BOISE, Idaho — Far-right activist Ammon Bundy held up what he jokingly called his “get out of jail free card” at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise moments before a six-person jury found him guilty on two of the three misdemeanor charges against him.
“Everybody, don’t worry, I’ve got my get out of jail free card,” Bundy said to an audience of roughly 20 witnesses before court proceedings began.
The gubernatorial candidate was convicted on one count of trespassing, for the second time in less than a year, and one count of resisting or obstructing officers’ arrests and seizures. The jury was not able to make a decision on the first trespassing charge against him, creating a mistrial on that count.
Bundy stipulated that he was convicted in July of trespassing in the first degree after he refused to leave the Lincoln Auditorium in the Idaho Capitol, which resulted in a one-year ban. Bundy is appealing that conviction.
The largest difference in sentencing between a first and second offense trespassing charge is how much Bundy could be fined. Under Idaho Code, Bundy could be sentenced to up to six months in jail and fined between $1,500 and $3,000 for the trespassing violation — if the jury finds this is his second trespassing offense. But, if it is determined to be his first offense, the fine would be between $500 and $1,000.
Additionally, on the resisting or obstructing officers’ arrests and seizures conviction, Bundy could face up to one year in county jail and could be fined up to $1,000.
The charges tried this week stem from April 2021 incidents in which Bundy was arrested, twice in one day, for entering the state Capitol while under the one-year ban from the building. That ban resulted from his August 2020 arrest for refusing to leave the Lincoln Auditorium at the Capitol during a legislative special session.
The trial was expected to be almost a week long but was cut short. Bundy chose not to give an opening statement or present witnesses and evidence to the jury on Tuesday.
Bundy was arrested on suspicion of trespassing again Saturday after he failed to leave the St. Luke’s Meridian Medical Center property in relation to a child welfare case. An arraignment has yet to be set, according to online records.
