an appointment, but did not, the release added.
Police officers also attempted to check on the child at a Meridian residence, but “the occupants were uncooperative and refused to let officers check on the child’s welfare,” the release said. After receiving a warrant to enter the home, police discovered the child and the child’s parents had left.
On Friday, Garden City Police officers located a vehicle driven by the father and conducted a traffic stop, with assistance from the Boise Police Department and Meridian Police, Johnston said.
Meridian Police took the child into custody near the 3700 block of Chinden Boulevard in Garden City.
During the traffic stop, Bundy directed followers of his to come to the site and record the incident, Johnston said.
When the child was taken to St. Luke’s Health System in Meridian, Bundy also directed followers of his to go there, Johnston said.
Early Saturday morning, a text alert was sent out to followers of the People’s Rights, an activist citizens group organized by Bundy, to go to the hospital in order to have “boots on the ground … to demand that the baby have family present,” according to copies of the messages reviewed by the Statesman.
In a Saturday post on Twitter, Bundy wrote that “last night my very good friend Diego’s grandson was medically kidnapped because a medical practitioner called (child protective services) for a missed doctor appointment. If this happened to them, it could happen to you.”
Please read. Last night my very good friend Diego’s grandson was medically kidnapped because a medical practitioner called CPS for a missed doctor appointment. If this happened to them, it could happen to you. We must stand against this medical tyranny. https://t.co/YIwXjLjrgx
— Ammon Bundy (@RealABundy) March 12, 2022
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In an earlier statement from his campaign, Bundy said that the incident was “an ambush arrest with no legal grounds.”
Bundy is not being held at the Ada County Jail, according to jail records.
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Source: eastidahonews.com