Ruby Ridge standoff

Ruby Ridge was the site of a violent confrontation and siege in northern Idaho in 1992. It involved Randy Weaver, his family, Weaver's friend Kevin Harris, and agents of the United States Marshals Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The incident was cited as a motivation for the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995.

Development

Randy Weaver, a former Iowa factory worker and Green Beret, 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." 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. 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 the 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. While the Secret Service was told that Weaver was a member of the Aryan Nations and that he had a large weapons cache at his residence, Weaver denied the allegations and no charges were filed. The investigation noted that, while Weaver denied being a member of the Aryan Nations, he associated with Frank Kumnick who was known to associate with members of the Aryan Nations. On February 28, 1985 Randy and Vicki Weaver filed an affidavit with the county courthouse alleging that their personal enemies were plotting to provoke the FBI into attacking and killing the Weaver family. On May 6, 1985 Randy and Vicki Weaver sent a letter to President Ronald Reagan claiming that Weaver's enemies may have sent the President a threatening letter under a forged signature. No evidence of a threatening 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.

ATF involvement

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. In October 1989, the ATF claimed that Weaver sold the informant two sawed-off shotguns, with the overall length of the guns shorter than the legal limit set by federal law. Weaver denied this, claiming that agents purchased legal shotguns from him and later shortened the guns themselves. In November 1989 Weaver accused the informant of being a spy for the police; the informant's ATF handler ordered him to have no further contact with Weaver. 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 accusing Weaver of being a bank robber with criminal convictions (the ATF claims were false: at that time Weaver did not even have traffic tickets and was never a suspect in bank robbery.) A federal grand jury later indicted him in December 1990 for making and possessing, but not for selling, illegal weapons in October 1989.

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 that his trial would begin on February 19, 1991. On January 22, 1991, the judge in the case was notified by 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. (The cabin did not have a telephone.) 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. 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. 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.

US Marshals Service involvement

As the law enforcement arm of the federal court, it was the duty of the US Marshals to bring in fugitive Randy Weaver. Unlike most federal fugitives, who flee across state lines to avoid arrest, Randy Weaver simply stayed at his remote home, threatening to resist with force any attempt to take him by force. Weaver negotiated with US Marshals Ron Evans and David Hunt through third parties for over a year.

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. 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. 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.

Rivera Helicopter incident

Following an 18 Apr 1992 fly-over by a helicopter for the Geraldo Rivera "Now It Can Be Told" TV show, US Marshal Service HQ received media reports that Weaver had fired on the helicopter. That day in Idaho, a US Marshals team was installing surveillance cameras overlooking the Weaver property at the time of the fly-over. The field report for 18 Apr 1992 filed by Marshal W. Warren Mays reported seeing a helicopter near the Weaver property, but not hearing any shots fired.

Weaver then granted an interview with a newspaper reporter in which he and family and friends present that day denied firing on the helicopter. The helicopter pilot Richard Weiss eventually gave FBI FD-302 interviews denying that Weaver fired on his helicopter.

The media reports that Weaver had fired on the Rivera helicopter became part of the justification later cited by USMS Wayne "Duke" Smith and FBI HRT Commander Richard Rogers in drawing up the Ruby Ridge Rules of Engagement 21-22 Aug 1992. Also, in spite of Richard Weiss' repeated denials that shots had been fired at his helicopter, US Attorney Ron Howen would charge that, as Overt Act 32 of the Weaver's Conspiracy Against the Federal Government, Randy, Vicki and Harris fired two shots at the Rivera helicopter.

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. 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. The marshals, dressed in camouflage, were equipped with night-vision goggles and M16 rifles. 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. 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. Harris and the younger Weaver were hoping that the dog had noticed a game animal since the cabin was out of meat. 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, 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! U.S. Marshal!" and Cooper recalled yelling, "Stop! U.S. 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.

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

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.

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.

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.)

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. From 11:15 a.m. onward, Hunt reported to the Crisis Center in Washington D.C. that no further gunfire had been heard.

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.

The siege and controversy

On August 22, the second day of the siege, the FBI HRT sniper/observer teams 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".

The Ruby Ridge Rules of Engagement (ROE) were drawn up on the basis of reports from USMS and FBI headquarters, bolstered by unconfirmed news media accounts accepted by HQ, that exaggerated the threat posed by the Weavers.

1. If any adult male is observed with a weapon prior to the announcement, deadly force can and should be employed, if the shot can be taken without endangering any children.
2. If any adult in the compound is observed with a weapon after the surrender announcement is made, and is not attempting to surrender, deadly force can and should be employed to neutralize the individual.
3. If compromised by any animal, particularly the dogs, that animal should be eliminated.
4. Any subjects other than Randall Weaver, Vicki Weaver, Kevin Harris, presenting threats of death or grievous bodily harm, the FBI rules of deadly force are in effect. Deadly force can be utilized to prevent the death or grievous bodily injury to oneself or that of another.

Standard deadly force policy of the FBI was: "Agents are not to use deadly force against any person except as necessary in self-defense or the defense of another, when they have reason to believe they or another are in danger of death or grievous bodily harm. Whenever feasible, verbal warning should be given before deadly force is applied." Under the Ruby Ridge ROE 3 and 4, the Weaver dogs, the Weaver children and third parties were subject to the standard deadly force policy and could only be shot in self-defense if they presented a danger of death or grievous bodily harm.

Under the Ruby Ridge ROE 1 any armed Weaver adult man could and should be killed. Under the Ruby Ridge ROE 2, after the surrender announcement, any armed Weaver adult not attempting to surrender could and should be killed. Both rules do not require the self-defense condition "danger of death or grievous bodily harm" or any verbal warning whether feasible or not.

The Denver FBI SWAT team assigned to Ruby Ridge thought the ROE were "crazy" and agreed among themselves to follow the FBI deadly force policy. However, most of the FBI HRT sniper/observers accepted the ROE as modifying the deadly force policy. Examples: HRT sniper Dale Monroe saw the ROE as a "green light" to shoot armed adult males on sight and HRT sniper Edward Wenger believed that if he observed armed adults, he could use deadly force, but he was to follow standard deadly force policy for all other individuals. Fred Lanceley, the FBI Hostage Negotiator at Ruby Ridge, was "surprised and shocked" at the ROE, the most severe rules he had ever heard in his over 300 hostage situations and characterized the ROE as inconsistent with standard policy. A later Senate report criticized the ROE as "virtual shoot-on-sight orders."

Before the negotiators arrived at the cabin, 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. (The sniper testified at the later trial that he had put his crosshairs on Weaver's spine, but Weaver moved at the last second.) Then, as Weaver, his 16-year-old daughter Sara, 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 in her arms. 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 is responsible for approving the ROE 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.

Both FBI HQ and the Site Commanders in Idaho re-evaluated the situation based on information they were receiving from US Marshals Hunt, Cooper and Roderick about what had actually happened 21 Aug. On about 24 Aug 1992, the fourth day of the siege on the Weaver family, FBI Deputy Assistant Director Danny Coulson wrote a memo:

OPR 004477
Something to Consider
1. Charge against Weaver is Bull Shit.
2. No one saw Weaver do any shooting.
3. Vicki has no charges against her.
4. Weaver's defense. He ran down the hill to see what dog was
barking at. Some guys in camys shot his dog.
Started shooting at him. Killed his son. Harris did the
shooting [of Degan]. He [Weaver] is in pretty strong legal position."

On August 26, 1992, 10:53 a.m., the Rules of Engagement that had been in effect since the arrival of the HRT on August 22 were revoked.

The stand-off was ultimately resolved by sympathetic civilian negotiators including Bo Gritz, Jack McLamb and Jackie Brown. Harris surrendered August 30 and Randy Weaver and his daughters surrendered the next day. Both Harris and Randy Weaver were arrested. Weaver's daughters were released to the custody of relatives, although some consideration was given to charging Sara, 16, as an adult. 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.

Aftermath

The surviving members of the Weaver family filed a wrongful death suit. To avoid trial and a possibly higher settlement, the federal government awarded Randy Weaver a $100,000 settlement and his three daughters $1 million each in August 1995. In the out-of-court settlement the government did not admit to any wrong-doing. In the fall of 1995 a Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Ruby Ridge.

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."

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. The TV series was edited together in movie form as The Siege at Ruby Ridge.

FBI HRT sniper Lon Horiuchi was indicted for manslaughter in 1997 by the Boundary County, Idaho prosecutor just prior to expiration of 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. Kevin Harris was also indicted for the first-degree murder of DUSM Bill Degan; the charge was dismissed on grounds of double jeopardy because he had been acquitted in the federal criminal trial on the same charge in 1993.

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 the 1995 Report on the U.S. Senate Ruby Ridge Hearing).

The attorney for Kevin Harris pressed Harris' civil suit for damages, although federal officials vowed they would never pay someone who had killed a U.S. Marshal. In September 2000 after persistent appeals, Harris was awarded a $380,000 settlement from the government.

See also

• Waco Siege
• Ken Ballew raid
• Rainbow Farm
• CIRG
• Arlington Road

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

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 (originally published as Every Knee Shall Bow), 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
• Tony D. and Jackie J. Brown (2000). "The First Canary: The Inside Story of Ruby Ridge and A Decade Of Cover Up". ISBN 0-9710248-0-4

External links

• Court television history
• Excerpts from From Freedom to Slavery, by Gerry Spence (Randy Weaver's defense attorney)
• Department Of Justice report
• CBS News Report

• Chapter two of From Freedom to Slavery by Gerry Spence
• "Idaho vs Randy Weaver" from the CourtTV Crime Library
• Summary of an Appeals Court ruling on Horiuchi; includes Special Rules of Engagement and a dissent by Judge Alex Kozinski
• "Ambush at Ruby Ridge" by Alan W. Bock, Reason, October 1993
• http://www.apfn.org/apfn/rubyridge.htm
• http://www.atrocitiesatrubyridge.com
• http://www.ruby-ridge.com/