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N0KFQ > TODAY 22.08.10 21:25l 73 Lines 3583 Bytes #-5480 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Aug 22
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Sent: 100822/2005Z @:N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA #:14908 [Branson] FBB7.00i $:14908_N
From: N0KFQ@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
To : TODAY@WW
Aug 22, 1992:
Incident at Ruby Ridge
In the second day of a standoff at Randy Weaver's remote
northern Idaho cabin, FBI sharpshooter Lon Horiuchi wounds Randy
Weaver, Kevin Harrison, and kills Weaver's wife, Vicki.
Randy Weaver, a white separatist, had been targeted by the
federal government after failing to appear in court to face
charges related to his selling of two illegal sawed-off shotguns
to an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) informant. On August
21, 1992, after a period of surveillance, U.S. marshals came
upon Harrison; Weaver; Weaver's14-year-old son, Sammy; and the
family dog, Striker, on a road near the Weaver property. A
marshal shot and killed the dog, prompting Sammy to fire at the
marshal. In the ensuing gun battle, Sammy and U.S. Marshal
Michael Degan were shot and killed. A tense standoff ensued, and
on August 22 the FBI joined the marshals besieging Ruby Ridge.
Later that day, Harris, Weaver, and his daughter, Sarah, left
the cabin, allegedly for the purpose of preparing Sammy's body
for burial. FBI sharpshooter Lon Horiuchi, waiting 200 yards
away, opened fire, allegedly because he thought Harrison was
armed and intending to fire on a helicopter in the vicinity.
Horiuchi wounded Weaver, and the group ran to the shed where
Sammy's body was lying. When they attempted to escape back into
the cabin, Horiuchi fired again, wounding Harrison as he dove
through the door and killing Vicki Weaver, who was holding the
door open with one hand and cradling her infant daughter with
the other. Horiuchi claimed he didn't know that Vicki Weaver was
standing behind the door. Harris, Weaver, and Weaver's three
daughters surrendered nine days later.
In 1993, Weaver and Harris were acquitted by a federal court on
murder, conspiracy, and other charges related to Degan's death,
but Weaver was convicted of failing to appear for trial on the
firearms charge. In 1994, the two men filed federal civil rights
cases against the FBI and U.S. marshals stemming from the siege,
and in 1995 the government settled Weaver's case for $3.1
million.
The controversial standoff spawned a nationwide debate on the
use of force by federal law enforcement agencies, and a U.S.
Senate panel accused the federal agencies involved of
"substantial failures" in their handling of the Ruby Ridge
operation. Of particular controversy was an FBI "rule of
engagement" implemented at the beginning of the Ruby Ridge siege
that stated "any armed adult male observed in the vicinity of
the Weaver cabin could and should be killed." Many condemned
this policy as unconstitutional. Rumors that the FBI had engaged
in a cover-up regarding the Ruby Ridge operation were verified
when E. Michael Kahoe, former chief of the FBI's violent crimes
section, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in 1996.
Kahoe, who had destroyed an official bureau critique of the
standoff, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
In 1997, FBI agent Lon Horiuchi was charged by an Idaho county
prosecutor with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Vicki
Weaver, but a federal judge dismissed the charge in 1998, citing
the alleged immunity of federal officers from state prosecution.
In 2001, a federal court of appeals overruled the ruling,
stating that federal officers who violate the U.S. Constitution
can be charged with state criminal offenses. However, a new
Idaho prosecutor declined to pursue the manslaughter charge.
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