Author

James Dawson
James Dawson covers politics and a bit of everything else for Boise State Public Radio. Outside of public meetings, you can find him fly fishing, making cool things out of leather or watching the Seattle Mariners' latest rebuilding season.
St. Luke’s attorneys allege Ammon Bundy is hiding assets from civil suit. Bundy denies it.
By: James Dawson and Audrey Dutton - May 11, 2023
New court documents accuse anti-government activist Ammon Bundy of hiding his assets in a new sequence of shell companies as a civil lawsuit against him continues. In a message via Twitter, Bundy told Boise State Public Radio: “No assets are being hidden by any llc.” In a video recording from April 19, Bundy said he […]
Judge issues warrant for Ammon Bundy, who has ignored St. Luke’s lawsuit for nearly 1 year
By: Audrey Dutton and James Dawson - April 18, 2023
An Idaho judge issued a civil arrest warrant Tuesday for Ammon Bundy, after he repeatedly failed to appear in court or respond to a lawsuit filed by St. Luke’s Health System. Ada County Judge Lynn Norton found probable cause that Bundy committed contempt and set his bail at $10,000, a figure she called “reasonable.” Bundy […]
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare sues AG Labrador over child care grant investigation
By: James Dawson - March 23, 2023
This story was first published by Boise State Public Radio on March 23, 2023. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is suing Attorney General Raul Labrador’s office to halt its investigation into the agency’s administration of $36 million in federal childcare grants. You can find both legal documents here and here. That move comes after IDHW received […]
Former Idaho Gov. Phil Batt, champion of civil rights, dies at 96
By: James Dawson - March 6, 2023
This story was originally published by Boise State Public Radio. Former Republican Gov. Phil Batt, widely viewed as one of the driving legislative forces behind Idaho’s human rights laws and a respected onion farmer, has died at 96. Gov. Brad Little’s office announced Batt’s death Saturday morning, saying he died “peacefully at home” on his […]
Two Idaho Republicans sent a judge letters of support for convicted rapist
By: James Dawson - September 16, 2022
This story is from Boise State Public Radio, published Sept. 16. The original version is located at this link. Two Republican state lawmakers sent letters of support for one of their former colleagues convicted of raping a teenage legislative intern prior to his sentencing late last month. Reps. Vito Barbieri (R-Dalton Gardens) and Mike Kingsley (R-Lewiston) wrote letters […]
Behind the Citizens Alliance of Idaho PAC: a handful of people, mostly not from Idaho
By: James Dawson - May 9, 2022
One of the most well-funded political action committees in Idaho seems poised to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on state legislative races with less than two weeks to go before the primary. But the group’s claims of nonpartisanship run counter to who’s funding it. Citizens Alliance of Idaho formed last August, according to incorporation […]
Idaho extremists target judges, prosecutors, health workers in doxxing campaigns
By: Audrey Dutton and James Dawson - April 15, 2022
Boise residents on Saturday found bookmark-sized fliers in their neighborhoods. A large black box at the top read, “POLITICAL PROSECUTION.” Below it were photos, home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of two people: 4th District Magistrate Judge Annie McDevitt and Ada County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Whitney Welsh. The flier claimed that McDevitt and Welsh […]
Ammon Bundy pays himself thousands in campaign cash
By: James Dawson - March 25, 2022
This story was first published by Boise State Public Radio. Ammon Bundy, the anti-government activist running as an independent candidate to be Idaho’s next governor, has paid thousands of dollars in campaign donations to a company he owns. According to campaign finance records, Bundy’s campaign has paid $13,500 in $1,500 monthly installments since June 1, […]