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N0KFQ > TODAY 22.08.11 19:36l 73 Lines 3546 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 11196_KB0WSA
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Subj: Today in History - Aug 22
Path: IZ3LSV<IK2XDE<DB0RES<ON0AR<HS1LMV<CX2SA<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 110822/1824Z 11196@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.0.4
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's 14-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.
73, K.O. n0kfq
Another old retired guy
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
N0KFQ@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
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