|
Ruby
Ridge
From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
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 events took place on August 21, 1992
on the Weaver family property, located on a hillside
between Caribou Ridge and Ruby Creek near Naples in
northern Idaho.
In the months leading up to the incident, Weaver had
failed to appear in court to answer charges relating to
possession of an illegally shortened sawed-off shotgun,
and the U.S. Marshals Service was directed to serve a
warrant for his arrest. Weaver failed to show up on his
court date, stating the warrant gave the wrong date. His
son, Samuel Weaver, was in the woods with a pet dog,
hunting. Federal agents shot Samuel's dog, sparking a
firefight which resulted in the deaths of Samuel and US
Marshal William Degan. As a result, Federal agents
stormed the house. Lon Horiuchi, an FBI sharpshooter,
shot at Weaver and Harris, injuring them and killing
Vicki Weaver as she held her baby daughter. The
stand-off was resolved with a truce arrangement,
following which Weaver and Harris were arrested. Weaver
was ultimately acquitted of all charges except missing
his original court date 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.
The confrontation
On August 21, 1992, several US Marshals were sent to
conduct surveillance for the upcoming undercover
operation. Since Randy Weaver was a former Green
Beret and it was believed the Weaver family were fully
prepared to fight, an initial armed reconnaissance team
was sent in to survey the location and prepare for the
military style assault.[citation needed] They spent most
of the night and early morning moving around the family
property.
The group had strict orders that they were to avoid all
contact with the Weaver family.[citation needed]
According to a Department of Justice report on the
incident, the Marshals were detected by the Weavers'
dogs and began to retreat. Randy Weaver, his 14-year-old
son Sammy and his house guest, family friend Kevin
Harris, left the house to investigate, all carrying
firearms. The Department of Justice report corroborates
this with a statement dictated by Randy Weaver to his
daughter, in which he says that "Approximately 11:30
Friday morning....the dogs started barking like they
always do when strangers walk up the driveway. Randy,
Kevin, and Sam ran out to the rock with their weapons."
The Labrador, Striker, chased the marshals through the
woods, and Sammy and Harris followed the dog.
Eventually, despite their orders to avoid contact, the
marshals stopped retreating and took up defensive
positions in the woods.
The sequence of events during the ensuing shootout is
disputed, with Harris saying that the camouflaged
Marshals did not identify themselves and were the first
to fire at Sammy's dog, which was approaching their
position with Sammy close behind him. Sammy then fired
at Marshal Roderick, who had shot the dog. The marshals'
version of events is that they were fired upon first and
only then returned fire.
According to Randy Weaver, after splitting up from
Harris and Sammy Weaver, a man in full camouflage leapt
in front of him and shouted: "Freeze, Weaver!". Weaver
responded to this with the words, "Fuck you!" and then
turned around and began to run back to the house. As he
ran he called out to Harris and Sammy that it was an
ambush and to get back to the house. Randy said he heard
Sam reply "I'm coming Dad" and then heard shots being
fired.
Sammy and Harris had followed the dog through the woods
when they confronted the Marshals. Sammy,
according to Harris, then yelled "You
shot Striker, you son of a b**ch!",
and fired twice at Marshal Roderick, the leader of the
Special Operations Group
One or more Marshals returned
fire, shooting Sam in the arm and spraying him in the
back with automatic weapon fire, killing him, as he
ran back up the hill. Harris then shot and killed
Marshal William Degan, and retreated up the hill himself
where he found Sammy.
It is also possible that
Marshal Degan was killed by friendly fire as his autopsy showed
he had been shot in the back with the bullet exiting
through his chest. |
|
According to evidence entered at the trial by
prosecution witnesses (ballistics experts Martin Fackler
and Lucien Haag), Art Roderick fired one shot, which
killed the dog; Sammy Weaver fired three shots, to no
effect; Marshal Bill Degan fired seven shots, one
hitting Sammy Weaver's arm;
Kevin Harris fired two
shots, one killing Degan; and Larry Cooper fired six
shots, one killing Sammy Weaver. Marshals Cooper and
Roderick were not aware of Degan firing, and believed
those shots came from the Weavers. There were nineteen
shots fired in total.
The next day, the FBI was called onto the scene with
their Hostage Rescue Team (HRT). After the first day's
events, the FBI HRT changed its usual rules of
engagement, stating specifically that "deadly force can
and should be used against any armed adult male if the
shot could be taken without a child being injured."
Deadly force could be used even before an announcement
that the Weavers were surrounded and requesting their
surrender. This was "unprecedented" and later found
unconstitutional by a Justice Department task force.
A FBI sniper, Lon Horiuchi, shot and wounded Weaver in
the right arm, while he was lifting the latch on a shed
to visit the dead body of Sammy Weaver with others. Then
as Randy, his 16-year-old daughter Sara and
Harris ran back to the house, Horiuchi shot Vicki
Weaver. Vicki Weaver was standing behind a door, unarmed
and holding her 10-month-old baby Elishiba in her arms,
when the bullet struck her in the face, killing her. The
round then carried on, striking Harris in the left
arm/chest. 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 at 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.
The sniper's two shots were fired at 6:00pm 22 Aug1992;
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 formal
announcement of the presence of law enforcement.
A stand-off ensued for 10 days as several hundred
federal agents surrounded the house, in which Weaver and
his three surviving children remained with Harris and
the dead body of Vicki Weaver, under a blood-soaked
blanket in the kitchen. The area was surrounded by
protesters angered by what they perceived as the
heavy-handed nature of the authorities' actions. James
"Bo" Gritz, then a third-party presidential candidate
who had formerly been Weaver's commanding officer during
his time in the Army served as a mediator between Weaver
and the government. Eventually, Weaver elected to
abandon the stand-off and trust his case to the judicial
system.
See
also:
 |
The Waco
Incident
This video was featured in Penthouse magazine and it
rocked the nation with crucial issues we all must face.
Judge for yourself if the Constitutional Right to Bear
Arms and the Right to Religious Assembly was violated.
Running time 98 minutes. |
|
Only Available here:
Ruby Ridge /
The Waco Incident
Combo On DVD for
$49.95
Including Priority Mail
S&H anywhere
in the
continental USA.
Send check or Money order to:
PLCC
P.O. Box 244
Columbus, New Mexico 88029
|
|
