Ruby Ridge

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Ruby Ridge was the site of a violent confrontation and siege in the U.S. state of Idaho in 1992. It involved 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 was cited as a motivation for the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995.

Contents

[edit] Development

Randy Weaver, a former Iowa factory worker, moved his family to northern Idaho during the 1980s in order to "home-school his children and escape what he and his wife Vicki saw as a corrupted world".[1] Vicki, the religious leader of the family, believed that the apocalypse was imminent and had dreams of her family surviving the apocalypse in a remote mountainous area. They bought twenty acres of land on Ruby Ridge in 1983 and began building a cabin.[2]

In 1984, Randy Weaver and neighbor Terry Kinnison had a dispute over a $3,000 land deal. (Kinnison subsequently lost the lawsuit and was ordered to pay Weaver an additional $2,100 in court costs and damages.) Kinnison wrote letters to the FBI, Secret Service and county sheriff alleging Weaver had threatened to kill the Pope, the President and the governor of Idaho. In January 1985, the FBI and Secret Service started an investigation. In February, Randy and Vicki Weaver met with two FBI agents, two Secret Service agents and the Boundary County sheriff and his chief investigator and were interviewed for hours.[3] While the Secret Service was told that Weaver was a member of the Aryan Nations and had a large weapons cache at his residence, Weaver denied the allegations and no charges were filed.[4] The investigation noted that, while Weaver denied being a member of Aryan Nations, he associated with Frank Kumnick who was known to associate with members of the Aryan Nations. On 28 Feb 1985 Randy and Vicki Weaver filed an affidavit with the county courthouse alleging their personal enemies were plotting to provoke the FBI into attacking and killing the Weaver family.[5] On 6 May 1985 Randy and Vicki Weaver sent a letter to President Ronald Reagan claiming Weaver's enemies may have sent the President a threatening letter under a forged signature. No evidence of a threat letter has surfaced; however, the 1985 letter of apology was cited by the prosecutor in 1992 as Overt Act 7 of the Weaver family conspiracy against the federal government.[6][7]

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms first became aware of Weaver in July 1986 when he was introduced to an ATF informant at a meeting of the Aryan Nations. Weaver had been invited by Frank Kumnick, who was the original target of the ATF investigation. Over the next three years, Weaver and the informant met several times.[4] In October 1989, the ATF claims that Weaver sold the informant two sawed-off shotguns, with the barrels shortened beyond the legal limit set by federal law. Weaver denied this, claiming agents purchased legal shotguns from Weaver and later shortened the barrels themselves. In June 1990, ATF agents attempted to have Weaver act as an informant for their investigation into the Aryan Nations organization. When Weaver refused, the ATF filed charges in June 1990 and a federal grand jury later indicted him in December 1990 for making and possessing, but not for selling, illegal weapons in October 1989.[4]

ATF 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 February 19, 1991. On January 22, 1991, the judge in the case notified Everett Hofmeister that he would be serving as Weaver’s attorney. On that same day, Weaver called Karl Richins, who was a U.S. Probation Officer, and informed him that Weaver was instructed to contact him on that date. Richins did not have the case file at that time, so he asked Weaver to leave his contact information and Richins would contact him when he received the paperwork. According to Richins, Weaver did not give him a telephone number. [8] Defense counsel Hofmeister sent letters to Weaver on January 19, January 31 and February 5 asking Weaver to contact him to work on his defense.

On February 5, the trial date was changed from February 19 to February 20 to give participants more travel time following a federal holiday. The court clerk sent a letter to the parties informing them of the date change; however, the notice was not sent directly to Weaver, only to his attorney. On February 7, U.S. Probation Officer Richins sent Weaver a letter indicating that he now had the case file and needed to talk with Weaver. This letter erroneously indicated that Weavers trial date was set for March 20. [8] On February 8, Hofmeister again attempted to contact Weaver by letter informing him that the trial was to begin on February 20 and Weaver needed to contact him immediately. Hofmeister also made several calls to individuals who knew Weaver asking them to have Weaver call him. Hofmeister did not hear from Weaver before the scheduled court date.

When Weaver did not show up in court on February 20, the judge issued a bench warrant for failure to appear in court. On February 26, Ken Keller, a reporter for the Kootenai Valley Times, telephoned the U.S. Probation Office and asked if the reason that Weaver did not show in court on February 20 was because the letter sent to him by Richins had the incorrect date. Upon finding a copy of the letter, the Chief Probation Officer, Terrence Hummel, contacted the judge’s clerk and informed them of the incorrect date in the letter. Hummel also contacted the U.S. Marshals Service and Weaver’s attorney informing them of the error. The judge, however, refused to withdraw the bench warrant. The U.S. Marshals Service did agree to put off executing the warrant until after March 20 to see if Weaver would show up in court on that day. If he were to show up on March 20, all indications are that the warrant would be dropped. [8] Instead of waiting to see if Weaver would show up on March 20, however, the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) called a grand jury on March 14. The USAO did not present Richins’ erroneous letter as evidence to the grand jury and the grand jury issued an indictment for failure to appear. [4]

Weaver was known to have an intense distrust of government and it is believed that the erroneous letter intensified his distrust and may have contributed to his reluctance to appear for trial. Weaver was clearly suspicious of what he viewed as inconsistent messages from the government and his own lawyer and this inconsistency further enforced his belief that there was a conspiracy against him. [8] The mixed signals the Weavers received from the various government agencies convinced them that Weaver would not receive a fair trial if he were to appear in court.

Weaver, distrustful of the federal government, refused to leave his cabin. U.S. Marshals Service officers made a series of attempts to have Weaver surrender peacefully. Marshals exchanged messages with Weaver through intermediaries several times until the US Attorney directed that all negotiations would go through Weaver's court-appointed counsel; however, Weaver did not have any contact with the attorney and refused to talk with him. Marshals then began preparing plans to capture Weaver to stand trial on the weapons charges and his failure to appear at the correct trial date.[4] Surveillance teams were dispatched and cameras were set up to record activity at Weaver's residence. Marshals observed that Weaver and his family responded to vehicles and other visitors by taking up armed positions around the cabin until the visitors were recognized.[4]

[edit] The incident at the "Y" in the trails

The Weaver family property was located in northern Idaho in Boundary County, on a hillside between Caribou Ridge and Ruby Creek near Naples. Ruby Ridge is a portmanteau of these two names.[9] On August 21, 1992, six marshals were sent to scout the area to determine suitable places away from the cabin to ambush and arrest Weaver.[4] The marshals, dressed in camouflage, were equipped with night-vision goggles and M16 rifles.[1] Deputy US Marshals (DUSMs) Art Roderick, Larry Cooper and Bill Degan formed the recon team, while DUSMs David Hunt, Frank Norris and Joseph Thomas formed an OP team (observation post) on the ridge north of the cabin.

At one point, Roderick threw two rocks at the Weaver cabin to test the reaction of the dogs.[10] The dogs became alerted, and Weaver's friend Kevin Harris, and Weaver's 14 year old son, Samuel, emerged and followed the dogs to investigate.[1] Harris and the younger Weaver were hoping that the dog had noticed a game animal since the cabin was out of meat.[11] Sammy Weaver told his father he believed the dogs had sensed either a large animal or a man in the woods. The recon team marshals (Roderick, Cooper and Degan) initially retreated through the woods in radio contact with the OP team, but later took up hidden defensive positions.

Later the OP team marshals and the Weavers both claimed that the Weaver dogs alerted to the recon team marshals in the woods after neighbors at the foot of the mountain started their pickup truck. The recon team marshals retreated through the woods to the "Y" juncture in the trails 500 yards west of the cabin, out of sight of the cabin. Sammy and Harris followed the dog Striker on foot through the woods while Randy also on foot took a separate logging trail. Vicki and the girls Sara, Rachel and baby Elisheba, remained at the cabin, at first appearing anxious to the OP team, but later appearing relaxed. Randy encountered the marshals at the "Y", Roderick recalled yelling "Back Off! US Marshal!" and Cooper recalled yelling "Stop! US Marshal!" Later statements by Roderick, Cooper and Randy agreed that Randy responded by cursing and running away. About a minute later the dog and the boys came out of the woods and a firefight erupted between the marshals and Sammy and Harris.[12][13]

Accounts differ at this point as to who first opened fire,[14] but agree that DUSM Roderick shot and killed Weaver's dog and Samuel Weaver fired at Roderick. Samuel Weaver was shot in the back while retreating,[15] and DUSM Degan was shot and killed by Harris.[16]

The version of the firefight told by DUSMs Roderick and Cooper was that the dog, followed by Harris then Sammy, came out of the woods. DUSM Degan challenged Harris, who turned and shot Degan dead without Degan firing a single shot. Roderick then shot the dog once, Sammy fired at Roderick twice, and Roderick fired once again. Roderick and Cooper heard multiple gunshots from the Weaver party. Cooper fired two three shot bursts at Harris and Cooper saw Harris fall "like a sack of potatoes". An impact caused leaves to fly up in front of Cooper who then sought cover. Cooper saw Sammy run away. Cooper radioed to OP team Dave Hunt that he had wounded or killed Harris.[17]

Harris' version was that, when the dog followed by Sammy then Harris came out of the woods, the dog ran up to Cooper and danced about as he did in playing with the children. The dog then ran to Roderick, who shot the dog in front of Sammy, who cursed Roderick and shot at him. Degan came out of the woods firing his M16 and hit Sammy in the arm. Harris then fired and hit Degan in the chest knocking him down. Cooper fired at Harris who ducked for cover. Cooper fired again and Sammy was hit in the back and fell. Harris fired about 6 feet in front of Cooper and forced him to take cover. Cooper announced that he was a US Marshal. Harris checked Sammy's body, found him dead, and ran to the cabin.[18]

The ballistics evidence presented at trial (and cartridge counts on the Marshals' guns performed by DUSM Mark Jurgeson) showed: Art Roderick fired one shot from a .223 M16, Sammy Weaver fired three shots from a .223 Mini-14, Bill Degan fired seven shots from an M16 while moving at least 21 feet, Larry Cooper fired six shots from a 9mm Colt submachinegun, and Kevin Harris fired two shots from a .30-06 M1917 Enfield, for a total of nineteen rounds.

In testimony about the firefight at the 1993 trial, Larry Cooper admitted "You have all these things compressed into a few seconds.... It's difficult to remember what went on first." The ballistics experts called by the prosecution testified on cross examination by defense that the physical evidence did not contradict either the prosecution or defense theories on the firefight (trial testimony, Martin Fackler on 8 June 1993 and Lucien "Luke" Haag on 10 June 1993). Fackler testified that Roderick shot and killed the dog, Degan shot Sammy through the right elbow, Harris shot and killed Degan, and Cooper "probably" shot and killed Sammy. The 1993 trial jury accepted the defense theory of the firefight and acquitted Harris on grounds of self-defense. In 1997 Boundary County Sheriff Greg Sprungl conducted an independent search of the "Y" and Lucien Haag confirmed that a bullet found in that search matched Cooper's gun and contained fibers that matched Sammy Weaver's shirt.[19])

After the firefight at the "Y", marshals Hunt and Thomas went from the hillside to a neighbor's house in order to request assistance from the USMS Crisis Center while marshals Norris, Cooper and Roderick stayed with Degan's body at the "Y". Randy and Vicki went to the "Y" and retrieved Sammy's body. Randy, Vicki and Harris placed Samuel's body in a guest cabin near the main cabin. Weaver, Vicki, their three daughters and Harris holed up in their house..[20] From 11:15 a.m. onward, Hunt reported to the Crisis Center in Washington D.C. that no further gunfire had been heard.[21]

The USMS alerted the FBI that a marshal had been killed, and the FBI sent the Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) from Quantico to Idaho. Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Eugene Glenn of the Salt Lake City FBI office was appointed Site Commander, and the Idaho National Guard, Idaho State Police, BATF, Marshals Service, FBI, Border Patrol and county sheriff's office were mobilized. A stand-off ensued for 12 days as several hundred federal agents surrounded the house and negotiations for a surrender were attempted.

[edit] The siege and controversy

On August 22, the second day of the siege, the FBI HRT snipers were deployed to the cabin to cover the approach of an armored personnel carrier carrying negotiators to make a surrender callout at the cabin. Before being deployed, the snipers had been given military style rules of engagement that contradicted standard FBI deadly force policy, what some snipers later described as a "green light" to "shoot on sight".[22] Before the negotiators arrived, an FBI HRT sniper, Lon Horiuchi, shot and wounded Randy Weaver in the back with the bullet exiting his right armpit, while he was lifting the latch on the shed to visit the body of his dead son.[23] Then, as Weaver, his 16-year-old daughter Sara,[24] and Harris ran back toward the house, Horiuchi fired a second bullet, which passed through Vicki Weaver's head, killing her, and wounded Harris in the chest. Vicki Weaver was standing behind the door through which Harris was entering the house, holding their 10-month-old baby Elisheba[24] in her arms.[25] The Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility Ruby Ridge Task Force Report (10 June 1994) stated in section I. Executive Summary subhead B. Significant Findings that the second shot did not satisfy constitutional standards for legal use of deadly force. That review also found the lack of a request to surrender was "inexcusable", since Harris and the two Weavers were running for cover without returning fire and were not 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. While controversy exists as to who issued the orders that were being followed by the sniper, the task force also condemned the so-called "rules of engagement" allowing shots to be fired with no request for surrender.[23]

The stand-off was ultimately resolved by sympathetic civilian negotiators including Bo Gritz, Jack McLamb and Jackie Brown.[26][27] Weaver and Harris surrendered and were arrested.[28] 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] 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. Kevin Harris received a $380,000 settlement. Randy and Sara Weaver wrote a 1998 paperback book, The Federal Siege at Ruby Ridge, about the incident (the appendix of the book is a reprint of a US Senate investigation of the incident).

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."[29]

Horiuchi, the sniper, 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 on grounds of sovereign immunity.[30]

A CBS mini-series about the Ruby Ridge incident, entitled Ruby Ridge: An American Tragedy, aired on May 19 and May 21, 1996. It was based on the book Every Knee Shall Bow by reporter Jess Walter and starred Laura Dern as Vicki, Kirsten Dunst as Sara and Randy Quaid as Randy.[1] The TV series was edited together in movie form as The Siege at Ruby Ridge.[31]

[edit] See also

[edit] Documentaries

Randy Weaver and the Siege at Ruby Ridge have been the focus of numerous documentaries.

  • Season 1, Episode 1: The Legend of Ruby Ridge of the British documentary series Secret Rulers of the World. - April 2001
  • Atrocities at Ruby Ridge: the Randy Weaver Story
  • A&E network American Justice series, episode 047 - "Deadly Force": A look at the growing problem of out-of-control law enforcement agents. Features the police bombing of the MOVE headquarters in Philadelphia, which killed 11, and the shootings of Randy Weaver's wife and son at Ruby Ridge. Bill Kurtis hosts.
  • "Ruby Ridge Investigation", by Nightline 1995, ABC News; ASIN: B00005BK47

[edit] Suggested reading

[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. p. 288. 
  2. ^ Jess Walter, Ruby Ridge, ReganBooks, HarperCollins Publishers, 2002, pp.50-55.
  3. ^ Jess Walter, Ruby Ridge, ReganBooks, HarperCollins, 2002, pp.63-65.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g D.O.J. Office of Professional Responsibility Ruby Ridge Task Force Report, [1]
  5. ^ Jess Walter, Ruby Ridge, ReganBooks, HarperCollins, 2002, pp.63-65.
  6. ^ Department of Justice, Office of Professional Responsibility, Ruby Ridge Task Force Report, June 10, 1994., IV. Specific issues Investigated, L. Scope of the Indictment and Alleged Prosecutorial Misconduct Before the Grand Jury
  7. ^ Ruby Ridge: Report of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Government Information of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 1995.
  8. ^ a b c d Department of Justice Report Regarding Internal Investigation of Shootings at Ruby Ridge, Idaho During Arrest of Randy Weaver, [2]
  9. ^ Jon Ronson. Them: Adventures with Extremists
  10. ^ D.O.J. Office of Professional Responsibility Ruby Ridge Task Force Report, Page 121
  11. ^ Ambush at Ruby Ridge: How government agents set Randy Weaver up and took his family down - Reason Magazine
  12. ^ Ruby Ridge: Report of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Government Information, 1995, Section B. United States Marshal Service, 5. August 21, 1992 Firefight, p.38-49
  13. ^ Jess Walter, Ruby Ridge, ReganBooks, HarperCollins 2002, Chapter Eleven, p.163-180.
  14. ^ All about Randy Weaver and Ruby Ridge, by David Lohr - Crime Library on truTV.com
  15. ^ 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. 
  16. ^ http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3574, Remember Ruby Ridge, Timothy Lynch
  17. ^ Department of Justice, Office of Professional Responsibility, Ruby Ridge Task Force Report, Section IV. Specific Issues Investigated, D. Marshals Service Activities Between August 17 and August 21, 1992.
  18. ^ Randy and Sara Weaver, Federal Siege at Ruby Ridge: In Our Own Words, Ruby Ridge Inc. 1998)
  19. ^ Jess Walter, Ruby Ridge, ReganBooks, HarperCollins 2002, p.390
  20. ^ Randy and Sara Weaver, Federal Siege at Ruby Ridge: In Our Own Words, Ruby Ridge Inc. 1998)
  21. ^ Department of Justice, Office of Professional Responsibility, Ruby Ridge Task Force Report, Section IV. Specific Issues Investigated, D. Marshals Service Activities Between August 17 and August 21, 1992.
  22. ^ Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility Ruby Ridge Task Force Report, (10 June 1994), Section IV. Specific Issues Investigated, F. FBI’S Rules of Engagement and Operations on August 21 and August 22, 1992.
  23. ^ a b Witkin, Gordon (1995-09-11). "The nightmare of Idaho's Ruby Ridge". 'US News & World Report'. 
  24. ^ a b Bill Hewitt, "A time to heal", People Weekly, September 25, 1995
  25. ^ "STATE OF IDAHO v. LON T. HORIUCHI" (PDF). Findlaw.com. June 5, 2001. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/9830149p.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-10-05. 
  26. ^ Jess Walter, Ruby Ridge, ReganBooks HarperCollins, 2002.
  27. ^ Alan W. Bock, Ambush at Ruby Ridge, Diane Books, 1998.
  28. ^ Neiwert, David A. (1999). In God's Country. Washington State University Press. pp. 66. ISBN 0-87422-175-7. 
  29. ^ 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
  30. ^ 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. 
  31. ^ National Geographic Channel Documentary (2007). "Standoff at Ruby Ridge". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117523/. 

[edit] External links

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

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