Ammon Bundy, the anti-government leader of a standoff against federal agents in Oregon in January 2016 and the son of Cliven Bundy who refused to pay grazing fees on federal land in 2014, has announced that he will run for governor of Idaho as a Republican, CNN reported.
“I’m running for governor because I’m sick and tired of all of this political garbage just like you are,” Bundy said in a video announcing his campaign on Saturday. “I’m tired of our freedoms being taken from us and I’m tired of the corruption that is rampant in our state government. We have a great opportunity in Idaho to not only preserve our rights and freedom, but we can thrive by expanding and upholding the principles of liberty and prosperity that were passed on to us by our Founding Fathers and enshrined in our state and US Constitution.”
Bundy has been arrested at least half a dozen times during the coronavirus pandemic for criminal trespass and resisting arrest for invading the Idaho capitol to protest public health regulations put in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Cliven Bundy and his children led a protest when they were assessed federal grazing fees for allowing their cattle to roam on federal lands without paying proper permits. Various people allied with Bundy’s cause showed up on site, including many who trained their weapons on federal agents.
Two years later, Ammon Bundy led a group of anti-government activists during an occupation of the Malheur National Reserve in Oregon, claiming that the federal government had no Constitutional right to manage lands in any states. Bundy and his followers were specifically protesting the existence of agencies like the Bureau of Land Management, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Forest Service. The standoff ended after 41 days, with the protesters going home when one of them was killed after pulling a gun on a federal agent.
Bundy’s latest hissy fit is the claim that state and federal governments have no ability to implement public health regulations, such as mandating business shutdowns and regulating group gatherings to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Bundy tried to register to run for office last month, but his campaign application was rejected by Idaho’s elections officials. Idaho requires the campaign treasurer to be a registered voter in the state, and Ammon Bundy listed himself as the campaign treasurer. Bundy never registered to vote in the state, even though he’s lived here since 2015.