The lawsuit by St. Luke’s Regional Health was filed more than a year ago, accusing Ammon Bundy and his close associate Diego Rodriguez of making defamatory statements against the hospital and its employees after Rodriguez’s infant grandson was temporarily removed from his family and taken to St. Luke’s amid concerns for his health.
The 2014 Nevada confrontation was led by Bundy’s father, rancher Cliven Bundy, who rallied supporters to stop officers from impounding Bundy Ranch cattle over more than $1 million in unpaid fees and penalties for grazing livestock on government land. In the current civil lawsuit, Bundy seems to be following a “blueprint,” using rhetoric similar to that used in the Oregon and Nevada standoffs to escalate the conflict, said Devin Burghess, the director of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. Burghess has been hired by St. Luke’s attorneys to serve as an expert witness in the defamation lawsuit.
One nurse wrote in court documents that she installed a security system in her home and was scared to wear her hospital badge outside of work. Another health professional said she repeatedly lost sleep and was traumatized because Bundy supporters accused her and others of kidnapping or harming children.
Bundy also maintains he won’t stop making the allegedly defamatory statements against St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center regardless of any court ruling, because he claims his liberty is at stake. The case arose from an incident two months earlier, when Rodriguez’ 10-month-old grandson was temporarily removed from family custody and taken to St. Luke’s over concerns about his health. The baby was temporarily placed in the care of the state, and returned to his parents after about a week.
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