Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy runs for Idaho governor

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy is running to be Idaho’s next governor, according to documents filed Friday with the Secretary of State’s office.

Bundy, best known for leading an armed standoff at an Eastern Oregon wildlife refuge five years ago, is running as a Republican in the 2022 gubernatorial primary, according to campaign finance documents.

Current Idaho Gov. Brad Little, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin and four other Republicans — Jeff Cotton, Edward Humphreys, Lisa Marie and Cody Usabel — have also filed campaign documentation needed to run for governor. So far no Democratic candidates have entered the race.

Bundy garnered international attention when in 2016 he led a group of armed activists in the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to protest the federal control of public lands. He was eventually arrested and later acquitted of all federal charges in that case.

Bundy currently has two misdemeanor criminal trespassing cases pending against him in Idaho, and he’s representing himself for both. The cases stem from events during a protest of coronavirus restrictions at the Idaho Statehouse last August. He’s pleaded not guilty in one case and has not yet entered a plea in the second.