In case anyone had forgotten that threats, intimidation, and ultimately force form the core of far-right politics, anti-government “Patriot” leader Ammon Bundy gave us all a reminder Thursday in Idaho.
Bundy, the self-styled leader of Idaho’s “resistance” to coronavirus-related stay-at-home measures (in much the same fashion as his 2016 takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon), showed up at the doors of the Southwest Health District in Caldwell with a contingent of his belligerent supporters and attempted to bully his way—physically, even—into a discussion of a possible mask mandate for district residents. The problem was that the meeting, as announced and planned, was being held online on Zoom.
The health district’s board was meeting to discuss enacting a requirement for Canyon County residents to wear face coverings in public, as well as for businesses to require them. Such mandates are already in place in neighboring Ada County and the city of Boise. The meeting was already under way on Zoom—with some 200 people logged in—when Bundy and his bellowing cohort arrived.
Informed at the door that he would not be permitted inside the building without a mask, Bundy began yelling at the man tasked with the job of only allowing district workers wearing masks inside.
“You can’t have a meeting without the public!” Bundy told the man. “You're gonna cancel the meeting, or you're gonna let us in, or you're gonna call the officers to arrest us.”
“Orders are not law!” shouted the woman who filmed the encounter for Bundy’s Facebook feed.
“You need to stay back and let the people in!” Bundy piled on. “This is not your building! This building belongs to the people!”
Eventually, after haranguing the people at the doors with an endless stream of gobbledygook claims, Bundy attempted to force his way inside the building, and indeed succeeded briefly—shoving the man who was blocking the door as he tried to pull the door closed. Once inside, though, Bundy found himself alone, and shortly afterward went back out and rejoined his supporters.
The health district board announced after awhile that it had chosen to cancel the meeting “as a safety precaution … Southwest District Health staff are safe and a crisis response team has been deployed to provide support to staff,” it said in a news release.
Canyon County is in the midst of a surge in COVID-19 cases. Located just to the west of Boise, it now has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in Idaho behind Ada County, but cases have been rising rapidly; its count Thursday was the state’s highest.
“The Board of Health recognizes the need to address the daily increase in COVID-19 case numbers as well as increases in COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths in the region,” Southwest District Health said in the news release. “Today the board intended to hear from local hospitals, SWDH staff, and discuss public health strategies for slowing the spread of COVID-19.”
Board member Tom Dale told reporters the rescheduled meeting will be held Tuesday, but no venue has been set yet. The district plans to coordinate the Tuesday event with Caldwell Police.
Bundy—who said the board “tried to keep the people out of the meeting while planning to mandate masks”—claimed victory on Facebook: “Meeting was canceled due to public insisting their rights to be present at the meeting. Keep pressure on. Be respectful and voice your concerns. Please keep sharing. We can do this,” he posted.
