CEDAR CITY, Utah (PNN) - October 10, 2026 - A traffic stop over an expired vehicle registration landed Ammon Bundy in jail on October 7.
Iron County Sheriff’s Office officials said the pickup truck’s registration had been expired for two years and Bundy allegedly refused commands to get out as deputies arranged to impound it.
Bundy said in an interview that he objects to registration and driver’s-license requirements because he considers travel a “God-given right”.
“I disagree with having to have permission to travel,” Bundy told St. George News.
Known for his role in confrontations with federal authorities over public lands, Bundy was booked into the Iron County Jail and later released after local business owner Brad Green posted $690 bail.
Iron County Sheriff Ken Carpenter said the registration violation occurred in Iron County, but deputies pulled Bundy over in Washington County near milepost 40 on southbound Interstate 15.
When asked why he had not registered the pickup, Bundy directed deputies to his lawyer, Carpenter said. The sheriff said Bundy had been warned on at least one previous occasion about the expired registration. Bundy confirmed that with St. George News.
“It is at the discretion of the officer if they impound the vehicle and I wish officers would use that discretion more,” he said.
Lt. Shawn Peterson said deputies arranged a state tax impound and physically removed Bundy after he refused commands to leave the vehicle. Peterson described Bundy’s actions as “passive resistance,” saying he did not fight deputies but would not follow their commands.
The jail’s booking record lists one count each of failure to obey an officer, interfering with a peace officer, driving without registration, and driving with an expired license.
At the time of the incident, Bundy said he was headed to his parents’ ranch in Bunkerville, Nevada. He planned to check on his elderly parents and meet a Japanese media outlet for an interview there.
He argued public roads should allow people to visit family, attend church and trade with one another without government permission. He considers licenses and registration forms of permission that turn a right into a privilege.
“It is an unalienable right from God; it is a right, not a privilege,” Bundy said.
Bundy was charged $725.75 for a DMV impound release that did not include registration, plus $410 for towing. Along with the bail, the amounts totaled $1,825.75.
Peterson said vehicles with registration expired for more than three months may be impounded.
Utah DMV guidance says an improper registration impound fee equals the vehicle’s registration fee, with registration fees also required if the vehicle is not currently registered. Towing and storage charges are separate.
After his release, Bundy said he walked about eight miles along I-15 in cowboy boots and a hat to protest the restrictions on his travel.
A deputy later drove beside him, asked where he was headed and told him he could not walk along I-15, Bundy said. He continued walking.
Bundy said his walk along I-15 was prompted by an exchange during the traffic stop. After the arresting deputy told him he could not drive without valid registration and a driver’s license, Bundy asked how he could travel and said he was told, “He could walk.”
However, the deputy who pulled over to speak with him while he was on the freeway told him he could not allow him to continue. Utah Code 41-6a-1009(7) prohibits pedestrians from walking along or on a no-access freeway except during an emergency.
Bundy said he plans to seek records under Utah’s Government Records Access and Management Act concerning the arrest and an earlier encounter with police in Parowan.
Green, a local business owner, chairman and founder of Advocates for a Prosperous Community and former chairman of the Iron County Libertarian Party, supports Bundy’s stand.
“I believe Ammon is on the right side of liberty, that he has rare courage, and is one of very few willing to stand up against tyranny even knowing they will use him repeatedly as a punching bag,” Green said. “I will support courage and human action like that every chance I get.”
Bundy helped lead the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. A federal jury later acquitted him of all charges in that trial.