Ruby Ridge
From Free Talk Live
Randy Weaver and his family moved to a remote ridge in northern Idaho simply so that the government would leave them alone. The Weaver's believed that the end of the world was approaching and that the prophesies of the Bible were coming true. The Weavers held other controversial beliefs including the belief that the world was controlled by ZOG (Zionist Organized Government) and the New World Order. The Weavers were white separatists and attended meetings of the Aryan Nations, a white supremacist group. When the federal government decided to use Randy Weaver as a pawn to infiltrate the Aryan Nations, a chain of events was set in motion that would end tragically for the Weavers and become one of the most controversial incidents in the history of the FBI.
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Background
Randy and Vicki Weaver and their three children moved to Ruby Ridge, Idaho in 1984. Although the family did not agree with all the beliefs of the Aryan Nations, they had attending the group's meetings on and off for several years. In 1990, Randy met a biker named Guss Magisono at one of the meetings. Magisono learned of the Weaver's financial hardships and approached Randy about buying a machinegun from Weaver. When Weaver said that he did not have access to a machinegun, Magisono asked if Randy could saw off two shotguns for him in exchange for some money. Randy agreed and later met Magisono with the shotguns for which Magisono paid him $300. Unfortunately for Weaver, Magisono was actually an informer for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Weaver would contend that he had not sawed off the shotguns to illegal lengths when he sold them to Magisono. In any case, the ATF charged Weaver with selling illegal firearms. The ATF, however, offered to drop the charges if Weaver would agree to become an informant against the Aryan Nations. Weaver flatly refused, so the ATF decided to prosecute. Weaver received a letter informing him of his court date, March 20, 1991. This letter, however, contained a serious, perhaps fatal error, the date was wrong; Weaver's court date was actually February 20, 1991. When Weaver failed to appear for his court date, he was declared a federal fugitive. The U.S. Marshals were called to serve Weaver with a warrant for his arrest.
Deadly Confrontation
When the Weavers learned of the arrest warrant, they were convinced that the government was out to get them and vowed never to leave their mountain. All of the family members took to carrying firearms any time they left the cabin. During this time, a fourth Weaver child was born.
The U.S. Marshals' Special Operations Group (SOG) began surveilling the Weavers. After observing the Weavers with their firearms and learning of their apocolyptic paranoia, as well as Randy Weaver's Green Beret background, the Marshals decided that the situation was extremely dangerous and advised that the case be dismissed. Idaho's U.S. Attorney Maurice Ellsworth, however, refused this request. On August 21, 1992, a SOG team was deployed to begin a final survey of the Weaver's property in order to finalize a tactical assault plan. The team was wearing camoflage and was heavily armed with M-16 automatic rifles and a suppressed 9mm Colt Carbine (basically a M-4, the short version of the M-16, chambering for 9mm and fitted with a silencer). Although accounts vary as to what happened next, the Weaver's dogs heard the team and began barking. Randy Weaver, his 14 year old son Sam, and family friend Kevin Harris, came out of the cabin to investigate. The group advanced on the Marshal's postitions. The Marshals then claim that someone in Weaver's group fired at them. The Weavers claim that the Marshals fired, either at them or at one of the approaching dogs. In any case, a firefight ensued. When it was over, one of the Marshals, Sam Weaver, and Stryker, the Weaver's dog were all dead. Within hours, the local SWAT team, the U.S. Border Patrol, the Idaho State Police SWAT team, the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), as well as another U.S. Marshals SOG unit all arrived at the scene. Before long, 300 law enforcement officers, armored personnel carriers, and military helicopters would appear at the base and on the hillside of the Weaver's cabin.
Unconstitutional Orders
When the FBI's HRT team arrived, it took command of the situation and deployed snipers to the hilltops overlooking the Weaver's cabin. The HRT Commander, Richard Rogers, submitted a revision to the FBI's standard rules of engagement. Under Roger's amendment, FBI agents were allowed to shoot any armed adult male on sight prior to making an announcement to surrender. FBI headquaters did not approve this amendment, however, Larry Potts, the assistance director of the FBI criminal division informed the special agent-in-charge at Ruby Ridge that the plan had in fact been approved and should be put into effect.
In the late afternoon of August 22, the day after the initial shootout, the Weavers decided to visit Sammy's body which was in a shed near the cabin. The Weavers were unaware that the FBI had positioned snipers in the area. FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi would testify that he had saw a FBI helicopter lift off when he observed the armed Weavers leaving the cabin and assumed that they were going to fire on it. Without giving a command to surrender, Horiuchia, who was position over 200 yards from the cabin, fired his .308 Remington rifle and hit Randy Weaver in the shoulder. The Weavers retreated back to the cabin where Vicki Weaver, who had not left for the shed, held the door open. Vicki was holding the couple's 10 month old daughter, Elisheba. As Randy Weaver ran into the cabin, Horiuchi fired another shot at the edge of the door. This shot missed Randy, but hit Vicki Weaver, effectively blowing her head apart. The bullet also hit Kevin Harris in the left arm and chest. Unbelievably, the baby was not hit. The grieving and shocked Weavers placed Vicki's body under the kitchen table and hunkered down in the cabin.
The Siege
The next day, the FBI approached the cabin in armored personnel carriers demanding the Weaver's surrender or accept a telephone to begin negotiations. Randy Weaver refused and the FBI began destroying the buildings surrounding the cabin. When the APCs returned later and demolished the shed, they discovered Sammy's body. The FBI said that they were unaware of his death and assumed that Weaver was killing his children. The FBI then began aggressive psychological warfare tactics, subjecting the Weavers to bright spotlights throughout the night, and broadcasting statements like "Mrs. Weaver, we had pancakes for breakfast, what did you have?" (although in fairness, the FBI probably did not know that Vicki had been killed) and if they didn't surrender, they would all die.
As news of the seige and the firefight reached the press, a group of protesters began to gather. The FBI would even arrest a heavily armed group of sympathizers that was headed up the mountain to assist the Weavers. Unfortunately, many of the protesters included many "right wing anti-government types" and people that held up signs like "Death to ZOG." The media wrote these people off as "fringe elements." The media also demonized Randy Weaver, portraying him simply as a racist white supremacist (Weaver would later state that he was a separatist, not a supremacist, saying he only wanted to be among his own "kind" and if he was black he probably would have been a follower of Louis Farrakhans's group) who deserved the government's wrath. The media called the Weaver's cabin a "compound" and said that Weaver had built fortifications on the mountainside.
Eventually, the FBI contacted Colonel Bo Gritz to negotiate with Weaver. Gritz was a hero among the anti-government right wing. A Viet Nam veteran, who had led commando mission back into the country to rescue soldiers missing in action, Gritz was the Populist Party presidential candidate. The FBI brought Gritz to the scene on Friday, August 28. HRT Commander Rogers gave Gritz and ultimatum, if the Weavers did not surrender before August 31, the FBI would launch an all-out assault on the cabin which would probably result in the death of everyone inside. Luckily, after speaking with Randy on and off for three days, Gritz was able to convince Weaver to surrender despite the objections of his children. As the Weavers left the cabin, they were stunned to see the massive paramilitary force that the federal government had amassed against them.
The Trial and Aftermath
On April 13, 1993, Randy Weaver's trial began. Randy Weaver and Kevin Harris were charged with murder, aiding and abetting murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and assault. The government's case rested on the Weaver's racist views and hatred of the government. The defense contended that the Weaver's actions were self-defense and in fact the government was guilty of murder. In the ensuing weeks, the government's case fell apart completely. The government's witnesses contradicted one another, U.S. Marshall's testified that they never consider asking Weaver to surrender peacefully (just knocking on his door), and the FBI admitted to tampering with evidence. During closing arguments, the prosecuter broke down and told the judge "I can't on." The jury found Kevin Harris not guilty of all counts. Randy Weaver was found guilty only of failing to appear in court and violating his bail. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison, 14 of which he had already spend, and a $10,000 fine.
After serving his sentence, Weaver filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the federal government for the killing of Sammy and Vicki. The government settled out of court, giving Weaver $100,000 and each of his daughters $1 million. An anonymous government official would later say that if the case had come to court, the verdict would have probably run in the 100s of millions of dollars. As for the FBI's actions at Ruby Ridge, no one at that agency received any significant punishment, most of them receiving only letters of censure and a couple weeks suspension. Michael Kahoe, chief of the FBI's Violent Crimes and Major Offenders Section, was eventually found guilty of lying to investigators and destroying evidence and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Kahoe, however, was kept on the federal payroll until his 50th birthday, ensuring his eligibility for a federal pension. As for Horiuchi, the man who murdered Vicki Weaver, the state prosecutor charged Horiuchi with involuntary manslaughter. The case was removed to federal court where it was dismissed under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution which grants immunity to federal officers acting in scope of their employment. (The Supremacy Clause reads: "This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." How can any reasonable interpretation of this statement apply to this case? The judge's decision means that the federal government has carte blanche to do anything including murder. His decision is absolutely preposterous.) The decision was reversed by the appellate court but eventually dropped by the prosecution. As with the incident at Waco, the government decided that "putting the incident behind us" was more important that uncovering the truth and bringing government abuses to light.
The Weaver's cabin still stands at Ruby Ridge. Randy Weaver and his daughters bought a used car dealership in Montana. As a result of the tragic events, Randy Weaver became a kind of patron saint to the "militant" gun owner movement, recording his experience in a book and sometimes appearing at gunshows to sign it. Finally, the anti-government backlash that events like Ruby Ridge and Waco produced was used by Timothy McVeigh to justify his bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995.
