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==Aftermath==
==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.
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."<ref name="freehstatement">[http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1995_hr/s951019f.htm 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</ref>


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]]. <ref name="suprynowicz">{{cite book |author=Suprynowicz, Vin |chapter=The Courtesan Press, Eager Lapdogs to Tyranny (Chapter 6) |title=Send in the Waco Killers -- Essays on the Freedom Movement, 1993-1998 |page= 288 |publisher=Mountain Media |year=1999}}</ref> The series edited together in movie form is known as ''The Siege at Ruby Ridge.'' <ref> {{cite web |author=National Geographic Channel Documentary | title=Standoff at Ruby Ridge| date= 2007 | url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117523/}}</ref>
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]]. <ref name="suprynowicz">{{cite book |author=Suprynowicz, Vin |chapter=The Courtesan Press, Eager Lapdogs to Tyranny (Chapter 6) |title=Send in the Waco Killers -- Essays on the Freedom Movement, 1993-1998 |page= 288 |publisher=Mountain Media |year=1999}}</ref> The series edited together in movie form is known as ''The Siege at Ruby Ridge.'' <ref> {{cite web |author=National Geographic Channel Documentary | title=Standoff at Ruby Ridge| date= 2007 | url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117523/}}</ref>

Revision as of 05:33, 6 April 2008

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.

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. 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]

The violent confrontation began when Weaver's friend Kevin Harris, and his 14 year old son, Samuel, checked on why Weaver's dog had alerted to strange people hidden on Weaver's property dressed in "full Vietnam-style camouflage, with night-vision goggles and full-auto M-16 machine guns".[1] This had arisen because Randy Weaver had an outstanding warrant for his arrest on a firearms offense[2] and, on August 21, 1992, six U.S. Marshals had entered the wooded 20-acre Ruby Ridge property to scout the premises covertly. At one point, one of the marshals threw stones at the Weaver cabin to assess the family dogs' alertness.[3] The dogs indeed became alerted, and Kevin Harris and Samuel Weaver, 14, emerged carrying rifles and followed the dogs to investigate. The marshals initially retreated, but took up defensive positions. Accounts differ at this point as to who opened fire first[4], 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,[5] and US Marshal William Degan.[6] 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.[7]

The stand-off was ultimately resolved by a negotiating team including Bo Gritz, and Weaver and Harris surrendered and were arrested.[8] Weaver was ultimately acquitted of all charges except missing his original court date (related to a charge of illegally shortening a shotgun for a government agent without having first paid a $200 tax) and violation of 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.

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.[9] Then, as Weaver, his 16-year-old daughter Sara[10], and Harris ran back to the house, Horiuchi took a second shot, which struck and wounded Harris, but that killed Vicki Weaver. Vicki Weaver was standing behind the door through which Harris was entering the house, holding their 10-month-old baby Elishiba[10] in her arms.[11] 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.[9]

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 transferred to federal court and was quickly dismissed.[12]

The Firearms Offense

An ATF officer had visited Randy Weaver under-cover several times in an attempt to get him to do some gun-smithing for him. The request was to cut a shotgun down to something like one inch shorter than the legal limit.

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."[13]

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. [14]

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.[15] Within days after the bombing, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were both arrested 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.[citation needed] FBI Sniper Horiuchi also was at Waco.

See also

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

References

  1. ^ a b c 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. p. 288.
  2. ^ http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-lynch082102.asp
  3. ^ http://www.stormfront.org/ruby.htm
  4. ^ http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/randy_weaver/
  5. ^ 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. p. 291.
  6. ^ http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3574, Remember Ruby Ridge, Timothy Lynch
  7. ^ 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. p. 289.
  8. ^ Neiwert, David A. (1999). In God's Country. Washington State University Press. pp. p. 66. ISBN 0-87422-175-7. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  9. ^ a b Witkin, Gordon (1995-09-11). "The nightmare of Idaho's Ruby Ridge". US News & World Report. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  10. ^ a b Bill Hewitt, "A time to heal", People Weekly, September 25, 1995
  11. ^ "STATE OF IDAHO v. LON T. HORIUCHI" (PDF). Findlaw.com. June 5, 2001. Retrieved 2007-10-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ 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. p. 290.
  13. ^ 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
  14. ^ National Geographic Channel Documentary (2007). "Standoff at Ruby Ridge".
  15. ^ 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.

48°36′36″N 116°26′42″W / 48.61000°N 116.44500°W / 48.61000; -116.44500

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