Ammon Bundy’s trial heads to the jury

BOISE — In a surprise move, far-right activist Ammon Bundy, who is representing himself, did not present an opening argument or witnesses in his defense on charges related to his violation of a ban prohibiting him from entering the Idaho Capitol.

Bundy, who’s running for Idaho governor, appeared in Ada County Magistrate Court on Tuesday for the second day of what was expected to be an almost weeklong trial. But the gubernatorial candidate chose not to give an opening statement or present witnesses and evidence to the jury.

Bundy was charged with three misdemeanors — two counts of trespassing, his second offense within five years, and resisting or obstructing officers’ arrests and seizures. They stem from April incidents in which Bundy was arrested, twice in one day, for entering the Capitol while under a one-year ban from the building. That ban resulted from his August 2020 arrest for refusing to leave the Lincoln Auditorium at the Capitol during a legislative special session.

Ada County Magistrate Judge Kira Dale said she was surprised that the trial was ending so quickly. “Frankly, I just didn’t expect to be here today,” Dale said.

The development came right after Bundy, prosecutors and Dale had an impassioned conversation without the jury present about what information involving Bundy’s past court cases could and could not be discussed before jurors. Bundy wanted jurors to hear those details, but Dale maintained her order that prevents the jury from knowing about prior cases.

“This is just marching me to the gallows,” Bundy said.

Bundy argues case is about what the jury ‘didn’t see’

Bundy chose to present closing arguments, which was the first time he spoke directly to the jury.

“This case is not about what you saw, but what you didn’t see,” Bundy said.

Aside from speaking about Bundy’s past cases, two other topic areas were off-limits during the trial — the constitutionality of the trespass statute and whether Department of Administration Director Keith Reynolds had the right to issue the one-year ban from the Idaho Capitol, according to court documents obtained by the Idaho Statesman.

Bundy told the Statesman in an interview at the courthouse Tuesday that the justice system is “not about the truth anymore.”

“I can’t talk about why I went to the Capitol? What was my state of mind? What was I thinking about? What the actual statute says?” Bundy said in regards to the order. “I can’t say those things.”

After Bundy’s closing arguments, Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Whitney Welsh rebutted, saying, “There is nothing confusing about this case.”

“Mr. Bundy would have you think that what he believes about the law matters,” Welsh said “Maybe it does on a philosophical level — but not with regard to this case.”

The jury went into deliberation at 4:30 p.m.

Bundy says juror had ‘extreme bias’

One member of the seven-person jury told Dale in confidence they felt “vulnerable” after hearing some of the statements Bundy made in the footage of his arrest presented in court.

In one of the videos, Bundy from the back of an Idaho State Police car can be heard telling state troopers that he would sue them and come after them legally. The statement made the juror uncomfortable.

Dale excused members of the media, the prosecution, the remaining jury, any audience members and Bundy to have a roughly six-minute conversation with the anonymous juror. The juror was not identified.

Initially, Dale kept the juror, which prompted Bundy to disagree and argue there was an “extreme bias.”

“Obviously I’m the scary guy. That’s pretty obvious, in the news and in the media,” Bundy said in regards to the juror’s feelings toward him.

But once the evidence in the case was presented, Dale excused the juror before deliberation as the court only needs six jurors to reach a verdict. The jury must reach a verdict unanimously.

Bundy’s ties to child welfare case

The Emmett resident spent the majority of Tuesday at the Ada County Courthouse. But just down the hall from his trial, a hearing was held in a child welfare case of a 10-month old baby — who has been the subject of protests led by Bundy.

On Saturday, protesters gathered outside the St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center to oppose authorities taking custody of the child, who is the grandchild of Diego Rodriguez, a campaign consultant of Bundy. Police have said the child was in danger of immediate harm.

Bundy was arrested Saturday on suspicion of trespassing after he failed to leave St. Luke’s Meridian Medical Center, where the baby was initially transported. An arraignment has yet to be set, according to online records.

Now, on Tuesday — while in court — Bundy posted a YouTube video on his Twitter page and asked people to gather at St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center. Less than two hours later, the hospital was placed on a brief lockdown because of a “developing security incident,” according to a statement from the hospital.

“Anybody who is at the courtroom, please go to the hospital,” Bundy said in the minute-long video. “Anybody who is out there, please go to the hospital. This is an emergency.”

At the end of the video, a man can be heard asking Bundy to come back to the courtroom as Dale was ready to proceed with the trial.

Prior to the protest at the hospital, at least two dozen people were gathered outside the Ada County Courthouse with many people holding signs, which said, “Medical kidnapping is not okay,” and, “Babies are not state property.”