Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy refused to wear a mask in court was subsequently arrested for failing to show up to his trial as he couldn't enter the courthouse.
He taken into custody on Monday after he was due to appear in court at 8.15am for the start of his trial on misdemeanour charges for trespassing and resisting arrest after an incident at the Idaho Statehouse in August, KTVB reported.
A statement from the Ada County Sheriff’s office said a large crowd had gathered to protest in support of Mr Bundy. The statement added that when deputies “walked out into the crowd to arrest” Mr Bundy, he “laid down on the ground and refused to move”.
“Some protestors locked their arms together” to protect Mr Bundy.
The Idaho Supreme Court has required masks to be worn in any courthouse in the state for almost a year, according to NBC News.
Read more:
- Woman killed by police caught on bodycam
- Sharon Osbourne’s US talk show pulled off-air amid ‘internal review’ into Piers Morgan comments
- John Oliver says Prince Andrew must be ‘really about’ about Meghan and Harry interview
Administrative judge Steven Hippler told NBC: "Mr Bundy... refused to wear a mask to come into the courthouse and thus was not granted admission."
Magistrate Judge David Manweile issued a warrant for Mr Bundy's arrest when he didn't enter the Ada County Courthouse. According to jail records, his bail is $10,000.
Mr Hippler said that a condition for the bond, if Mr Bundy makes bail, is that he follows courthouse rules, including wearing a mask.
Mr Bundy came to prominence during an armed standoff in 2014 at the Nevada ranch of his father, Cliven Bundy, which took place after federal agents seized his cattle for his failure to pay grazing fees for his use of public land.
In October 2020, The Idaho Statesman reported that the Caldwell school district voted unanimously to ban Ammon Bundy from district grounds until the end of the 2020/2021 academic year after a high school football game was shut down at halftime because Ammon Bundy refused to wear a mask and people made threatening calls to the school.
Caldwell police spokesman Joey Hoadley told The Idaho Stateman at the time: “The threats made to dispatch appear to have stemmed from the dispute between Mr Bundy and the Caldwell School District personnel that requested he wear a mask while attending the game. The calls did specifically reference the football game.”
In August, Mr Bundy refused to vacate the statehouse premises after a hearing was moved to a different area of the same building. According to NBC News, when he didn't get out of the swivel chair he was sitting in, police officers rolled him out of the building.
He was charged with trespassing at the state capitol during protests against Covid restrictions. The arrest on Monday came after a three-hour-long standoff with police outside the courthouse, The Washington Post reported. He’s representing himself in his criminal case.
