Cyrus & Marissa Anderson with Ammon Bundy 

What is happening to the Bundy family and why it is dangerous territory for all of us.

THE LEGALITIES

In an attempt to silence criticism, on April 11, 2022 St. Luke’s Health System filed a complaint against Ammon Bundy and Diego Rodriguez for speaking out against St. Luke's involvement in taking a baby from his loving and caring parents. (See E1)

Bundy, unfortunately familiar with the modern courts, understood early in the litigation the design of the St. Luke’s lawsuit. It was not designed to win, but instead to burden he and Diego with massive legal defense costs until they abandoned their criticism or run out of money. The fact that St. Luke’s executives originally sued for only $50,000 and then immediately buried Bundy and Rodriguez with tens of thousands of legal documents, and procedures costing hundreds of thousand in attorney fees, indicates that St. Luke’s executives did not care to prevail in the lawsuit, but instead intended to censor Bundy and Rodriguez by overburdening them with legal proceeding, paperwork and attorneys fees. This type of lawsuit is called a SLAPP lawsuit, used primarily by large corporations with robust legal funds and is illegal in many states. (See E1a)

From the beginning of this litigation Mr. Bundy considered the enormous burden that fighting this case would put on his family and finances. He deliberately decided not to appear, which would require Judge Lynn Norton to default him under the Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 55 (a)(1). At the start of the case St. Luke’s executives were only suing for $50,000. Therefore, rather than hiring attorneys and spending years in litigation, costing him hundreds of thousands of dollars, Bundy believed defaulting would be the least time consuming and least expensive way to mitigate the lawsuit. However, Judge Lynn Norton intentionally did not default Bundy as required by the law (I.R.C.P, 55 (a)(1)). Instead, she kept the case going for nearly a year, leaving it wide open for St. Luke’s attorneys to amend the complaint 4 times, rack up around an $800,000 legal bill, increase the punitive damages to $52 million, and then she issued a civil warrant for Bundy’s arrest because he continued to speak publicly about the case. Shortly after, Judge Norton recused herself from the case leaving the enforcement of her actions to another judge. (See E1c)

Bundy's choice not to participate in the proceeding of this case was a strategic legal move to force the court to an early default, stopping St. Luke's executives from spending millions of public dollars hiring attorneys to financially destroy him. However, because of corruption in the Ada County court, Bundy's legal entitlement to a default was denied, causing him massive damages, including a $52 million judgment. 

Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure 55 (a)(1)): “When a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defend, and that failure is shown by affidavit or otherwise, the court must order entry of the party’s default.” (See E1b)

After arresting Bundy on a $10,000 bond, a bench trial was scheduled for November 13, 2023. On October 20, 2023 the St. Luke’s attorneys filed a load more of contempt charges against Mr. Bundy because he continued to speak out against the lawsuit, airing the details of what St. Luke’s Parties did to the Anderson family that instigated the state wrongfully ripping a baby out of his loving mother’s arms and forcing treatment upon the child. These new gag order charges led to a $250,000 warrant for Bundy's arrest. (See E2) (See E3) (See E4) (See E4a)

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED WITH BABY CYRUS

Baby Cyrus, at the time, was experiencing an undiagnosed condition called Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS). Worried about dehydration, Cyrus’ parents came to a St. Luke’s facility for assistance. Dr. Natasha Erickson was assigned to Cyrus. However, she misdiagnosed the child and declared him Failure to Thrive (FTT) instead. (See E5)  Dr. Erickson threatened to contact CPS if the family did not obey her medical demands. (See E6)  St. Luke’s employees coerced the family into keeping baby Cyrus in their facility for several days while they billed significant amounts for their services.

After leaving the hospital, that following week the Andersons took Cyrus to a doctor on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. (See E7)  However, Friday morning, Marissa, Cyrus’ mother, woke up not feeling well and canceled the doctor’s appointment for that day. Because of the cancellation, Dr. Erickson assumed the family was not obeying her medical demands. After communication with Aaron Dykstra, a nurse with Functional Medicine of Idaho, a CPS referral was made and Meridian Police became involved. (See E8) Because of the missed appointment, Detectives Jeff Fuller and Steve Hansen initiated a BOLO ("Be On the Lookout") alert, attempted to enter the grandfather’s home without a warrant and made plans with CPS workers to take baby Cyrus from his parents that day and give him to foster parents. (See E10)

As planned, the Anderson family was pulled over and while Sargent Christopher McGilvery and Detective Hansen were lying to Cyrus’ mother about being able to stay with her baby, they coaxed her into an ambulance, ripped the baby from her arms and took him to a St. Luke’s facility where foster parents were already scheduled to take him home that night. (See E12)

St. Luke’s Admin Doctor, Racheal Thomas says, speaking of Cyrus that night, “This is a healthy baby with no intervention.” (See E13)  After examining the baby, medical staff also wrote, “Patient does not seem to be in any physical distress.” They also reported, “No acute life threats noted.”. (See E14)  Mr. Bundy has posted many YouTube videos of baby Cyrus just before they took him, all the video have been recently taken down. However, medical staff took pictures of Cyrus that night. In each video or picture, it is clear to see that Cyrus is alert, attentive, physically active and does not look like a baby in medical distress. (See E15), (See E16), (See E17) 

Because many concerned people showed up at the Meridian St. Luke’s facility that night (including Ammon Bundy), CPS workers, Meridian police officers and St. Luke’s staff made a new plan to get Cyrus to the foster parent’s home. (See E12)  Instead of sending him that night, risking the chance of people following the foster parents, they would transport Cyrus by ambulance to the St. Luke’s Boise facility, keep him that night and then send him with the foster parent the next day when no one was watching. When making the plan, the St. Luke’s administrator in charge, Dr. Racheal Thomas said, 

“Here’s the thing, I need to have more degrees of separation to protect this poor foster mom that’s going to take this kid, everything else. So, what I want to do, is admit the baby to Boise, not because it is medically necessary, the kid has lost weight and needs to be, not in all of this (using her hands to indicate the hospital), but what I want to do is send the baby to Boise, because then that’s a few more degrees of separation, keep him overnight and then sometime tomorrow, when they don’t know, get the baby out with CPS to foster parents.” (See E19)

Cyrus was not taken to the St. Luke’s Boise facility because he was in medical need. He was taken to Boise to trick the people concerned about Cyrus so they could get him secretly to a foster home. St. Luke’s staff, Meridian police officers and CPS workers plotted to send Cyrus to a foster home that night and when that did not work, they plotted again to send him to a foster home the next day. Cyrus was not sent to either St. Luke’s facility because of the need for imminent medical treatment. Dr. Natasha Erickson made this point in her medical notes when she wrote: 

“He [Cyrus] was brought to the Meridian ED for evaluation. Health and welfare identified a foster family but due to protesters surrounding the hospital regarding this case, it was felt that discharge with the foster family from the ED was unsafe for all involved. For this reason, the patient was transferred to Boise for further care."(See E10)

While in the St. Luke’s Boise facility, hundreds of concerned people peacefully assembled outside the building. CPS workers decided not to send Cyrus to a foster home the next day but instead kept him at the St. Luke’s Boise facility. Cyrus had become a hot topic and no foster parent wanted to take him home. (See E20) Meanwhile a serious condition was developing. Cyrus needed his mother. He needed her for nutrition and he needed her for care and nurturing. But, CPS workers, St. Luke’s employees and the police were keeping his mother away from him. (See E20a) 

In St. Luke’s care Cyrus: 

·      Was not taking the bottle well. (See E21)

·      Was not defecating. (See E22)

·      Was becoming lethargic and less responsive to the medical staff. (See E23)

·      Was vomiting often and excessively. (See E24)

·      Had to receive fluids through an IV. (See E25)

·      Staff had to insert a nasal feeding tube (NG) to get him nutrients. (See E26)

·      Was being restrained by the medical staff so he would not pull his tubes out. (See E27)

All of these negative developments occurred while Cyrus was in the care of St. Luke’s staff. Nearly all of these effects were caused because Cyrus was being held away from his nursing and caring mother. (See E28)  They brought baby Cyrus to the Boise facility to be transported to a foster home the next day. When a foster home was not feasible "for safety reasons", they continued to keep him from his mother and caused several medical conditions. Cyrus needed his mother breastmilk and his mothers care. It's a systematic arrogant indoctrination that causes a person to believe the state can care for a child better than his loving parents. 

Eventually Cyrus' mother was allowed to come in and breastfeed him. Because of the national attention Cyrus was getting, CPS workers had no place to put Cyrus. In an unprecedented move and contrary to the CPS judge’s orders, Cyrus was given back to his parents and the case was dropped. (See E29)  Cyrus has since been properly diagnosed by competent doctors (not employed by St. Luke’s Health System) with CVS (Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome) and treated; (See E31) all while in the care of his loving family. Cyrus is a happy and healthy toddler today, loved and cared for by his mother and father. (See E32)

Mr. Bundy, as a father of 6 children and 1 grandchild, is vehemently opposed to the state taking children from any loving and caring parent. (See E37)  If the police were really concerned for Cyrus’ well being, they would have kept his mother with him, which is the thing Bundy was demanding. Only extreme institutionalized individuals believe that the state can take care of a baby better than loving parents can. People like those we learn about in Germany during the 1930's and 40's. (See E38)  Mr. Bundy did not come to the defense of the Anderson family to “gain money” or to gain “publicity for himself” as St. Luke's Parties shamefully claim.  He came to the defense of the family to get Cyrus out of the hands of institutionalized subordinates and back to his loving and caring parents where he belongs. (See E39)

THE CURRENT SITUATION 

Mr. Bundy has continued to air the facts of this case and in an effort to stop him, St. Luke’s executives hired teams of attorneys to bury him in the courts and force his mouth shut. (See E40)  On October 20, 2023, St. Luke’s attorneys filed more contempt charges hoping the court would arrest him again. These charges have resulted into a $250,000 warrant for Bundy's arrest. Because of the truthfulness of his statements, Mr. Bundy denied the allegations and moved the court to consolidate all the contempt proceeding into one and schedule a trial for March of 2024. The court denied his request. He faces up to 6 month in jail and $180,000 in fines. 

St. Luke's executives are also suing Bundy and his wife Lisa in another lawsuit trying to take their home. In this case, St Luke's council Robert Faucher & Eric Stidham is attempting to enter the Bundy's home to personally "inspect it". Ammon Bundy has refused entry multiple times, stating, "This level of harassment will not be tolerated". Faucher is now seeking to force entry by appealing to an Ada County judge, claiming St. Luke's has a right to enter his home to determine the value of Bundy's possessions. Judge Brent Whiting ordered the sheriff department to escort the St. Lukes attorneys into Mr. Bundy's home while he is not allowed to be present. Meanwhile, St. Luke's attorneys are in the process of taking everything Bundy owns including issuing Writs of Executions, seeking the Ada County judge to order the Gem County Sheriff to confiscate and sell his property. The same judge has seized Bundy assets and bank accounts making it difficult for Bundy to provide for his family or hire an attorney.

LET'S CONTEMPLATE

Was Mr. Bundy wrong for standing for this baby and his family? Should Bundy be stripped of his possession and put in jail for speaking out against the government and St. Luke's? A judgment has been ordered, therefore should the people of Idaho stand by and allow this injustice to take place? If Bundy could hire an attorney, should he spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend himself, potentially losing everything anyway? Is this the new Idaho, part of the new America that we are to accept and pass onto our children? 

Here is the pattern; You or your neighbors rights are violated by the state or a large institution; You speak out against it; They prosecute/sue you for speaking against them; You don't have the means to fight the attorneys in the courts; The courts forcefully take everything you own. This is the pattern we are seeing all over the county. The only way to avoid this happening to you is to NOT speak out when you or your neighbors rights are violated. "Just keep your mouth shut while they violate you, even when they take your children, don't say a word or they will punish you through the law." 

What is the founding mechanism designed to stop this type of abuse? (See 41) When the rights listed in the 1st Amendment; to speak, to peacefully assemble and to grieve government officials for redress is not protected by the courts and result in the state stripping people of their property and much of their liberty; when the law has deteriorated this far, what is the mechanism to stop it?

Ammon & Lisa Bundy Family