Threats, fears and Ammon Bundy ‘the bully’: A look at St. Luke’s defamation case so far

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — As a doctor at St. Luke’s Medical Center, Rachel Thomas usually goes to work in scrubs. But on Friday, she put on a suit.

Her elementary-age daughter noticed the change, so her mother said she explained that it was “time to stand up to the bully.” What Thomas meant, she told her girl, was that she was testifying that day at a trial to decide the damages Ammon Bundy owes the health system in a case that dates to last year.

Thomas told the court that her “terrified” daughter said, “I’m worried that you’re going to get hurt.”

Thomas was one of the nine people called to testify in the first week of the court proceedings.

St. Luke’s filed a lawsuit in May 2022 after Bundy and a far-right associate, Diego Rodriguez, led protests at the hospital in Meridian and in downtown Boise over a child welfare case involving Rodriguez’s grandchild. The lawsuit named as defendants Bundy, Rodriguez, Bundy’s People’s Rights Network and other business entities affiliated with both men.

The suit claims the defendants posted multiple lies about the hospital system online. In opening statements, St. Luke’s attorney Erik Stidham said the defendants claimed, through videos and blog posts, that the hospital was working with the government to take children away from Christian families to be sexually abused and given to gay couples.

After Bundy and Rodriguez repeatedly failed to appear in court or respond to judge’s orders, they were found in default, meaning they essentially forfeited the case. The next step in the case is what damages they owe, and a jury is listening to the effects the false allegations had on those involved before it decides on compensation for the plaintiffs.

Other than one instance when Bundy supporter Garth Gaylord surprised the court by showing up Thursday morning asking to represent himself — despite having no part in the lawsuit — the defendants’ side of the courtroom has remained empty. Fourth District Judge Nancy Baskin informed Gaylord that, based on a previous ruling, he could not participate.

Baskin warned St. Luke’s attorneys more than once last week not to lead witnesses or use inflammatory language. She also questioned the relevance of some pieces of evidence or lines of inquiry with witnesses. With Bundy refusing to participate in his own defense, Baskin said it was her job to make sure the plaintiffs don’t cross lines.

Among the witnesses last week were an extremism expert, members of law enforcement, and medical and social work professionals who were involved with the child welfare case.

The second week of the damages portion of the case began Monday and is expected to conclude Friday.

DOCTOR SAYS BABY ‘WOULD HAVE DIED’

Thomas has worked with an organization called Flourish Collective to provide medical care to people in Haiti. She said she has treated hundreds of children for malnutrition and dehydration, two of the biggest killers of Haitian children. So strongly did she feel about her work there, according to Thomas, that she got a tattoo of the organization’s motto: “Little by little, we’ll get there.”

Thomas said in court that when Rodriguez’s 10-month-old grandchild was brought to the St. Luke’s emergency room — where she was the lead physician at the time — her first thought was that “he looked like a baby from Haiti.” The baby’s stomach was distended, his eyes were hollow and he was unable to sit up, she testified.

After the defendants began attacking Thomas online, saying she had lied and posting private information about her — including her photo, address and phone number — the doctor said she had to have difficult conversations with her daughter and her daughter’s school about their family being in potential danger. Her daughter became anxious enough that she began seeing a counselor.

After all the actions of Bundy’s far-right followers, Thomas said she is leaving Idaho to try to heal from the emotional toll of the past year.

Thomas also said she stands by her decisions regarding the baby’s health. She said she had seen only two other children in similar states before, and both ended up dying.

“In my opinion, if he had been allowed to go home with his parents and continue on the trajectory he was on, he would have died,” Thomas said.

DEFENDANTS TOUT CONSPIRACY THEORIES, RESORT TO NAME-CALLING

Evidence shown by the plaintiffs purported that the family’s anger at the hospital system was wrapped up in nontraditional medical beliefs.

Statements made by the baby’s parents to St. Luke’s Dr. Natasha Erickson, a pediatrician, indicated that the baby had seen a doctor only one other time: when he was 2 weeks old and went in for a circumcision.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants be taken in for a medical check-up at least six times in their first 10 months.

After law enforcement first took custody of the child, Bundy and some of his followers arrived at St. Luke’s Meridian Medical Center, where the child was. According to the complaint, the group blocked emergency access to the ambulance bay and refused to leave, the Statesman previously reported. The group also “yelled and cursed” at hospital staff, and Bundy “demanded” that a staff member give him the child, St Luke’s said.

Bundy was arrested for trespassing shortly thereafter.

Rodriguez’s grandson was later transported to the health system’s Boise hospital, where he remained for several days, during which time protest groups picketed by the facility, the original St. Luke’s complaint states.

In videos played in court, Rodriguez expressed the belief that the baby was targeted because the family had chosen not to vaccinate him. He expressed conspiratorial beliefs that St. Luke’s was part of “giant medical cabbals (sic).” He said all hospitals want to do is “cut, drug or burn” patients to “fill quotas.”

“Does anybody know what happens when you were talking to the medical establishment and you go against the grain?” Rodriguez said in a video played in court. “They go psycho on you, because they’re all psychopaths. They’re arrogant psychopaths with God complexes because our society has moved people to idolize doctors.”

Rodriguez also said his daughter and son-in-law did not have insurance and were concerned about how much treatment of their baby would cost.

Erickson testified that the defendants falsely claimed that she misdiagnosed the baby’s condition, including a statement by Bundy in a February media article. She was called a “child trafficker” on Rodriguez’s website.

Erickson said she no longer felt it was safe for her children to play in her front yard or for her to volunteer at her church’s nursery. She testified that she had to inform her nanny and neighbors to watch out for strange people.

FAMILIES AFFECTED BY ATTACKS FROM DEFENDANTS, BUNDY FOLLOWERS

Stidham, the St. Luke’s attorney, pointed to statements made by people online that he said were stirred by false claims made by the defendants and could lead supporters to act violently. The defendants posted the personal information of many people involved in the child welfare case.

Chris Roth, CEO of St. Luke’s, has been a frequent target. One Facebook post shown in court called Roth a “slimy Jew” who will be killed “along with everyone who is complacent (sic) in this medical tyranny.” The post warned that “DOTR is coming,” which refers to a white supremacy statement for the “Day of the Rope,” when “race traitors” will be killed, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Roth said he and his family had “very intense” discussions as they feared what could happen to them.

Many people on the stand spoke about how actions by Bundy and his followers had affected their families. Ada County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kyle Brinkhurst said he “felt sick” to see his children were “dragged into this,” after photos of them were posted on Rodriguez’s website.

Sean King, an officer with the Meridian Police Department, said his wife found it difficult to handle after Rodriguez lobbed unfounded accusations of sexual misconduct by King on his site.

“When she first saw it, she basically broke down and was crying hysterically,” King said. “She knows how much I care about my job and my profession.”

King installed home security, his wife covered up the windows and fellow officers began keeping an eye on the home, he testified.

William Wood, who retired from law enforcement in New York, moved his family to Idaho and joined the St. Luke’s team as head of security. He said he hoped it would be a quieter, more peaceful life than the one he had left behind.

He described being crowded by protesters on the night the child was brought to the hospital in Meridian and having to reroute the ambulance out of fear of what protesters might do if it took its normal route.

“I had a career for 20 years (in places) where I saw these things on a daily basis,” Wood said. “But I just didn’t think Meridian would have been one of those places.”