Anti-wolf activist Ron Gillett of Stanley will stand trial in Challis on Friday for allegedly attacking pro-wolf advocate Lynne Stone.
Jury selection for the trial is set to begin at 9 a.m., with the proceedings likely beginning around 11 a.m., according to a court official at the Custer County Courthouse.
The case stems from a March 25 altercation between Gillett and Stone near the Valley Creek Bridge in Stanley. During his arraignment, Gillett pleaded not guilty to charges of misdemeanor assault and battery.
According to Stone, executive director of the Stanley-based environmental organization Boulder-White Clouds Coalition, Gillett drove up alongside her as she prepared to take a walk with her dog along Valley Creek. Stone said she took several photographs of Gillett after he began yelling at her from inside his pickup.
She said this enraged the well-known, 67-year-old director of the Idaho Anti-Wolf Coalition. She said he stepped out of his vehicle and tried to wrestle her camera from her hands.
Several hours after the March incident, a Custer County sheriff's deputy placed Gillett under arrest at his Stanley home and transported him to the county jail in Challis. The owner of the Triangle C Ranch in Stanley was released on his own recognizance later that same day.
During a pretrial conference in Challis in April, Custer County Magistrate Judge Charles Roos extended a no-contact order on Gillett requiring him to remain at least 300 feet from Stone and 100 feet from her vehicle. The order, which was set to extend to Aug. 22, also prohibits Gillett from contacting Stone by telephone, through a third party or by e-mail, according to the Custer County Sheriff's Office.
The maximum penalty for assault is a $1,000 fine and three months jail. The maximum penalty for battery is a $1,000 fine and six months jail.
The controversial anti-wolf activist has long objected to the federal government's reintroduction of gray wolves to Idaho in 1995 and 1996. Earlier this year, Gillett and the coalition failed to gather the required number of signatures to place a statewide initiative on the coming November ballot that would prevent Idaho from taking over management of wolves and also require that the predators be removed from the state.
Ron Gillett
