Current:Home > StocksFar-right activist Ammon Bundy loses defamation case and faces millions of dollars in fines -Pinnacle Profit Strategies
Far-right activist Ammon Bundy loses defamation case and faces millions of dollars in fines
View
Date:2025-04-17 07:26:02
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A far-right activist who led the takeover of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon now must pay millions of dollars in damages after a hospital in Idaho won a defamation lawsuit against them.
The lawsuit by St. Luke’s Regional Health accused Ammon Bundy and his associate Diego Rodriguez of making defamatory statements against the hospital and its employees after Rodriguez’s infant grandson was temporarily removed from his family and taken to St. Luke’s amid concerns for his health.
Police said at the time that medical personnel determined the child was malnourished and had lost weight. The hospital claimed Bundy and Rodriguez orchestrated a smear campaign against it.
Other news Far-right activist Ammon Bundy’s latest standoff is in court A far-right activist best known for his showdowns with federal law enforcement in Oregon and Nevada is now waging a one-sided standoff of a different kind in Idaho. St.Late Monday, a jury at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise agreed, awarding the hospital damages exceeding $50 million, the hospital announced.
“The jury’s decision imposes accountability for the ongoing campaign of intimidation, harassment and disinformation these defendants have conducted,” St. Luke’s said in a statement. “It also affirms the importance of protecting health care providers and other public servants from attacks intended to prevent them from carrying out their responsibilities.”
Bundy had urged his followers to protest at the hospital and at the homes of child protection service workers, law enforcement officers and others involved in the child protection case. Rodriguez wrote on his website that the baby was “kidnapped,” and suggested that the state and people involved in the case were engaged in “child trafficking” for profit.
The lawsuit was filed more than a year ago. Since then, Bundy has ignored court orders related to the lawsuit, filed trespassing complaints against people hired to deliver legal paperwork, and called on scores of his followers to camp at his home for protection when he learned he might be arrested on a warrant for a misdemeanor charge of contempt of court.
Bundy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the jury’s decision. Bundy wasn’t represented by an attorney, nor was Rodriguez, according to court papers.
In 2016, Bundy led a 41-day armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, to protest the arson convictions of two ranchers who set fires on federal land where they had been grazing their cattle.
In 2014, Bundy’s father, rancher Cliven Bundy, rallied supporters to stop officers from impounding Bundy Ranch cattle over more than $1 million in unpaid fees and penalties for grazing livestock on government land.
Ammon Bundy was acquitted of criminal charges in Oregon, and the Nevada criminal case ended in a mistrial.
veryGood! (3)
Related
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Jennifer Lopez cancels 2024 tour This Is Me: 'Completely heartsick and devastated'
- Illinois House speaker’s staff sues to unionize
- Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky says faith in anti-doping policies at 'all-time low'
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Jersey Shore police say ‘aggressive’ crowds, not lack of police, caused Memorial weekend problems
- 4 years after George Floyd's death, has corporate America kept promises to Black America?
- Mexico’s drug cartels and gangs appear to be playing a wider role in Sunday’s elections than before
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- Trump’s attacks on US justice system after guilty verdict could be useful to autocrats like Putin
Ranking
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- Romance Writers of America files for bankruptcy after tumultuous split spurred by racism allegations
- In historic move, Vermont becomes 1st state to pass law requiring fossil fuel companies to pay for climate change damages
- Dallas Stars coach Peter DeBoer rips reporter who called his team 'lifeless' in Game 5 loss
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Man accused of killing nursing student Laken Riley pleads not guilty in Georgia court
- Jennifer Lopez cancels This is Me ... Now tour to spend time with family: I am completely heartsick
- Biden says Israel has extended new cease-fire proposal
Recommendation
'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
With his transgender identity public, skier Jay Riccomini finds success on and off the slopes
Therapy dogs real stars of Women's College World Series, aiding mental health and performance
Watch Live: Explosive Iceland volcano eruption shoots lava across roads and sends pollution toward the capital
Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
Most US students are recovering from pandemic-era setbacks, but millions are making up little ground
Trump may face travel restrictions in some countries after his New York conviction
Untangling the Story Behind Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult