Bond remains at $10,000 for Bundy. Nampa man arrested for assault to be released
Of the three people arrested outside the Ada County Courthouse on Monday — including Ammon Bundy — only one is set to be released on his own recognizance.
Bundy, of Emmett, and another man, Aaron Schmidt, still face a $10,000 bond that must be paid before they can be released from the Ada County Jail. The two went before District Judge Adam Kimball and asked for lower bail amounts, though Kimball ruled to keep bail the same for both men.
Bundy and Schmidt were due in court Monday morning for trials connected with their trespassing arrests at the Idaho Statehouse last summer. However, the two did not put on the required masks or face coverings needed to enter the Ada County Courthouse.
After the trial started without the two in attendance, the district judge presiding over the trial issued failure-to-appear warrants for their arrests. The two were outside the courthouse when the judge issued the warrants. A scuffle ensued after Ada County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Bundy and Schmidt.
A third man — 69-year-old Nampa resident Casey Baker — was also arrested. He is accused of one felony count of battery on a law enforcement officer and a misdemeanor count of resisting and obstructing an officer.
During a Tuesday afternoon arraignment hearing, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Whitney Welsh said members of the People’s Rights group gathered outside the trial judge’s home for roughly 90 minutes yelling and chanting, with some people calling for the judge to be arrested. Welsh said some people were calling the judge a “maskhole.”
Bundy — representing himself in court on Monday by video — rebuffed the claims and asked Welsh to provide evidence, saying he did not ask anyone to threaten the trial judge. He told Kimball that he was “looking forward” to the trial but was not allowed into the building without a mask. Bundy added that the “circumstances are pretty miserable” in the Ada County Jail.
Bundy asked that his bond be lowered, but Kimball kept the bond amount the same. Following Bundy’s court appearance was Schmidt’s. He also requested a lower bond amount and was denied.
As of Tuesday afternoon, both men remained in the Ada County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bond amounts.
Baker appeared in court Tuesday, for an arraignment hearing. Baker — also representing himself — asked Kimball to be released, citing his Nampa residence and close family in the Treasure Valley as reasons why he would consistently be in court. Despite Welsh’s request to give Baker a $10,000 bond amount, Kimball cited Baker’s lack of criminal history as a basis for authorizing his release.
Bundy and Schmidt are set to return to court on May 10 for their jury trials. Baker’s next scheduled court date is a preliminary hearing on March 29.
This story was originally published March 16, 2021 at 4:05 PM.
