The continuing adventures of Ammon Bundy

After successfully ducking service for a long time, Ammon Bundy is finally back in court concerning his unpaid civil suit to the hospital he defamed and coordinated an intimidation campaign against*

His ability to keep evading the consequences of these actions seems to be running out:

Quote:

Ammon Bundy, his wife and associated political groups cannot move property or large sums of money for another week while a Gem County judge evaluates whether to issue a more lasting order, the judge ordered Monday. The order restricts Ammon Bundy, his wife Lisa Bundy, his former campaign Ammon Bundy for Governor, People’s Rights Network and White Barn Enterprises, LLC, from moving property, and the Bundys are limited from spending more than $5,000 each month. ... Bundy is being sued twice by St. Luke’s Health System. Bundy and his associate Diego Rodriguez did not attend the two-week long jury trial in Ada County for the first lawsuit, where a jury ordered the two and groups linked to them to pay $52.5 million in damages to St. Luke’s Health System and three employees they defamed, or made false, damaging statements about in connection with their care for an infant related to Rodriguez. The second lawsuit alleges that Bundy has made fraudulent property transfers to evade collection of $26 million in damages awarded to the hospital system in its initial lawsuit against him, People’s Rights Network and his campaign for governor. The original lawsuit against Bundy, Rodriguez and groups linked to them revolved around their in-person protests and online messages targeting medical professionals and others after a primary care provider unaffiliated with the hospital contacted the state health department about the infant. That resulted in the infant being placed under temporary protective care.

*All of this because police took a severely malnourished infant to the hospital, where it was cared for by medical staff for a week before being returned to the parents. Doctors testified at the defamation trial that the child likely would have died without intervention.

Quote:

Bundy called upon his followers to protest at the hospital (both St. Luke's Meridian and St. Luke's Boise),[109][111] and at the homes of the child protection service workers and law enforcement officers involved.[109] Bundy also claimed that St. Luke's "engaged in widespread kidnapping, trafficking, and killing of Idaho children."[109][112] Bundy claimed that the Idaho government and others were engaged in "child trafficking" for profit.[109] St. Luke's Regional Health sued Bundy, Rodriquez, and three affiliated organizations (the Ammon Bundy for Governor, the People's Rights Network and the Freedom Man Press/Freedom Man PAC) for defamation, saying that the defendants had harassed medical staff and orchestrated a smear campaign against the hospital.[109][110] According to the hospital, the actions of Bundy and the other defendants caused disruption to operations, with the hospital being forced to lock down the facility, divert emergency department patients, and postpone or cancel hundreds of appointments.[109] At the trial, the hospital cited evidence that the defendants had spread lies about the hospital through videos and blog posts, such as claims that the hospital and government were plotting to seize children from Christian families and give them to gay couples to be sexually abused.[110] Bundy refused to appear in court either personally or through legal counsel;[109][110] after failing to respond to court orders, he was found in default.[110] Following the civil trial in Ada County, the jury found all defendants liable for defamation, false light, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The jury awarded plaintiffs $26.5 million in compensatory damages and $26 million in punitive damages.[110] Of this amount, Bundy personally was found liable for $6.2 million in compensatory damages and $6.15 million in punitive damages and Ammon Bundy for Governor was found liable for $1.55 million in compensatory damages and $1.65 million in punitive damages.[110] The hospital system praised the jury verdict as "accountability for the ongoing campaign of intimidation, harassment and disinformation" conducted by Bundy and his co-defendants.[109]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammon_...mation_verdict

Odds seem good that the Bundys will eventually react to this case going poorly the way they react to most things that upset them, by a huge, potentially deadly freakout involving all their militia buddies.

via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/OBcITvU