Ammon Bundy

Ammon Bundy
File:Ammon Bundy January 23, 2016.jpg Ammon Bundy during the occupation on January 23, 2016.
Born	Ammon Edward Bundy (1975-09-01) September 1, 1975 Bunkerville, Nevada, United States
Residence	Emmett, Idaho
Nationality	American
Occupation	Car fleet manager
Known for	Bundy standoff Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Lisa Bundy
Children	6

Ammon Edward Bundy (born September 1, 1975) is an American car fleet manager and anti-government protester who led armed protesters in the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

He is the son of Cliven Bundy, who was the central figure of the Bundy standoff in 2014.

Early life and Bundy standoff

Bundy was born in 1975 in Nevada to Cliven and his first wife Jane Marie Brown Bundy. He resided in Phoenix, Arizona before moving to Idaho. He has six siblings, including Ryan (born 1972) and Mel (born 1974), who both participated in the occupation. He has seven half-siblings from Cliven Bundy's second wife, Carol Turner Bundy. Bundy owns a truck repair company and was listed as a member of several Arizona companies. Prior to the occupation, he had lost a home in a short sale and was behind on his property taxes.

On April 10, 2014, after protesters surrounded a civilian driving a Bureau of Land Management truck, Bundy was tasered by federal agents. Arizona state representative Kelly Townsend said of the incident, "Watching that video last night created a visceral reaction in me."

2016 militant occupation

Main article: Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Prelude to the occupation

Bundy in 2014.

See also: Hammond arson case

In 2015, ranchers Dwight and Steve Hammond were sentenced to five years for two counts of arson on federal land. By late 2015, the Hammond case had attracted the attention of Ammon and Ryan Bundy. Although the ranchers rejected Bundy's assistance, Bundy decided to lead an armed occupation of the headquarters area of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on January 2, 2016. He referred to his group as the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom and remarked that it could be a lengthy stay.

Occupation

Bundy's father Cliven said he was not involved in the occupation, stating that it was "not exactly what I thought should happen".

Early in the standoff, a Twitter user claiming to be Bundy tweeted a statement, comparing the group to civil rights activist Rosa Parks. The account was later found to be a hoax. Despite this, other involved militants have made comparisons with Parks.

Arrest and legal proceedings

Bundy speaking to a FBI negotiator via speaker phone on January 21.

On January 26, federal authorities arrested Ammon Bundy, his brother Ryan, and three other militants involved in the occupation, following a shootout that killed another militant, LaVoy Finicum. They each faced a single federal felony count of conspiracy to impede officers of the U.S. from discharging their official duties through the use of force, intimidation, or threats — an offense attracting a sentence of up to ten years' imprisonment.

On January 27, Bundy, through his lawyer, urged those remaining at the refuge to stand down and go home.

On January 29, Bundy appeared before a judge alongside several other jailed militants. He stood in court and explained the motives of the occupation to the judge, saying that "[his] only goal from the beginning was to protect freedom for the people." However, he and the other militants were denied bail, with the judge saying she would not release them while the occupation continues. That same day, he offered to plead guilty to the federal conspiracy charge alone, in exchange for the dismissal of the other charges against him, the dismissal of all of the charges filed against the other militants in custody at the time, and letting militants still at the refuge to leave peacefully without arrest. However, prosecutors rejected the offer. Bundy has since repeatedly urged any militants remaining at the refuge to stand down and go home.

In a March 3 interview, Bundy described his life in prison and continued to explain his motives of the occupation. He also asserted that Finicum had been cooperating with officers before his shooting death.

On March 9, Bundy was also charged with a variety of counts, including possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in federal facilities, and use and carry of firearms in relation to a crime of violence — an offense that incurs a sentence of five years minimum to life, consecutive. In addition, he was indicted separately for his role in the Bundy standoff. On April 16, he and four other militants, including his brother Ryan, refused to enter pleas in regards to their roles in the Bundy standoff, prompting U.S. Magistrate Judge George Foley, Jr. to enter not guilty pleas for them.

Bundy's legal team has been accused of organizing a social media harassment campaign against the public agencies involved in evidence gathering and prosecution of the case, and in particular the Oregon State Police. The Southern Poverty Law Center reported that sovereign citizen movement members also attempted to insert themselves into the case, filing a flurry of paperwork in a tactic common to the movement known as paper terrorism. His legal team is also facing ethics complaints regarding attempts to influence the potential jury pool unduly and for possible ethical violations involving visits by the law firm to Bundy and other militants prior to their arrests, offering legal services. The complaint was later dropped by the Oregon State Bar on the basis that there was no reason to refer the lawyers to disciplinary counsel.

On May 9, Bundy's legal team filed new court papers stating that he believed the occupation would result in a civil court taking up the constitutionality of the U.S. government's federal land management policy. The papers also stated that Bundy did not expect the militants to be indicted and arrested on federal charges in criminal court. As a result, he began urging the court to dismiss the indictments against the militants, citing his legal team's defense strategy. Bundy's lawyers also explained his beliefs that two U.S. Supreme Court cases addressing his defense strategy "were wrongly decided and should be overruled": a 1935 ruling that the government has had ownership over the refuge's wetlands and lake-beds since the 1840s; and a following ruling that the country's laws have sole control over the disposition of title to its lands, and that the states have no power to establish limitations or restrictions over that control. Bundy countered the rulings with Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which limits the federal government's powers to acquire and own property, and the fact that no federal court has addressed the question of whether the government can hold "the majority of the land within a state."

On May 26, Bundy filed a "substitution of counsel" document, removing the Arnold law firm from the case and hiring J. Morgan Philpot as his lawyer.

Trial

The trial for Bundy and the other militants is scheduled to start on September 7. His legal team previewed their defense strategy, which would rely on the argument that the federal government doesn't actually have jurisdiction of federal land, as they lost the right to own the land inside of Oregon once it became a state.

Personal life

Bundy has a wife, Lisa, as well as three daughters and three sons from the ages of 1 to 13. He also has 46 nieces and nephews. They own a 5,102 square feet (474 m²) home in Emmett, Idaho. On January 28, Lisa Bundy reiterated her husband's statements in an audio-recording, urging the remaining militants to follow his wishes and return home to their families.

External links

• Bundy family's official blog
• Ammon Bundy legal defense fund
• Valet Fleet Service