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Look West will have full coverage of what Donald Trump's victory could mean for public lands tomorrow. In the meantime, read our blog post about what Project 2025 proposed.
Ammon Bundy, the notorious ringleader of two armed standoffs against the federal government over his illegal public land use, is a fugitive hiding indiscreetly in Cedar City, Utah.
In 2022, Bundy mobilized his base outside a hospital in Idaho after Child Protective Services took his friend's 10-month-old grandson who was suffering from severe malnutrition. The group harassed hospital staff over several days, and doctors, nurses, and local police received death threats.
Bundy was sued for defamation by the hospital, and a $53 million judgment was placed against him and others involved. He skipped trial on contempt of court charges and fled to Utah, and he now has a warrant out for his arrest.
Ironically, Bundy claimed he fled his arrest warrant in Idaho because he wants peace, even though he has a long history of unjustified aggression. In 2014, Bundy's father was accused of grazing cattle illegally on public land for about 20 years, racking up $1 million in unpaid grazing fees. When the federal government came to collect the fees, the family organized hundreds of armed anti-government militants to scare them off. Two years later, Bundy and his heavily-armed supporters occupied Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Oregon demanding public land be handed over to local ranchers. The demonstration turned violent, causing one death.
In reponse to Bundy's wish to be left alone, Gary Raney said, “That’s been his line for a long time, and my response to it is: so did that physician, so did that nurse, so did that child protective services worker, so did law enforcement. They just want to be left alone. He’s a hypocrite.” Raney is the former sheriff of Ada County, where Bundy's arrest warrant was issued. He told The Independent that because of the chaos instigated by the Bundy standoffs, anyone with the power to arrest him might be reluctant to use it.
Despite claiming to seek peace, Bundy closed the interview with a threat. “I hope they don’t continue to pursue and to pursue and to pursue because I really don’t want to leave the United States,” he said. “And I really don’t want to have to stop and make a stand.”
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Grasslands are neglected by conservation often. They’re just not seen as sexy as forests and mountains.”
