who was the federal district attorney during ruby ridge

by Sarai Gorczany 10 min read

Did the Bush Justice Department have contact with Bill Barr about Ruby Ridge?

Aug 21, 1992 · Ruby Ridge was the location of a violent 11-day standoff in remote Boundary County, Idaho, beginning on August 21, 1992. U.S. Marshals and federal agents faced off against Randy Weaver, his wife ...

Was William Barr involved in the Ruby Ridge case?

Attorney General from 1991 to 1993, William Barr was responsible for both the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI during the seige at Ruby Ridge. But it wasn't until after leaving office that Barr did the most damage.

What happened in Ruby Ridge Idaho?

Jan 16, 2019 · Barr was responsible for both the U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, two federal agencies whose misconduct at …

What happened in the Ruby Ridge trial?

The Ruby Ridge (Randy Weaver) Trial: A Chronology ... to federal agencies. The Weavers do not leave their land during the 16 months after Randy was declared a fugitive. October 24, 1991 ... The District Attorney for Boundary County charges FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi with involuntary manslaughter in connection with death of Vicki Weaver.

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Who was the attorney general during Ruby Ridge?

Following the siege and shootings at Ruby Ridge, that left a federal officer and a suspect's wife and son dead, Attorney General Janet Reno ordered a Justice Department task force to investigate the tragic events of August 1992.

Where is Randy Weaver now?

A 2019 article from Penn Live says that Randy is now living in Montana, more than 100 miles away from Ruby Ridge. He lives in the state with his daughters and is now a grandfather.Apr 14, 2021

What federal law enforcement agencies were in Ruby Ridge?

It was noted that the Ruby Ridge incident and the 1993 Waco siege involved many of the same agencies (FBI HRT and ATF) and some of the same personnel (the FBI HRT commander). The Government Accountability Office (GAO) also conducted a review of federal policies about use of deadly force, publishing it in 1995.

Who was the FBI sniper at Ruby Ridge?

Lon HoriuchiIn 1997, Horiuchi was charged with manslaughter for the death of Vicki Weaver at Ruby Ridge, but the charges were later dropped....Lon HoriuchiOccupationSniperOrganizationFBI Hostage Rescue Team (1984–2014) United States Army (1976–1984)Known forRuby Ridge, Waco controversies3 more rows

Who owns Ruby Ridge today?

She and her husband, Marc, operate a quarter horse breeding ranch just outside of Kalispell. She has an 11-year-old son from her first marriage. Sara Weaver said Randy Weaver does not do interviews and would not release a statement on the anniversary. She has been back to Ruby Ridge, to the land her family still owns.Aug 20, 2012

Did Randy Weaver ever remarry?

JEFFERSON, Iowa -- Randy Weaver, the white separatist whose wife and teen-age son were killed in the notorious Ruby Ridge siege by federal agents, has remarried and moved back home to Iowa.Jul 15, 1999

How old was Randy Weaver's son when he died?

14-year-oldWho was killed at Ruby Ridge? During the siege at Ruby Ridge, Randy Weaver's wife, Vicki; his 14-year-old son, Sammy; and U.S. Marshal William Degan were killed.

Who was president of the United States during Ruby Ridge?

George H.W. Bush was president during the Ruby Ridge standoff. After serving as vice-president for eight years, George H. W.

What was the Ruby Ridge incident?

Ruby Ridge was the location of an incident in which Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and U.S. marshals engaged in an 11-day standoff wi...

Who shot Vicki Weaver?

Vicki Weaver was shot by Lon Horiuchi, a FBI sniper at Ruby Ridge. Horiuchi opened fire when he believed Randy Weaver and Harris were preparing to...

Who was killed at Ruby Ridge?

During the siege at Ruby Ridge, Randy Weaver’s wife, Vicki; his 14-year-old son, Sammy; and U.S. Marshal William Degan were killed.

What was Randy Weaver charged with?

Randy Weaver was charged with a host of crimes, including murder, conspiracy, and assault. He was convicted of failing to appear for the original f...

What happened in the Ruby Ridge trial?

July 8, 1993. After a lengthy deliberation, the jury acquits Harris and Weaver of charges relating to the murder of agent Degan. Weaver is convicted on the minor charge of failing to appear in court on his 1991 weapons charge.

Who shot Randy in the right arm?

Television crews set up camp. When the Weavers decide to leave their cabin for a nearby shed, where they had put Sammy's body, FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi fires at Randy, hitting him in the right arm.

What is the name of the group that the weavers start to worry about?

The Weavers form a Bible study group and begin to worry about "ZOG" (Zionist Organized Government). Randy starts collecting guns and Vicki studies self-sufficiency and survivalist techniques. July 1978. As the Weavers begin a search for a mountaintop retreat, Vicki gives birth to a son, Samuel.

What happened on March 4, 1992?

March 4, 1992. U. S. marshals (in plain clothes) drive up the road to Weavers' cabin, but are stopped at gunpoint by Randy who informs them they are trespassing. The marshals August 17, 19A U. S. Marshals Special Operations Group ("SOG") sets up a command post and begins active surveillance of the Weaver property.

When did Vicki Weaver write threatening letters?

When Randy fails to show up for his court date, he is declared a fugitive and a warrant for his arrest is issued. Spring 1991. Vicki Weaver writes threatening letters (e.g., "The tyrant's blood will flow") to federal agencies. The Weavers do not leave their land during the 16 months after Randy was declared a fugitive.

When did Harris retreat to the Weaver cabin?

S. Marshals Office, the county, U.S. Border Patrol, the State Police, the FBI, and the Idaho Ntional Guard. August 22, 1992.

When did Horiuchi fire a bullet?

As Vicki, holding her baby in her arms, stands next to the cabin door, Horiuchi fires a bullet that passes through Vicki's head and hits Harris in the chest. August 23, 1992. As agents are in the process of destroying out buildings around the Weaver cabin, they discover Sammy Weaver's body. August 24, 1992.

What was the date of the Siege at Ruby Ridge?

The shootout between Randy Weaver and his family and federal agents on August 21, 1992, is one that kicked off the Constitutional Militia Movement and left America with a deep distrust of its leadership – in particular then-President ...

How long was the Ruby Ridge standoff?

Just a few days shy of 15 years, in what was the longest law enforcement standoff in American history. The charges were eventually dropped, under the premise that Gray had essentially served a 15-year house arrest term and that a militant confrontation in the style of Ruby Ridge didn’t benefit anyone.

What was the date of the Weaver case?

Weaver’s court date was set for February 19, 1991 , then changed to the next day.

Why was Randy Weaver targeted?

Specifically for his beliefs, Randy Weaver was targeted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) in an entrapping “sting” operation designed to gain his cooperation as a snitch.

Why were the rules of engagement changed?

The rules of engagement were changed on the fly to effectively encourage shooting anyone on sight. This included the remaining Weaver children, who were known to carry weapons 81 percent of the time. Once the siege began, none of the Weavers fired a shot.

How old was Sammy when the Weavers were shot?

The Weavers’ dogs gave away the position of the Marshals, alerting their 14-year- old son Sammy and a 24-year-old friend of the family named Kevin Harris, who investigated what the dogs were barking at while armed. Unsurprisingly, there are several accounts of how the shooting began.

What agency did the Senate request to investigate the FBI?

Preferring not to use the FBI to investigate allegations against the bureau, the U.S. Senate requested that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service handle the internal investigation. The postal inspectors found that the federal government took active steps to cover their tracks after the Siege of Ruby Ridge.

Who was the judge in the James Bond case?

When the Justice Department won an initial appeals court victory in the case in 2000, federal judge Alex Kozinski warned in a dissent of a new James Bond “007 standard for the use of deadly force” against American citizens. The same court reversed that decision the following year.

How long did Barr serve as Attorney General?

That charitable work (for an FBI agent who already had a federally-paid law firm defending him) helped tamp down one of the biggest scandals during Barr’s time as Attorney General from 1991 to early 1993.

What did Barr do to help the FBI?

Barr spent two weeks organizing former Attorneys General and others to support “an FBI sniper in defending against criminal charges in connection with the Ruby Ridge incident.”. Barr also “assisted in framing legal arguments advanced… in the district court and the subsequent appeal to the Ninth Circuit,” he told the committee.

How much did the Justice Department pay for the Weaver family?

The Justice Department paid $3 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit from the Weaver family. But when Boundary County, Idaho filed criminal charges against Horiuchi, Barr sprang to action seeking immunity for FBI snipers.

What was Barr responsible for?

Barr was responsible for both the U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, two federal agencies whose misconduct at Ruby Ridge “helped to weaken the bond of trust that must exist between ordinary Americans and our law enforcement agencies,” according to a 1995 Senate Judiciary Committee report.

What is Barr's view on Mueller?

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearings for Attorney General nominee William Barr have focused heavily on Barr’s views on Special Counsel Robert Mueller. But nobody is asking about Barr’s legal crusade for blanket immunity for federal agents who killed American citizens. Barr received a routine questionnaire from the Judiciary Committee asking him ...

Who spent the most time helping the disadvantaged?

Barr received a routine questionnaire from the Judiciary Committee asking him to disclose his past work including pro bono activities “serving the disadvantaged.”. The “disadvantaged” that Barr spent the most time helping was an FBI agent who slayed an Idaho mother holding her baby in 1992.

Where was the Ruby Ridge incident?

marshals engaged in an 11-day standoff with self-proclaimed white separatist Randy Weaver, his family, and a friend named Kevin Harris in an isolated cabin in Boundary County, Idaho.

What was Randy Weaver charged with?

Randy Weaver was charged with a host of crimes, including murder, conspiracy, and assault. He was convicted of failing to appear for the original firearms charge. Randy Weaver, a former U.S. Army engineer, moved with his family in 1983 to a cabin he built on Ruby Ridge, about 40 miles (65 km) from the Canadian border.

How long did Vicki Weaver stay in the cabin?

Vicki Weaver died soon after, but her body remained in the cabin for 11 days. Weaver and Harris finally surrendered to the federal officers about a week later. They were charged with a host of crimes, including murder, conspiracy, and assault. An Idaho jury acquitted Harris of all charges.

Why was Weaver convicted?

Weaver was convicted of failing to appear for the original firearms charge. An inquiry by the Justice Department criticized the FBI for failing to gather sufficient intelligence and for not ordering the residents of the cabin to surrender before engaging them in a firefight.

What was the charge against Horiuchi?

The inquiry further alleged that Horiuchi unnecessarily endangered others by firing at the door of the cabin. Nevertheless, the U.S. attorney general decided that criminal charges against Horiuchi were unwarranted. Prosecutors in Boundary county, Idaho, however, charged Horiuchi with involuntary manslaughter.

What happened to Sammy Weaver's dog?

marshals inside the Ruby Ridge property. One of them shot and killed the dog, which led to an exchange of fire with Sammy Weaver, who was shot in the back and killed. Harris also opened fire, killing Degan.

When did Randy Weaver settle his lawsuit?

In 1995 the federal government settled a lawsuit brought by Randy Weaver and his three surviving daughters. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn, Managing Editor, Reference Content. History at your fingertips.

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Overview

Development

Randy Weaver, a former Iowa factory worker and U.S. Army Green Beret, moved with his wife and four children to northern Idaho during the 1980s so they could "home-school his children and escape what he and his wife Vicki saw as a corrupted world." In 1978, Vicki, the religious leader of the family, began to have recurrent dreams of living on a mountaintop and believed that the apocalypsewas imminent. After the birth of their son, Samuel, the Weavers began selling their b…

Geography

Ruby Ridge is the southernmost of four ridges that extend east from the Bottleneck/Roman Nose mountain range toward the Kootenai River. Caribou Ridge lies north of it, and the area between them drains into the Ruby Creek. Some local maps have identified Ruby Ridge as an extension of Caribou Ridge , but press reporting on the Weaver standoff used the federally recognized name. According to the Boundary County CourthouseAssessor's Office, both Ruby Ridge and Caribou Ri…

Encounter near Weaver's cabin

On August 21, 1992, six Marshals were sent to scout the area to determine suitable places away from the cabin to apprehend and arrest Weaver. The marshals, dressed in military camouflage, were equipped with night-vision goggles and M16 rifles. DUSMs Art Roderick, Larry Cooper, and William F. "Bill" Degan formed the reconnaissance team, while DUSMs David Hunt, Joseph Thomas, and Frank Norris formed an observation post (OP) team on the ridge north of the cabin.

Siege and controversy

In the aftermath of the gunfight on August 21 at 11:20 am PDT, DUSM Hunt requested immediate support from Idaho law enforcement, and he also alerted the FBI by notifying it that a Marshal had been killed. Following Hunt's phone call, the Marshals Service Crisis Center was activated under the direction of Duke Smith, associate director for Operations. The Marshals Service Special Operations Group (SOG) was alerted to deploy. In response to the USMS call, the Boundary Coun…

Trials of Weaver and Harris

Weaver and Harris were charged with a variety of offenses; their trial in U.S. District Court in Boise began in April 1993, and was presided over by Judge Edward Lodge. Weaver's defense attorney, Gerry Spence, rested his case in mid-June without calling any witnesses for the defense, instead seeking to convince the jury through cross-examination aimed at discrediting government evidence and witnesses. Weaver was ultimately acquitted in July of all charges except missing h…

Federal investigations of law enforcement

Defense counsels for Weaver and Harris alleged throughout their 1993 trial that agents of the ATF, USMS, and FBI were themselves guilty of serious wrongdoing. The Department of Justice (DOJ) created the Ruby Ridge Task Force (RRTF) to investigate events. It delivered a 542-page report on June 10, 1994, to the DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). (This RRTF report, originally available in a highly redacted form, became available in a much more complete form. )

Aftermath: civil suits

Randy Weaver and his daughters filed a wrongful death suit for $200 million which was related to the killing of his wife and son. In an out-of-court settlement in August 1995, the federal government awarded Randy Weaver $100,000 and it also awarded $1 million to each of his three daughters. The government did not admit that it had committed any wrongdoing in the deaths of Sammy and Vicki. On the condition of anonymity, a DOJ official told the Washington Post that h…