A second arrest warrant has been issued for Ammon Bundy, the former gubernatorial candidate and far-right public figure at the center of a legal battle with Boise-based St. Luke's Health System.
Ada County District Court Judge Nancy Baskin issued the new warrant for Mr. Bundy’s arrest after he skipped court Dec. 18, the first day of his trial against the health system, KMVT reported Dec. 25. She increased the bond amount to $250,000, and revoked the $10,000 bond Mr. Bundy paid on his first arrest warrant issued by a previous judge.
This trial would have focused on contempt of court charges that were requested by attorneys representing St. Luke’s and several other medical professionals. In July, Mr. Bundy and multiple co-defendants, including his associate Diego Rodriguez, were ordered to pay the plaintiffs $52.5 million after a jury found them liable for defamation, among other claims.
St. Luke's filed the initial lawsuit against Mr. Bundy in May 2022 after he organized a protest which sent the hospital into lockdown. Mr. Bundy and his supporters allegedly threatened hospital workers and disrupted health services while protesting the hospitalization of the infant grandson of Mr. Rodriguez. The 10-month-old child was brought to the hospital for treatment following police determination that the infant was in "imminent danger" due to severe malnourishment; he was later placed in police custody after his parents failed to bring him to follow-up appointments, according to law enforcement.