The Case  of  Garth Gaylord

 Political Prisoner  in Ada County,  Boise,  Idaho December  9, 2021 

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On March  1,  2021, jury  trials in  Ada County  were  starting  up  again, having  been  suspended in  October 2020  by  the  Idaho  Supreme  Court  due  to “substantial  health and  safety  risks”  related  to  COVID19. On the  morning  of  March  15,  2021, the  trial  for Ammon  Bundy  and  Aaron  Von  Schmidt  was  scheduled  to begin. Per  order  of  the  Idaho  Supreme  Court  dated  November  23,  2020, access  to  the  courthouse  would be  denied to  all  who  did  not  wear face  masks. Ammon  and  Aaron  insisted  they  had  a  right  to  attend their own trial  unmasked  and  in person. A  crowd of  approximately  50  supporters had  gathered in  front of the  court  house,  in  support  of justice  and  equal access  to  the  courts.  They  too  were  intending  to  enter maskless,  hoping  to  exercise  their  rights  and  to  watch  the  trial. Not  only  the defendants  but  their  supporters were  denied  entrance, and  Undersheriff Scott  Johnson told  Ammon  he  was  under  arrest  for Failure  to  Appear  (FTA).  Mr.  Johnson  then  made  a small, brief hand motion  to  Law  Enforcement officers  who  swiftly  forced  their way  through  the  peaceful  crowd from behind, pushing  and  pulling  individuals as they  proceeded.  Casey  Baker,  a 67 year old  man  with Parkinson’s,  was  thrown  off balance.  He  sought  to  both  right  himself,  and  also  to stand  his ground, in order to  protect  the two women  behind  him  from  the  advancing  officers. Another  man  in  the  crowd  was thrown  to  the  ground  and  required  hospitalization  for  his head  injury. A  woman  was  forced into  a position  in which she  was bent over  backwards by  an  officer’s  elbow and she  sustained neck  injury. No officers  were  arrested for their aggression  that  day. Ammon  and  Aaron  were  both  taken inside  the  court building, still unmasked,  and  arrested  for  FTA.  Garth  was arrested  on  charges  of  Resisting  or Obstructing Officers,  then released.  Casey  was  dragged into  the building, still unmasked, and  cuffed and  shackled, then charged  with two counts  of  Battery  on  an  Officer, as  well as  Resisting  or  Obstructing. Ammon, Aaron, and  Casey  were  all  taken to  the  Ada County  Jail.  For non -- compliance  with  orders  to  mask, Ammon and Aaron  were  kept  under-dressed, in  rooms  that  were  uncomfortably  cold, and  their  sleep was  intentionally  disturbed  by  guards all night  long. Ada County  later  denied  mistreatment, though other instances  of  mistreatment  have  been  reported  of the  Ada County  Jail. Garth  was  cited at  the courthouse  on  this  occasion, and  charged with  Resisting  or  Obstructing  Officers (R&O). On May 7  Garth attempted  to  attend  his own arraignment  in the Ada  County  Courthouse. 

For the entirety  of 2021  up  to  this  point,  the  doors  to  the  courthouse  were  locked.  Access to  the  courthouse door  was  narrowed  with chains and  yellow  tape  on  one  side  and  a temporary  tent  to  protect  officers from  the  cold  on  the  other.  After  speaking  with the  Marshals that were stationed in  front  of the  courthouse, about the Constitution  and  his right  to  attend  his  own hearings in person,  Garth put  his  hands together  palm  to palm  and  walked between  two  officers  toward the  door.  He  was  not  wearing  a  mask  and  was therefore not  “allowed”  into  the  building. They  tackled and  arrested  him. He  was  charged  with two counts of Assault or  Battery, one  count  of  Resisting  and  Obstructing  an Officer, and  he also received  Failure  to  Appear. During  the  summer,  the  Idaho  Supreme  Court  lifted  the  mask  order  for  the courts,  and  it  was determined that  trials  would  go  forward  in Ada  County  as  long  as numbers  of COVID  cases  were  kept under  a certain  threshold.  Garth’s trial  for  the  March  15  arrest  commenced.

During  the  two day  trial at  the beginning  of August,  Garth  represented himself.  At  the  start  of  the  trial, it was  discovered  that, just  hours before,  the  prosecution  had  changed the  charge  to  one  that  was similarly  worded.  The  judge  refused  to  allow  Garth  more  than  an hour  to  adjust  his defense  strategy. Garth  presented  about  15  witnesses  who  testified to  the aggressiveness  of the  Law  Enforcement  officers toward  the  crowd  on  March  15. He  also  showed  video  documentation  of the  events,  believing  the material  clearly  showed his  innocence  of the  charges.  Nonetheless,  the jury  found  Garth guilty. Judge Daniel Steckel delivered  a  lengthy  lecture in  addition  to  the  sentence,  which  consisted  of 365  days  in jail, with 255 days  suspended and  credit  for  one  day  served, and  nine  days  to  be  served with  all  options. He also  received a  $1000  fine  with $750  suspended, and  a one year probation  was forced  on  him,  without his consent. Garth received  the  maximum  sentence! Shortly  after  this trial  ended, the  Ada County  jury  trials were  again  suspended  and  the  mask  order  was soon  in effect  again  for  the  courts  of  Idaho. 

On  August  27,  Garth  was  to  appear for a hearing  for his second  case.  Once again,  Garth  would  be  denied  access to  the  court  room,  unless  he  wore  a  mask. The courts  offered him  a  choice  between  zoom  or  telephone  hearing. He  opted  to  participate  by  telephone, and  he  also  opted to  exercise  his right  to  remain  silent. Garth  exercised his right  protected  under  the  Fifth Amendment . He  remained  on  the line  and  took  video to  verify  that  he  appeared.  Although  Judge  Steckel  made  it clear that  he  could  see  the line  was  open and had  every  reason  to  believe  that  Garth  was  on  the  line,  he  charged Garth  with  FTA and  imposed  a $20,000  bail bond. Despite  Judge  Steckel’s attempts  to  prevent  him  from  doing  so, Garth  continued  to  post  videos  to YouTube  and  make  posts  to  social  media  in an  effort  to  expose  the  injustices occurring  in Idaho’s criminal justice  system. 

Around  November  16, he  called  the  Kootenai  County  Jail,  and  inquired  about  the number  of inmates  who  were  being  held  unfairly and  denied their rights  to  speedy  trial  while  jury  trials were  suspended.  On  November  18, he  went  to  the  Kootenai  County  Courthouse  and  attempted  to enter. Garth was  stopped by  Marshals and  informed that  he  must  wear  a  mask.  After peacefully discussing  the  matter  with  all  present  for  some  time,  Garth  was  cuffed, detained, and  cited for “trespass.” That week, Casey  Whalen  of North Idaho  Exposed and  Garth, decided  they  would  stand  for  the  rights that were  being  challenged  by this mask  policy  at  the  Bonner  County  Courthouse. They  advertised the  event so  that  others  could  join  in.  Unbeknownst  to  Garth,  the  arrest  warrant  issued in  Ada County  on  August 27  was  withdrawn  on  November  18  and  reissued by  Judge  Steckel  on  November  22 , so  that  Garth  could be  extradited from  any  county  in Idaho  BACK to  Ada County. Garth  was  then arrested  on  the  FTA warrant with a  $20,000  bond,  before  he  even reached the  doors of  the Bonner  County  Courthouse  on  November 22. He  was  also  arrested  for probation  violation,  with  bail  at  $2500.  Idaho  State  Police  was  on  the scene to  assist  city  police  with the  arrest. However,  no  sheriff’s deputies  were  there  as  the sheriff has publicly indicated he  would  not  enforce  these  unconstitutional  mask  policies. Garth  was  initially  held  in a  holding  cell for  over  9  hours. He  chose  to  remain  silent  and  jail personnel claimed  that  they  could  not  finish  the  booking  process, or allow  him  a  phone  call  until he complied. By  Thanksgiving  morning,  November  25, Garth had  been  transported  to  the  Ada  County  Jail, where  he  is currently  held. On Friday,  November  26, he  participated  in a hearing  via internet. He  was appointed a public  defender  and  is  still in  Ada County  Jail, awaiting a December  30th hearing  for the  case, stemming from the charges  on  May  7.  

He  has completed  the nine days that  resulted from  the  probation  violation. 

***************************** For a person  to  be  convicted  of a  crime,  all  elements of the  crime  must  be  met Resisting  and  Obstructing  Officers  states  the  following:

Idaho  Code  18705 Every  person  who  willfully  resists,  delays,  or  obstructs  any  public  officer,  in  the discharge,  or attempt  to  discharge,  of any  duty  of his  office  or  who  knowingly  gives a  false  report  to  any peace  officer, when no  other  punishment  is  prescribed, is  punishable by  a  fine  not  exceeding one  thousand  dollars ($1,000),  and  imprisonment in  the  county  jail not exceeding  one  (1)  year. 

When Garth  was  convicted of R&O  charges  on  August  4, 2021,  the prosecution  seemed to  think  they had  satisfactorily  shown that  Garth  was  guilty  of delaying  LE  in  the  discharge  of  their duty  for a  total  of approximately  3  seconds.  That  was  the best  case  they  could  make  to  justify  turning  this man’s  life upside down. The  jury,  having  seen  video  from  the  body  cam  of  one  of  the  officers, chose  to  interpret  events  so that they  were  in agreement  with  the prosecution, finding  Garth guilty  of “resisting  or  obstructing.” 

But  in  order  for Garth  to  be  guilty  of R&O,  then all  elements  must  be  met. That  means he  needed to  be guilty  not  only  of delaying  the  officers,  but  they  had  to  be  discharging  or  attempting  to  discharge  their duty  when  he  delayed  them. That’s a  problem  because  the  officers  that he  supposedly  delayed  were  NOT engaged in  discharging  a  lawful duty, and  were  possibly  engaged in  a  misdemeanor act  themselves (ID Title 18 C703  Illegal  Arrests  and  Seizures.) 

When Garth Gaylord allegedly  delayed  officers  for  three  seconds, those  officers  were  engaged in  an action  with the  immediate  goal of arresting  Ammon  Bundy. Ammon  and  Aaron  Von  Schmidt  were  to  be arrested  for  “failing  to  appear”  in  court. Both defendants  were  compelled  to  appear at  their  own trials by  the  state  and  dutifully  obeyed,  to  the best  of their ability, yet  were  blocked  from  entrance  by  law enforcement. How  can  law  enforcement arrest  an  accused person  for  not  appearing  when he is appearing?  It’s  illogical  as  well  as  unlawful, and  the code  that that  the  arrest  was  made  using doesn’t  apply to  the actual  situation, the only  answer can be that is because  there is no  code to which  it applies. In other  words, Ammon and Aaron  violated  no  law  when  refusing  to  wear  masks  required  for  courthouse  admittance. They  violated no  code  and  there  was  no  justification  for arrest,  yet  the  courts  and  law  enforcement decided  that  non compliance  must  be  punished. Garth  Gaylord  delayed, for  a maximum  of three  seconds, a  law  enforcement  officer  who  was attempting to  arrest unlawfully. Representatives  of  the sheriff’s department  and  courthouse  personnel have  tried  to  make  the case  that law enforcement is  charged  with  enforcing  Idaho  Supreme  Court  orders  for  the courthouses  of Idaho, even  when  these  orders  are  not  constitutional.  The Idaho  Supreme  Court  ordered  on  November  23 2020  “Emergency  Reduction  In  Court  Services  and  Limitation  of Access  to  Court  Facilities.”  The November  23  order  stated  the following:

“For public  safety  and  to  mitigate  the  spread  of  the novel coronavirus,  and  p Court  Administrative  Rule  48,  the following  limitations and  requirements  shall apply  until further order  of this  Court. 1. No  person  shall enter  courtrooms  or  other rooms  where  court  is  being  held, nor approach  any court  services  office  if they: a. are not  wearing  a  mask  covering  their nose  and  mouth;…” IC Administrative  Rule  48,  apparently  grants  authority  to  the administrative  director  of courts, the administrative  judge,  or their designees to “order  closure  of district  courts  and  related  offices…until the  safe  operations  of  the court  and  its offices  can  be  restored.   Whenever  a  threat  poses  an immediate  risk  of harm  to  court  personnel or  members  of  the  public,  court  operations  shall be suspended and  court  facilities  and  personnel shall  immediately  be  evacuated  pending  further  directive  of the  administrative  judge  or designee.” The  definition  of emergency  or  threatened  emergency  in Rule  48  includes “harm  to  the safety  or  health of court  personnel,  including  personnel  of  the district  court facilities, clerk’s  office, or  other  persons using  court Rule  48  includes  authority  for suspension,  evacuation,  and  closure  of  the  courts', as well  as  “resumption of court  business by  the  most  expeditious and  practical means possible,  which  may  include  alternate operational hours  or  moving  court  operations  to  alternate  facilities, if  necessary .”  (Italics  added.) Nowhere  in  the  rule  are  masks,  facial coverings, or  particular  attire  mentioned.  Nowhere  is  the authority granted  to  take  any  and  all  measures  to  mitigate  any  potential threat  that  may  be  perceived as potentially  causing  “harm  to  the  safety  or health.”  Nowhere  is  safety  or health defined, and  therefore, the “if  necessary”  phrase  is  open  to  interpretation. But  if words have  any  meaning, then  “if necessary” as broad as possible, or surely must  be  interpreted  to  convey  the  idea that  emergency  measures  must  be  as limited as possible, not liberally  applied.  We  could  take  it  a  step further  and  assert  that the COVID 19  virus has never  been  shown to  cause harm  to  any  individual.  As a  fact,  that  has never  been established  in any  court. Therefore,  no  individual,  whether  masked  or unmasked, can  be  assumed to cause  harm  or to  threaten  to  cause  harm  to  court  personnel  or any  other person  using  the  court facilities. In fact,  the  imposition  of  maskwearing  on  every  individual presumes  the  presence  and significance  of  something  called “asymptomatic  spread,”  an unproven and  unscientific concept. IC Administrative  Rule  48, cited by  the Idaho  Supreme  Court  Order  of November  23,  2020, does  not grant  the authority  to  impose  mask  orders. Furthermore,  the  Idaho  Constitution  Article  1  Section  18  states  that  the   Courts  of justice  shall be  open to every  person, and  a  speedy  remedy  afforded for every  injury  of person, property or character, and  right  and  justice  shall  be  administered  without  sale,  denial, delay,  or prejudice.

And  IC 394501  states Nothing  in this chapter  shall be construed  to  permit  or  require the  provision  of  health  care  for  a patient in contravention  of  the patient’s stated  or implied  objection  thereto  upon  religious grounds… 

In  short,  it  is not  possible  for the  courts  to  demand  any  person  consent  to  using  a  medical device  in order  to  gain  admittance  to  the  court  or to  obtain  justice. Ammon  Bundy, Aaron  Von  Schmidt,  and approximately  50  of  their supporters  were  unlawfully  barred from  entering  the  Ada County  Courthouse on  March  15,  2020, and  the  arrests  of Ammon  and  Aaron  for FTA  were  unlawful.  It  is  very  interesting  that the  prosecution  in Garth Gaylord’s  R&O  case  entered a   motion  to  prevent Garth  from  discussing  COVID19,  masks,  or  mask  mandates in  his defense. In  doing  so,  they  were  clearly limiting  Garth from  bringing  important  context  to  the  case  which  shows that his arrests  over  the past  year were  politically  motivated.  Moreover,  they  were  preventing  Garth from  making  an important  argument in his  legal  defense. In  denying  Garth the  ability  to  talk  about  the context  of his arrest,  the  state  and  the  court  stopped him from claiming  his lawful  right  to  defend  against  unlawful arrest. If  Garth  did  in fact  delay  an  officer  who was  charging  through  and  surprising  a  peaceful crowd  from  behind  with  no  warning, an officer  who  was attempting  to  arrest  Ammon  Bundy  who  stood  no  more  than  15  feet  away, then  Garth could  have legally  and  justifiably  been  in  the  process  of  stopping  an illegal  arrest. Garth himself was  well aware  that the court  mask  orders  were  not  lawful, he  could  see  with his  own  eyes  that  Ammon  Bundy  and  Aaron Von  Schmidt  appeared  at  the  court  in  good  faith, with  every  intention  of  attending  their  own trials to defend  their innocence  before  a  jury  of  their peers. Garth, Ammon, Aaron  and  about  50  other  law abiding  individuals were  present  outside  the  court  that  day  because  they  believed  in justice  and  had faith that  the criminal justice  system  could  deliver  it. Instead, they  were  betrayed  by  the  enforcers  of that system. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United States  has  affirmed  that individuals do  have  a right  to  defend  against unlawful arrest. In  John  Bad  Elk  v. U.S., the  court  upheld  an Indiana ruling  that,  "Citizens  may  resist unlawful arrest  to  the  point  of  taking  an arresting  officer's life  if  necessary."  That’s a  pretty  significant statement.  The  whole  of Garth  Gaylord’s alleged crime,  according  to  the  state’s  own case,  is he delayed law  enforcement for three  seconds at  most.  A case  decided  by  the  Supreme  Court  of Georgia  and  often  cited  is Adams  v. State,  in  which  the court stated,  “One  may  come  to  the aid  of another  being  unlawfully  arrested,  just  as he  may  where  one  is being  assaulted,  molested,  raped or  kidnapped."  Thus it  is not  an  offense  to  liberate  one  from  the unlawful custody  of an  officer,  even  though  he  may  have  submitted to  such  custody,  without resistance. The  right  of defense  against  unlawful arrest  speaks  to  the gravity  with  which  we  should  view  all  arrests made  by  law  enforcement.  Courts  have  ruled repeatedly  that  due  process  is  so  vitally  important  that  the process  must  be  carried  out  strictly  and  with the  highest  regard  for justice,  even to  the  point  that  a civilian  may  resist, whether  on  his  own behalf  or that  of another,  when he  knows  the  arrest  to  be unjustified  and  unlawful. 

For all  of these  reasons, it  is clear  that Garth Gaylord  was  wrongfully arrested  on  March  15, 2020, and that every  charge  against  Garth  since  that time  is also  unwarranted. He  has  committed no  crime,  though those  responsible for unlawfully  arresting  and  detaining  Garth, Ammon  Bundy,  Aaron  Von  Schmidt  and many others  may  be  responsible for  committing the crime  of illegal  arrest . They  may also be  guilty  of practicing  medicine  without  license,  of attempting  to  force  medical intervention  without  informed consent, of  denying  equal  access  to  the  courts  as  well  as  violating tree  speech,  due  process  and  speedy trial rights. At  this time,  December  2021,  Garth  continues  to  be  held  in Ada County  Jail, unjustly  as  a political prisoner.