MERIDIAN, Idaho — Ammon Bundy, the rancher who led an armed occupation of federal land in Oregon in 2016, announced he's running for the governor of Idaho.
Bundy launched his campaign website, which includes a video with his official announcement to join Idaho's 2022 gubernatorial race.
He made his announcement official Saturday at Kleiner Park in Meridian.
Bundy said he's running because he's "sick and tired of all of this political garbage" and "tired of our freedoms being taken from us and I’m tired of the corruption that is rampant in our state government."
In May, he filed documents with the Idaho Secretary of State's office to run as a Republican in the 2022 gubernatorial primary.
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 to run for governor.
Bundy, a well-known anti-government activist, is best known for leading an armed standoff in 2016 at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon to protest the federal control of public lands.
The siege lasted 41 days and ended with one person dead after an intense standoff with the police.
He was eventually arrested and later acquitted of all federal charges in that case.
Most recently, Bundy was arrested twice in one day back in April for trespassing on Idaho Capitol grounds.
He was served a no-trespass notice in August 2020 during a special legislative session.
That notice is in effect for one year.
Bundy also currently has two misdemeanor criminal trespassing cases pending against him, and he is representing himself for both.
The cases stem from events during a protest of coronavirus restrictions at the Idaho Statehouse last August.
He has pleaded not guilty in one case and has not yet entered a plea in the second.
Cooper Waytenick at KIVI first reported this story.
