Randy Weaver - Massacar at Ruby Ridge [divx] 2 Hours.avi

Info taken from wikipedia,

Ruby Ridge was the site in Idaho of a violent confrontation and siege in 1992, 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 was cited as a motivation for the Oklahoma City bombing.
Contents
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* 1 Leadup
* 2 The incident
* 3 The siege and controversy
* 4 Aftermath
* 5 See also
* 6 Suggested reading
* 7 References
* 8 External links

[edit] Leadup

Randy Weaver, a former Iowa factory worker, and his wife and children moved 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] In January 1985, the US Secret Service investigated allegations that Weaver had made threats against the President and other government officials. 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.[2] Weaver later filed an affidavit with the county clerk that he believed that he may have to defend himself and his family from an FBI attack.[2]

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. Over the next three years, Weaver and the informant met several times.[2] 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 the ATF. 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 government indicted him for the sale of illegal weapons.[2]

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 19 February 1991. Two weeks later, the trial date changed to 20 February, but the U.S. Probation Office sent out a letter which stated the date as 20 March. Weaver did not appear on the correct trial date, and the judge issued a warrant for his arrest. On 14 March a grand jury, which the U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) had not informed of the incorrect date in the letter, indicted Weaver for failing to appear on the correct trial date.[2]

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.[2] Surveillance teams were dispatched and cameras were set up to record activity at Weavers' 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.[2]

[edit] The incident

The Weaver family property was located on a hillside between Caribou Ridge and Ruby Creek near Naples in northern Idaho. 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.[2] The marshals, dressed in camouflage, were equipped with night-vision goggles and M16 assault rifles.[1]

At one point, one of the marshals threw two rocks at the Weaver cabin to test whether the dogs would be alerted.[3] The dogs indeed 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.[4] The marshals initially retreated, but later took up hidden defensive positions. Accounts differ at this point as to who first opened fire,[5] but agree that the marshals shot and killed Weaver's dog. Samuel Weaver then became extremely agitated and a firefight arose. Samuel Weaver, who was shot in the back while retreating,[6] and US Marshal William Degan were both killed during the initial gun fight.[7] Marshals then retreated from the hillside in order to request assistance from the FBI while Weaver, his wife Vicki, their two daughters and Harris holed up in their house. Samuel's body was placed in a shed near the cabin. 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, an FBI sniper, Lon Horiuchi, shot and wounded Randy Weaver in the right arm, while he was lifting the latch on the shed to visit the body of his dead son.[8] Then, as Weaver, his 16-year-old daughter Sara,[9] and Harris ran back toward the house, Horiuchi took a second shot, which struck and wounded Harris, and killed Vicki Weaver. Vicki Weaver was standing behind the door through which Harris was entering the house, holding their 10-month-old baby Elishiba[9] in her arms.[10] 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. 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.[8]

The stand-off was ultimately resolved by a negotiating team including Bo Gritz, and Weaver and Harris surrendered and were arrested.[11] 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. 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."[12]

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.[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]