05-14-2022, 11:34 PM
Randall Claude Weaver (January 3, 1948 – May 11, 2022) was a survivalist[1] and former Iowa factory worker and Green Beret who was a central participant in the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff at his cabin near Naples, Idaho that resulted in the deaths of his wife and son.[2][3][4][5][6] Weaver was charged with murder, conspiracy, and assault as well as other crimes. He was acquitted of all charges except for failing to appear in court for the original firearms charge and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.[1] His family eventually received a total of $3,100,000 in compensation for the killing of his wife and son by federal agents.[7]
A month after leaving the Army, Weaver and Victoria Jordison married in a ceremony at the First Congregationalist Church in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in November 1971. Randy attended a semester at the University of Northern Iowa but dropped out after finding well paying work at a local John Deere factory.[11] Vicki worked first as a secretary and then as a homemaker.[13]
Partially as a result of the 1978 purchase of The Late Great Planet Earth, the couple began to harbor more fundamentalist beliefs, with Vicki believing that the apocalypse was imminent.[11] To follow Vicki's vision of her family surviving the apocalypse away from what they saw as a corrupt civilization, the Weaver family moved to a 20-acre (8.1-hectare) property in remote Boundary County, Idaho in the early 1980s and built a cabin there.[13] They paid $5,000 in cash and traded their moving truck for the land, valued at $500 an acre.[11]
While the Weavers subscribed to ideas that broadly fell under the category of Christian Identity, their beliefs were still quite idiosyncratic.[14] Like many in that movement, Vicki Weaver developed a set of beliefs following Old Covenant Laws, and the family referred to God as Yahweh.[15] After charges were pressed against her husband, Vicki Weaver wrote to U.S. Attorney Maurice O. Ellsworth, addressing him as "Servant of the Queen of Babylon" and writing, "The stink of your lawless government has reached Heaven, the abode of Yahweh our Yashua," and "Whether we live or whether we die, we will not bow to your evil commandments."[16]
At the time of the Ruby Ridge siege, the Weavers had four children: Sara, 16; Samuel, 14; Rachel, 10; and Elisheba, 10 months.[13] Vicki homeschooled the children.[13]
Ruby Ridge was the site of an 11-day siege in 1992 in Boundary County, Idaho, near Naples.[13] It began on August 21, when deputies of the United States Marshals Service (USMS) initiated action to apprehend and arrest Randy Weaver under a bench warrant after his failure to appear on a firearms charge having, Weaver said, been given the wrong date for his court appearance.[13] He had attempted to sell a pair of illegal sawed-off shotguns to a federal informer within the Aryan Nation white supremacist group.[5] Weaver refused to surrender and remained at home with his family and friend Kevin Harris. The Hostage Rescue Team of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI HRT) became involved as the siege developed.[17]
During the Marshals Service reconnoiter of the Weaver property, six U.S. Marshals encountered Harris and Sammy Weaver, Randy's 14-year-old son, in woods near the family cabin. A shootout took place. U.S. Marshals shot the Weaver's dog Striker, then shot Sammy Weaver in the back as he ran away, killing him. During the firefight, Harris shot Deputy U.S. Marshal William Francis Degan in the chest, resulting in Degan's death.[11]
In the subsequent siege of the Weaver residence, led by the FBI, Weaver's wife Vicki was shot and killed[17] by an FBI sniper while standing in her home holding her 10-month-old daughter. Harris was also critically wounded and almost died during the subsequent standoff. Weaver was shot once and was not holding a weapon at the time.[13][18][19] All casualties occurred in the first two days of the operation. The siege and standoff were ultimately resolved by civilian negotiator Bo Gritz who was instrumental in getting Weaver to allow Harris to get medical attention. Harris surrendered and was arrested on August 30. Weaver and his three daughters surrendered the next day after being convinced by Gritz that there was no other sensible solution. [11]
Weaver was charged with multiple crimes relating to the Ruby Ridge incident – a total of ten counts, including the original firearms charges. Attorney Gerry Spence handled Weaver's defense, and successfully argued that Weaver's actions were justifiable as self-defense. Spence did not call any witnesses for the defense, rather focusing on attacking the credibility of FBI agents and forensic technicians.[20] The judge dismissed two counts after hearing prosecution witness testimony. The jury acquitted Weaver of all remaining charges except two, one of which the judge set aside. He was found guilty of one count, failure to appear, for which he was fined $10,000 and sentenced to 18 months in prison.[1] He was credited with time served plus an additional three months, and was then released. Kevin Harris was acquitted of all criminal charges.[11]
In August 1995, the U.S. government avoided trial on a civil lawsuit filed by the Weavers by awarding the three surviving daughters $1,000,000 each, and Randy Weaver $100,000 over the deaths of Sammy and Vicki Weaver.[21]
A month after leaving the Army, Weaver and Victoria Jordison married in a ceremony at the First Congregationalist Church in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in November 1971. Randy attended a semester at the University of Northern Iowa but dropped out after finding well paying work at a local John Deere factory.[11] Vicki worked first as a secretary and then as a homemaker.[13]
Partially as a result of the 1978 purchase of The Late Great Planet Earth, the couple began to harbor more fundamentalist beliefs, with Vicki believing that the apocalypse was imminent.[11] To follow Vicki's vision of her family surviving the apocalypse away from what they saw as a corrupt civilization, the Weaver family moved to a 20-acre (8.1-hectare) property in remote Boundary County, Idaho in the early 1980s and built a cabin there.[13] They paid $5,000 in cash and traded their moving truck for the land, valued at $500 an acre.[11]
While the Weavers subscribed to ideas that broadly fell under the category of Christian Identity, their beliefs were still quite idiosyncratic.[14] Like many in that movement, Vicki Weaver developed a set of beliefs following Old Covenant Laws, and the family referred to God as Yahweh.[15] After charges were pressed against her husband, Vicki Weaver wrote to U.S. Attorney Maurice O. Ellsworth, addressing him as "Servant of the Queen of Babylon" and writing, "The stink of your lawless government has reached Heaven, the abode of Yahweh our Yashua," and "Whether we live or whether we die, we will not bow to your evil commandments."[16]
At the time of the Ruby Ridge siege, the Weavers had four children: Sara, 16; Samuel, 14; Rachel, 10; and Elisheba, 10 months.[13] Vicki homeschooled the children.[13]
Ruby Ridge was the site of an 11-day siege in 1992 in Boundary County, Idaho, near Naples.[13] It began on August 21, when deputies of the United States Marshals Service (USMS) initiated action to apprehend and arrest Randy Weaver under a bench warrant after his failure to appear on a firearms charge having, Weaver said, been given the wrong date for his court appearance.[13] He had attempted to sell a pair of illegal sawed-off shotguns to a federal informer within the Aryan Nation white supremacist group.[5] Weaver refused to surrender and remained at home with his family and friend Kevin Harris. The Hostage Rescue Team of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI HRT) became involved as the siege developed.[17]
During the Marshals Service reconnoiter of the Weaver property, six U.S. Marshals encountered Harris and Sammy Weaver, Randy's 14-year-old son, in woods near the family cabin. A shootout took place. U.S. Marshals shot the Weaver's dog Striker, then shot Sammy Weaver in the back as he ran away, killing him. During the firefight, Harris shot Deputy U.S. Marshal William Francis Degan in the chest, resulting in Degan's death.[11]
In the subsequent siege of the Weaver residence, led by the FBI, Weaver's wife Vicki was shot and killed[17] by an FBI sniper while standing in her home holding her 10-month-old daughter. Harris was also critically wounded and almost died during the subsequent standoff. Weaver was shot once and was not holding a weapon at the time.[13][18][19] All casualties occurred in the first two days of the operation. The siege and standoff were ultimately resolved by civilian negotiator Bo Gritz who was instrumental in getting Weaver to allow Harris to get medical attention. Harris surrendered and was arrested on August 30. Weaver and his three daughters surrendered the next day after being convinced by Gritz that there was no other sensible solution. [11]
Weaver was charged with multiple crimes relating to the Ruby Ridge incident – a total of ten counts, including the original firearms charges. Attorney Gerry Spence handled Weaver's defense, and successfully argued that Weaver's actions were justifiable as self-defense. Spence did not call any witnesses for the defense, rather focusing on attacking the credibility of FBI agents and forensic technicians.[20] The judge dismissed two counts after hearing prosecution witness testimony. The jury acquitted Weaver of all remaining charges except two, one of which the judge set aside. He was found guilty of one count, failure to appear, for which he was fined $10,000 and sentenced to 18 months in prison.[1] He was credited with time served plus an additional three months, and was then released. Kevin Harris was acquitted of all criminal charges.[11]
In August 1995, the U.S. government avoided trial on a civil lawsuit filed by the Weavers by awarding the three surviving daughters $1,000,000 each, and Randy Weaver $100,000 over the deaths of Sammy and Vicki Weaver.[21]
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.