Judge orders permanent injunction against Ammon Bundy to stop posting defamatory statements about St. Luke’s & it’s employees

I’m going to do a longer story about this case, since I’ve been following it for over a year. But I want to put this up because it shows what can be done to people who harass and threaten people via social media.

Bundy when arrested at St. Luke’s in 2022

An Idaho judge has issued a permanent injunction meant to prevent far-right activist Ammon Bundy from disseminating defamatory statements about St. Luke’s Health System and several of its employees.

In a 40-page order, 4th District Judge Nancy Baskin ruled that the injunction was “warranted” and “appropriate” to stop Bundy and his former campaign adviser, Diego Rodriguez — both of whom owe St. Luke’s and other plaintiffs millions of dollars after losing a defamation case — from posting “harmful” statements about St. Luke’s; the system’s CEO, Chris Roth; Dr. Natasha Erickson; and nurse practitioner Tracy Jungman.

“The actions and conduct of the defendants have made our community less safe,” Baskin wrote in the order. “Medical providers and other employees are leaving their professions because of the damage to their reputation, the invasion of their privacy, the harassment and threats of intimidation by defendants.”

The order also applies to . . . → Read More: Judge orders permanent injunction against Ammon Bundy to stop posting defamatory statements about St. Luke’s & it’s employees

Will Trump’s threats on social media send him to jail?

Donald’s Trump’s threats on social media MIGHT finally lead to legal consequences for him. Woo hoo! Today it was revealed that in Trump’s pretrial conditions in the Georgia RICO case he is forbidden from making any “direct or indirect threat of any nature against the community or to any property in the community,” including in “posts on social media or reposts of posts” by others on social media.

Trump’s pretrial conditions from Georgia RICO case

Wow. It took a long time to get here, especially considering all the other times he intimidated and threatened witnesses on social media. Remember Alexander Vindman? Marie Yovanovitch, US Ambassador to Ukrainian? But now, because he’s under pretrial conditions and protective orders issued by a judge in our legal system, he MIGHT be charged with witness tampering. It’s one of the reasons that we needed to get him in this position. It’s the difference between lying to the media and on social media to the public, vs lying in court under oath.

Keep Normalizing Jail For Trump

Every time these conditions are set I watch the cable hosts and legal analysts talk about how pretrial jailing is not going to happen. . . . → Read More: Will Trump’s threats on social media send him to jail?

What happens when Trump violates his protective order or pretrial conditions?

“What will happen next WHEN Trump violates the protective order or his pretrial conditions?”I asked Lisa Graves, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, this question on the Nicole Sandler Show.She explained the steps the judge can take before putting Trump in jail for contempt.

Partial transcript for readers from the August 11, 2023 episode of the Nicole Sandler Show. Link to the full show

Spocko: We know Trump’s going to violate them. Who files the motion? Where does it come from? How does the judge decide on a show cause hearing? Could you explain that part and then the next step showing the difference pieces that are going to happen to get to the judge issuing a stern warning, or a contempt charge. Lisa Graves: Contempt is a power that judges hold, it’s their power, they can act without a motion on any act that is in contempt of court. So she doesn’t need a motion from the prosecutor to hold Trump in contempt she can make that determination herself based on his actions. She can also entertain a motion I suppose from the prosecutor to hold them in contempt but that’s not necessary.

She could ask for briefing . . . → Read More: What happens when Trump violates his protective order or pretrial conditions?