Ruby Ridge

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Ruby Ridge refers to a violent confrontation and siege involving Randy Weaver, his family, Weaver's friend Kevin Harris, federal agents from the United States Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Contents

[edit] Leadup

Randy Weaver, a "former Iowa factory worker", had moved to north Idaho in the 1980s to "home-school his children and escape what he and his wife Vicki saw as a corrupted world".[1]

In October 1989, an informant from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms visited Weaver and requested that he supply him two shotguns, with the barrels shortened beyond the legal limit (for short-barreled shotguns without a tax paid to the BATF). Weaver sold him two shotguns with barrels sawn down to under the legal limit. In June 1990, BATF agents attempted to have Weaver act as an informant for their investigation into the Aryan Nations organization. He refused. Seven months later in January 1991, they laid charges over the illegally shortened shotguns.[2]

BATF agents posed as broken-down motorists and arrested Randy and Vicki Weaver when they stopped to assist. Randy Weaver was told of the charges against him, released on bail, and told his trial would begin on 19 February 1991. Two weeks later, the trial date changed to 20 February, but the U.S. Probation Office sent out a letter which stated the date as 20 March. Weaver did not appear on the correct trial date, and the judge issued a warrant for his arrest. On 14 March a grand jury, which the U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) had not informed of the incorrect date in the letter, indicted Weaver for failing to appear on the correct trial date.[2]

Weaver, distrustful of the federal government, refused to leave his cabin. U.S. Marshals Service officers tried to persuade him to surrender peacefully through sympathetic persons, though this stopped after the USAO dictated that negotiations could only come through Weaver's court-appointed counsel, whom Weaver refused to talk with. From then on until the Ruby Ridge incident began, U.S. Marshals Service officers prepared plans to capture Weaver to stand trial on the weapons charges and his failure to appear at the correct trial date.[2]

[edit] The incident

The events started on August 21, 1992 on the Weaver family property, located on a hillside between Caribou Ridge and Ruby Creek near Naples in northern Idaho. Six marshals dressed in "full Vietnam-style camouflage, with night-vision goggles and full-auto M-16 machine guns"[1] had entered the property to scout out positions for a plan to arrest Weaver away from his cabin.[2]

At one point, one of the marshals threw two rocks at the Weaver cabin to test whether the dogs would be alerted.[3] The dogs indeed became alerted, and Weaver's friend Kevin Harris, and Weaver's 14 year old son, Samuel, emerged and followed the dogs to investigate,[1] believing that the dog had noticed a game animal (with the cabin out of meat).[4] The marshals initially retreated, but took up hidden defensive positions. Accounts differ at this point as to who opened fire first[5], but agree that when marshals shot, killing Weaver's dog "Striker", 14-year old Samuel Weaver became extremely agitated at which point a firefight arose, resulting in the deaths of fleeing 14-year old Samuel who was shot in the back,[6] and US Marshal William Degan.[7] The marshals fell back from the hillside and requested assistance from the FBI, at which point Weaver and Harris stayed in the house for 12 days.

On day two, Lon Horiuchi, an FBI sniper, shot at Weaver and Harris, injuring them. Major controversy exists about the death of unarmed Vicki Weaver, who was shot and killed by Horiuchi as she held her nursing baby daughter in her arms.[8]

The stand-off was ultimately resolved by a negotiating team including Bo Gritz, and Weaver and Harris surrendered and were arrested.[9] Weaver was ultimately acquitted of all charges except missing his original court date and violating his bail conditions, for which he was sentenced to 18 months and fined $10,000. Credited with time served, Weaver spent an additional 4 months in prison. Harris was acquitted of all charges.

[edit] Vicky Weaver controversy

An FBI sniper, Lon Horiuchi, shot and wounded Randy Weaver in the right arm, while he was lifting the latch on a shed to visit the dead body of Sammy Weaver.[10] Then, as Weaver, his 16-year-old daughter Sara[11], and Harris ran back to the house, Horiuchi took a second shot, which struck and wounded Harris, and killed Vicki Weaver. Vicki Weaver was standing behind the door through which Harris was entering the house, holding their 10-month-old baby Elishiba[11] in her arms.[12] A Justice Department review later found the second shot was unconstitutional and the lack of a request to surrender was "inexcusable", since Harris and the two Weavers were running for cover and could not pose an imminent threat. The task force also specifically blamed Horiuchi for firing through the door, not knowing whether someone was on the other side of it, along with those who had decided on the special rules of engagement allowing shots to be fired with no request for surrender.[10]

The sniper's two shots were fired at 6:00pm August 22, 1992; the Weavers did not return fire but retreated to the cabin. At 6:30pm, an armored personnel carrier came to the cabin and announced the presence of law enforcement. According to the Weavers, this was the first announcement of the presence of law enforcement.[citation needed]

A stand-off ensued for 10 more days as several hundred federal agents surrounded the house, in which Weaver and his three surviving children remained with Harris.

Horiuchi was indicted for manslaughter in 1997 by the Boundary County, Idaho prosecutor just prior to the statute of limitations for the crime of manslaughter, but the trial was removed to federal court and was quickly dismissed.[13]

[edit] Aftermath

The surviving members of the Weaver family filed a wrongful death suit and Randy Weaver received a $100,000 settlement while his daughters received $1 million each. Weaver wrote a 1998 paperback book, The Federal Siege at Ruby Ridge, about the incident. Kevin Harris received a $380,000 settlement.

FBI director Louis Freeh disciplined or proposed discipline for twelve FBI employees over their handling of the incident and the later prosecution of Randy Weaver and Harris. He described it before the U.S. Senate hearing investigating the incident as "synonymous with the exaggerated application of federal law enforcement" and stated "law enforcement overreacted at Ruby Ridge."[14]

A CBS mini-series about the Ruby Ridge incident, entitled Ruby Ridge: An American Tragedy, aired on May 19 and May 21, 1996. It starred Laura Dern and Randy Quaid. [1] The series edited together in movie form is known as The Siege at Ruby Ridge. [15]

[edit] Oklahoma City bombing

The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist attack on April 19, 1995 aimed at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, a U.S. government office complex in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The attack claimed 168 lives and left over 800 injured. Until the September 11, 2001 attacks, it was the deadliest act of terrorism on U.S. soil.[16] Within days after the bombing, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were both in custody for their roles in the bombing. Investigators determined that McVeigh and Nichols were sympathizers of an anti-government militia movement and that their motive was to avenge the government's handling of the Waco and Ruby Ridge incidents.[17] FBI Sniper Horiuchi was also at Waco.

[edit] See also

[edit] Suggested reading

  • Alan Bock. Ambush at Ruby Ridge: How Government Agents Set Randy Weaver Up and Took His Family Down. ISBN 1-880741-48-2.
  • Jess Walter. Ruby Ridge: The Truth and Tragedy of the Randy Weaver Family, The Spokesman-Review received a Pulitzer Prize nomination for its coverage of the story. ISBN 0-06-000794-X.
  • Jon Ronson (2002). Them: Adventures with Extremists. ISBN 0-7432-3321-2.
  • Randy and Sara Weaver. The Federal Siege At Ruby Ridge: In Our Own Words. ISBN 0-9664334-0-8.
  • Christopher Whitcomb. Cold Zero: Inside the FBI Hostage Rescue Team. ISBN 0-552-14788-5.
  • Danny O. Coulson & Elaine Shannon. No Heroes: Inside the FBI's Secret Counter-Terror Force. ISBN 0-671-02062-5
  • Ronald Kessler (2002). "The Bureau: The Secret History of the FBI". ISBN 0-312-98977-6

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Suprynowicz, Vin (1999). "The Courtesan Press, Eager Lapdogs to Tyranny (Chapter 6)", Send in the Waco Killers -- Essays on the Freedom Movement, 1993-1998. Mountain Media, 288. 
  2. ^ a b c d D.O.J. Office of Professional Responsibility Ruby Ridge Task Force Report, Pages 2, 13-14
  3. ^ D.O.J. Office of Professional Responsibility Ruby Ridge Task Force Report, Page 121
  4. ^ http://www.reason.com/news/show/29386.html
  5. ^ http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/randy_weaver/
  6. ^ Suprynowicz, Vin (1999). "The Courtesan Press, Eager Lapdogs to Tyranny (Chapter 6)", Send in the Waco Killers -- Essays on the Freedom Movement, 1993-1998. Mountain Media, 291. 
  7. ^ http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3574, Remember Ruby Ridge, Timothy Lynch
  8. ^ Suprynowicz, Vin (1999). "The Courtesan Press, Eager Lapdogs to Tyranny (Chapter 6)", Send in the Waco Killers -- Essays on the Freedom Movement, 1993-1998. Mountain Media, 289. 
  9. ^ Neiwert, David A. (1999). In God's Country. Washington State University Press, p. 66. ISBN 0-87422-175-7. 
  10. ^ a b Witkin, Gordon. "The nightmare of Idaho's Ruby Ridge", 'US News & World Report', 1995-09-11. Retrieved on 2007-06-26. 
  11. ^ a b Bill Hewitt, "A time to heal", People Weekly, September 25, 1995
  12. ^ STATE OF IDAHO v. LON T. HORIUCHI. Findlaw.com (June 5, 2001). Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
  13. ^ Suprynowicz, Vin (1999). "The Courtesan Press, Eager Lapdogs to Tyranny (Chapter 6)", Send in the Waco Killers -- Essays on the Freedom Movement, 1993-1998. Mountain Media, 290. 
  14. ^ Opening Statement of Louis J. Freeh, Director Federal Bureau of Investigation, before the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Government Information Committee on the Judiciary- Ruby Ridge Hearing, United States Senate, October 19, 1995
  15. ^ National Geographic Channel Documentary (2007). Standoff at Ruby Ridge.
  16. ^ Prior to 9-11, the deadliest act of terror against the United States was the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which killed 189 Americans.
  17. ^ Prosecution tries to link Nichols, McVeigh through literature "The government has argued that McVeigh and Nichols were incensed over how federal agents handled the 1993 clash with the Branch Davidian cult in Waco in which 80 cult members died."; retrieved 15 March 2008

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 48°36′36″N 116°26′42″W / 48.61, -116.445