0:06

by

0:11

an

0:16

unspeakable

0:21

act.

0:26

The

0:31

standoff.

0:35

at Ruby Ridge was in

0:37

August 1992 siege of a

0:40

modest cabin belonging to the

0:42

Weaver family in boundary

0:44

county Idaho. It is

0:47

said to have been

0:49

the spark that ignited

0:51

the American extremist far

0:53

right-wing militia movement that

0:55

gained momentum in the

0:58

1990s when over 100

1:00

government officials swarmed the

1:02

mountaintop retreat. of a

1:05

family of three adults

1:07

and four children. To

1:10

evaluate the supposed threat

1:12

they posed, unimaginable chaos

1:15

and bloodshed would ensue.

1:17

After an 11-day siege,

1:19

three people would be dead,

1:22

including a child and

1:24

a law enforcement officer.

1:26

Two more would be

1:28

wounded. A family would

1:30

be shattered and a

1:32

community. would be outraged

1:34

and scarred. This incident,

1:37

along with the tragic

1:39

events at Waco, Texas,

1:42

which would occur the

1:44

following year, would be

1:46

the catalyst of an

1:49

ongoing movement comprised of

1:51

extremist militia groups, which

1:53

include, among others, survivalist,

1:56

nationalist, white separatists, neo-Nazis,

1:58

and white supremacists. All

2:00

who continue to view

2:03

themselves as defenders of

2:05

traditional freedoms against perceived

2:07

government oppression. It is

2:10

worth considering that if

2:12

the events at Ruby

2:14

Ridge and Waco had

2:16

been more effectively handled

2:19

by those in charge,

2:21

America could be shaped

2:23

quite differently today. This

2:26

is the standoff at

2:28

Ruby Ridge. This is

2:30

True Crime Garage. He

2:33

grew up in the

2:35

small conservative religious farming

2:37

community of Voliska, Iowa

2:40

as one of four

2:42

children to Wilma and

2:44

Clarence. Clarence was a

2:47

feed salesman. Growing up

2:49

Randy and his siblings

2:51

were exposed to a

2:54

variety of Christian fundamentalist

2:56

teachings. As the Weaver

2:58

parents explored many different

3:01

sex within the Christian

3:03

faith while trying to

3:05

determine the proper fit.

3:07

for their family. Although

3:10

the Weaver family was

3:12

undoubtedly religious and could

3:14

be described as conservative,

3:17

evangelical, Christians, they would

3:19

not be viewed as

3:21

extremist or radical. Randy

3:24

attended Jefferson High School

3:26

where he excelled in

3:28

sports, particularly football and

3:31

baseball. Vicky Weaver was

3:33

born Victoria Jean Jordinson

3:35

on June 20th. 1949

3:38

and grew up on

3:40

a farm near Fort

3:42

Dodge Iowa. She too

3:45

came from a conservative

3:47

Christian religious background. Her

3:49

family were members of

3:52

the reorganized church of

3:54

the Latter-day Saints. Vicky's

3:56

family frowned upon drinking

3:59

or swearing, but they

4:01

were not extreme fundamentalist

4:03

zealots, just God-fearing residents

4:05

of their small town

4:08

farming community. Known for

4:10

her gentle and creative

4:12

nature, Vicky enjoyed making

4:15

crafts and was particularly

4:17

skilled at sewing. She

4:19

was also an active

4:22

member of the 4H

4:24

Club. Following his graduation

4:26

from Jefferson High School

4:29

in 1966, Randy attended

4:31

Iowa Central Community College

4:33

for a few years.

4:36

Then in 1968, he

4:38

left college to enlist

4:40

in the armed forces.

4:43

Against the divisive and

4:45

turbulent backdrop of the

4:47

Vietnam War and folding

4:50

overseas, Randy found himself

4:52

stationed at Fort Bragg

4:54

in North Carolina, much

4:56

to his disappointment. Nevertheless,

4:59

he excelled as a

5:01

soldier, gaining significant skills

5:03

in training. Many sources

5:06

reference him as a

5:08

former Green Beret, though

5:10

the exact timeline of

5:13

his association with that

5:15

elite unit remains uncertain.

5:17

In 1970, while on

5:20

leave and visiting his

5:22

hometown, Randy reconnected... with

5:24

Vicky Gene Jordason. A former

5:27

college girlfriend of his. Similarly

5:29

raised in fundamentalist Christian households,

5:31

the couple's relationship quickly became

5:33

serious. Randy and Vicky married

5:35

in November of 1971 in

5:37

a ceremony at the first

5:40

congressional church in Fort Dodge,

5:42

Iowa. A month prior, on

5:44

October 8th, Randy had been

5:46

honorably discharged from the army

5:48

at the rank of sergeant.

5:50

Convinced that this ongoing strife

5:53

is a sign that end

5:55

times are coming, Vicky These

5:57

beliefs had made a hard

5:59

right turn as she delved

6:01

deeper into the Bible. Anticipating

6:03

the Apocalypse. Sharing these increasingly

6:06

extreme fundamentalist Christian beliefs with

6:08

Randy, she speaks of a

6:10

reoccurring vision that she is

6:12

having. She prophesies that their

6:14

family will only be safe

6:16

if they leave Iowa and

6:19

build a house on a

6:21

hill. which she envisions as

6:23

their glorious mountaintop retreat. It

6:25

is here where they will

6:27

be protected from the what

6:29

she would eventually refer to

6:32

as Zog, the Zionist organized

6:34

government, or as she would

6:36

put it a Jewish run

6:38

government and the corrupt civilization

6:40

in which they were currently

6:42

existing. Well, that's a lot

6:45

to take in. We're fighting

6:47

for God against Zog. But

6:49

we're also afraid of God.

6:51

And Zog. Yes. Increasingly influenced

6:53

by Vicky's zealotry and a

6:55

steadily progressing mistrust of the

6:58

government, Randy joins his wife

7:00

in her radical views. The

7:02

couple become full-blown religious extremists,

7:04

convinced that the biblical end

7:06

times are near. Now serious

7:08

about bringing Vicky's vision into

7:10

reality, Randy begins accumulating guns

7:13

and weapons as he believes

7:15

he will need these guns

7:17

and weapons to eventually keep

7:19

his family safe when the

7:21

end times begin. Yeah. So

7:23

in preparation of this now

7:26

survivalist lifestyle, Vicky began studying

7:28

farming and gardening techniques to

7:30

become self-sufficient. and Randy began

7:32

amassing weapons to protect his

7:34

family. Now fully convinced of

7:36

impending doom... biblical end times

7:39

and harboring a deep mounting

7:41

mistrust of the federal government,

7:43

the Weaver family relocated to

7:45

the state of Idaho. This

7:47

in 1983. They settled in

7:49

Boundary County, purchasing a property

7:52

for $5,000 located on an

7:54

isolated, beautiful hilltop in the

7:56

Silkirk Mountains overlooking Ruby Creek.

7:58

Then in 1984... Randy, with

8:00

his own hands, built their

8:02

home. This was a small

8:05

but well-built cabin constructed of

8:07

plywood and scrap lumber on

8:09

Ruby Ridge, adding several outbuildings

8:11

on their 20-acre property after

8:13

completing the main structure. The

8:15

family eagerly embraced a survivalist

8:18

lifestyle, growing vegetables, homeschooling the

8:20

children. and skewing taxes and

8:22

other types of governmental interference.

8:24

See, I can get behind

8:26

some of this stuff. Hey,

8:28

let's get 20 acres. Sounds

8:31

good to me. I would

8:33

love 20 acres. Let's build

8:35

our dream house. Sure. On

8:37

a hilltop, I would love

8:39

that. Let's name it. Ruby

8:41

Ridge. That's great. I even

8:44

like the collecting of the

8:46

guns. Well, you know, teach

8:48

their own. I was going

8:50

to say, hey, we're going

8:52

to have our own garden.

8:54

Oh, I like that too.

8:57

Fruits and vegetables. Now homeschooling

8:59

kids, that seems like a

9:01

nightmare. But I guess if

9:03

you're far enough out. I

9:05

recently planted an apple tree

9:07

in the backyard, so maybe

9:10

I'm on my way. You're

9:12

on your way. You're just

9:14

gonna have to start having

9:16

visions of the end time.

9:18

And askewing taxes. Again, like

9:20

I said, all these guys

9:23

are idiots because they should

9:25

know the end times are

9:27

gonna happen and Pawnee and...

9:29

We got to look out

9:31

for the lizard lord Zorp.

9:33

Randy had even included what

9:36

he referred to as a

9:38

300 yard radius, air quotes,

9:40

kill zone. on the property.

9:42

And look this is not

9:44

the kind of thing you

9:46

want to start telling your

9:48

neighbors but he told locals

9:51

that anyone breaching his 300

9:53

yard radius kill zone would

9:55

suffer the consequences of death

9:57

in the late 80s and

9:59

early 90s in the rural

10:01

area a lot of rural

10:04

areas but included and this

10:06

is boundary county where they

10:08

are living, there was an

10:10

emerging movement of anti-governmental sentiment,

10:12

leading to the formation of

10:14

various survivalist, nationalist, and militia

10:17

groups. The law of the

10:19

land in this region was

10:21

the boundary county sheriff, with

10:23

locals persistently ignoring federal and

10:25

even state decrees. Randy and

10:27

Vicky, who had become increasingly

10:30

extremist, unapologetically identified as white

10:32

separatists, as did many of

10:34

their neighbors. And while the

10:36

weavers didn't consider themselves to

10:38

be white supremacists or members

10:40

of the Aryan nation, they

10:43

weren't necessarily opposed to mingling

10:45

with them at local gatherings.

10:47

Now the weavers moved up

10:49

and set up their family

10:51

cabin and camp at what...

10:53

was called Ruby Ridge. Sometime

10:56

later, the family takes in

10:58

a young man named Kevin

11:00

Harris. He's a teenager at

11:02

the time who had experienced

11:04

a rough upbringing and a

11:06

deeply troubled home life. But

11:09

it didn't seem like they

11:11

were trying to build a

11:13

community really. It seemed like

11:15

they wanted to have their

11:17

own land. And you can

11:19

see how some of these

11:22

people will start diving into

11:24

this. We have the IRS.

11:26

There is no... law that

11:28

states an individual has to

11:30

pay taxes, but they can

11:32

put you in jail if

11:35

you don't pay taxes. And

11:37

then property taxes, I think

11:39

a lot of people find

11:41

to be a joke because

11:43

you own... the property you

11:45

own the house and you're

11:48

forced to pay a tax

11:50

on something you already own.

11:52

And in many places if

11:54

you make improvements to that

11:56

property you have to pay

11:58

additional taxes. Yeah so the

12:01

nicer I make it the

12:03

more I have to pay

12:05

you but I own the

12:07

land. That's why my place

12:09

is a real shit-hole. It's

12:11

why I go around and

12:14

break shit all the time.

12:16

If the county auditor is

12:18

listening my place is a

12:20

dump. It's a real dump.

12:22

But I do have that

12:24

apple tree. But so you

12:26

can see how and then

12:29

if you have your own

12:31

land like 20 acres You

12:33

don't want anybody you don't

12:35

want the share for you're

12:37

not buying those 20 acres

12:39

to have a H-O-A fee

12:42

They really wanted to live

12:44

out there build their family

12:46

and be left alone is

12:48

really my feel of this

12:50

whole situation now as for

12:52

bringing in this teenager with

12:55

the deeply troubled upbringing Right.

12:57

This to me just appears

12:59

to be a good deed.

13:01

So this kid, Kevin Harris,

13:03

teenager at the time, when

13:05

he kind of gets taken

13:08

under the wing of Randy

13:10

Weaver, so this guy, his

13:12

father had died when he

13:14

was only two years old.

13:16

And Kevin's young mother was

13:18

unable to cope with raising

13:21

children without the father being

13:23

there. Right. So this kid

13:25

is rudderless and he is...

13:27

growing into his teenage years

13:29

and he starts to get

13:31

in trouble and he starts

13:34

to struggle with things like

13:36

drugs. So Randy met Kevin

13:38

through friends in the mid

13:40

80s and his heart went

13:42

out to this fatherless young

13:44

man and Kevin was seeking

13:47

a positive influence. But also

13:49

the family probably needed extra

13:51

help for what they were

13:53

trying to build. Possibly, but

13:55

my understanding here is that

13:57

the early part of this

14:00

relationship, there were no like

14:02

formal arrangements that were made.

14:04

that Kevin Harris had free

14:06

access to come and stay

14:08

at the property when he

14:10

chose to do so, coming

14:13

and going as he pleased,

14:15

but eventually he will basically

14:17

move in with the Weaver

14:19

family and then as this

14:21

relationship carries on, he's ultimately

14:23

viewed as a member of

14:26

the household. Now I wish

14:28

I could tell you that

14:30

they lived a quiet life,

14:32

didn't bother anyone and nobody

14:34

bothered them, but... That wasn't

14:36

the case. Ruby Ridge was

14:39

up on a hillside above

14:41

Ruby Creek, opposite Caribou Ridge,

14:43

which was another property. Now

14:45

in 1984, Randy Weaver and

14:47

one of his neighbors, this

14:49

is Terry Kennison, had a

14:52

dispute over a $3,000 land

14:54

deal. Kennison lost the ensuing

14:56

lawsuit and on top of

14:58

the $3,000. Kenneson was ordered

15:00

to pay Randy Weaver an

15:02

additional $2,100 in court cost

15:04

and damages. So this neighbor

15:07

Terry Kenneson was now into

15:09

Randy Weaver for $5,100. And

15:11

I've got to believe that

15:13

this was some sort of

15:15

retaliation. But what the neighbor

15:17

did was he started writing

15:20

letters to the FBI of

15:22

the Secret Service and the

15:24

county sheriff alleging that Randy

15:26

Weaver had openly threatened to

15:28

kill Pope John Paul II,

15:30

President Ronald Reagan, and the

15:33

Governor of Idaho. In 1985,

15:35

the FBI and the Secret

15:37

Service decided to launch investigations

15:39

into these allegations that Randy

15:41

Weaver had made threats against

15:43

Ronald Reagan and other government

15:46

officials. Well, we know that

15:48

the weavers have land and

15:50

we also know that he's

15:52

collecting. firearms and thus

15:54

if these threats are real if

15:57

he did make them then you

15:59

have to take them seriously. In

16:01

February of 85, the weavers were

16:03

interviewed by FBI agents, Secret Service

16:05

agents, and the boundary county sheriff.

16:08

The Secret Service had been told

16:10

that the that Randy Weaver was

16:12

a member of Aryan nations and

16:14

that he had a large cache

16:17

of firearms at his residence. But

16:19

like you said that that connection

16:21

wasn't true because there weren't white

16:23

supremacy, but Maybe they just dealt

16:26

with other I don't I don't

16:28

see that's a troubling thing with

16:30

this story So you could you

16:32

could look at it a couple

16:34

different ways where people on the

16:37

outside that didn't know Randy Weaver

16:39

and didn't know the family I

16:41

think you could easily believe that

16:43

maybe he was a member of

16:46

the area nations or other Other

16:48

extremist groups because from the outside

16:50

it might give the appearance of

16:52

such because he is associating with

16:55

people that are members of these

16:57

other groups right now if you

16:59

knew him real well then you

17:01

might just go well he he

17:03

just happens to know these people

17:06

and he's friendly with these people

17:08

now i i also want and

17:10

i don't want every resident of

17:12

the great state of Idaho to

17:15

come after yours truly here but

17:17

if you go back in time

17:19

and especially in this region there

17:21

were a lot of people that

17:24

were involved in those types of

17:26

groups or associated with people that

17:28

were involved with those groups. So

17:30

this is not like a of

17:32

an incredibly rare thing here in

17:35

that area at the time. Well,

17:37

and sometimes with these extremist groups

17:39

in your community, you might not

17:41

agree with anything that they believe

17:44

in, but by going against them,

17:46

all your causing is trouble for

17:48

yourself. Well, and here is something

17:50

that's not going to look favorably

17:53

upon Randy Weaver and his family.

17:55

So, Weaver denies that he's a

17:57

member of the Aryan nations or

17:59

any of these... extremist groups when

18:01

he's interviewed by the different government

18:04

agencies. He also denies the allegations

18:06

that he has a large cache

18:09

of firearms. And again, that's a

18:11

pretty general term where it's open

18:13

for interpretation. Your opinion of a

18:15

large arsenal of firearms might be

18:18

different than my opinion of a large

18:20

arsenal of firearms. Where some people might

18:22

say, oh, he's got like eight or

18:25

nine guns. That's a great. big collection.

18:27

To some people that's a huge

18:29

collection and to gun collectors that's

18:31

not even a real collection at

18:33

all. Yeah and I know this

18:35

being a guitar collector I mean

18:37

for some people they they see a

18:39

handful of my guitars and they go

18:42

you have a problem and I go

18:44

you haven't seen the other room yet.

18:46

Now what they could determine was that

18:48

on at least three or four occasions

18:50

The weavers did attend area

18:52

nations meetings at Hayden Lake

18:55

Idaho Remember Hayden Lake Idaho

18:57

is a location that we

19:00

talked about when we covered

19:02

Richard Snell and Those late

19:04

night meetings That were

19:06

reportedly going on about

19:08

attempting to wanting to

19:11

overthrow the government and

19:13

destroy large federal buildings

19:16

So no doubt if they're attending these,

19:18

let's say meetings, I'm gonna use

19:20

air quotes here to say meetings.

19:22

Right. Because these could simply be

19:24

gatherings and this could be simply

19:27

their way of socializing. I know

19:29

that sounds very strange. It's

19:31

not a place that I would ever choose

19:33

to socialize in, but this is

19:35

not Hayden Lake Idaho. It's difficult

19:37

to say what their intentions are.

19:40

in attending these meetings or if

19:42

they're just they're just gathering and

19:44

socialized. The rumor was that they

19:46

brewed a mean cup of coffee

19:48

and had great cheese dainishes. Well and

19:51

but I think it's also very easy

19:53

for one to see this, observe this

19:55

activity or be made aware of this

19:57

activity and goes well these guys are

20:00

extremist. Right. This, they could be

20:02

a violent militia type. The

20:05

investigation did note that Randy Weaver

20:07

associated with members of the covenant,

20:09

the sword, and the arm of

20:12

the Lord. Randy and Vicky Weaver

20:14

filed an affidavit with the

20:16

county courthouse alleging that their

20:18

personal enemies were plotting to

20:21

provoke the FBI into attacking

20:23

and maybe even killing the

20:25

Weaver family. Basically, they're

20:27

saying... This guy made all this

20:30

stuff up. Claim that we made

20:32

all these horrible threats against these

20:34

people in power. And now we're

20:36

being investigated and really we've not

20:39

done any of this activity.

20:41

This guy is just full-on revenge against

20:43

us and my family. On

20:45

May 6th of that same

20:47

year, the weavers sent President

20:49

Ronald Reagan a letter claiming that

20:52

their enemies... may have sent

20:54

Reagan a threatening letter

20:56

forging Randy's signature. Years

20:58

later in 1992, the prosecutor

21:00

cited the 1985 letter as

21:03

an overt act of the

21:05

Weaver family conspiracy against the

21:07

federal government. Now we

21:10

have the Bureau of Alcohol,

21:12

Tobacco, and Firearms, the ATF. They

21:14

first become aware of Randy

21:17

Weaver and his family in

21:19

July of 1986. when he

21:21

was introduced to a confidential

21:23

ATF informant at a meeting at

21:25

the World Aryan Congress. The

21:28

informant portrayed himself

21:30

as a weapons dealer working

21:32

with motorcycle gangs. Over the

21:34

next couple of years, Weaver

21:37

and this informant, they did

21:39

meet several times. And in July

21:41

of 1989, Randy Weaver invited

21:43

this informant to his

21:45

home. to discuss forming a

21:47

group to fight the Zionist

21:50

organized government or Zog, referring

21:52

to the United States government.

21:55

In October of 89, the ATF

21:57

claimed that Weaver sold the informant

21:59

to salt off shotguns with

22:01

an overall length of the

22:03

guns shorter than the limit

22:06

set by the federal law.

22:08

So the ATF is saying

22:10

we did a sting operation.

22:12

This guy was dumb enough

22:14

to sell some illegal firearms

22:16

to our officer who was

22:18

undercover. So Randy Weaver was

22:20

indicted for making and possessing

22:23

illegal firearms. This is now

22:25

1990. Do note though, he

22:27

wasn't charged with selling them,

22:29

just charged with making and

22:31

possessing illegal firearms. On February

22:33

5th 1991, Randy Weaver's trial

22:35

date was changed. And this

22:38

could be really a huge

22:40

domino here, Captain. This could

22:42

be something that really started

22:44

the fire. Well, we know

22:46

it wasn't Billy Joel. Randy

22:48

Weaver's trial date was changed

22:50

to February 20th. The clerk

22:52

of course sent letters to

22:55

different parties to inform them

22:57

of the date change of

22:59

Randy Weaver's court appearance. However,

23:01

for whatever reason, they didn't

23:03

send a letter directly to

23:05

Randy Weaver. They sent a

23:07

letter to his representation. So

23:09

now the representation is in

23:12

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23:14

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23:16

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23:18

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23:20

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23:22

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23:24

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23:26

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today. All right, we are

28:44

back. Talk hands in the

28:46

air. Cheers to you, Colonel.

28:48

Cheers to you, Captain. Now.

28:50

Look, you don't have to

28:52

be Sherlock Holmes here to

28:54

figure out since they told

28:56

him the wrong date one

28:59

month later, Randy Weaver did

29:01

not show up to court

29:03

on February 20th. And this

29:05

started the next domino, which

29:07

they put out a bench

29:09

warrant for Randy Weaver and

29:11

his failure to appear in

29:14

court. Around the same time...

29:16

In early 1991, this is

29:18

kind of throwing gasoline on

29:20

the fire. There was a

29:22

letter that was sent to

29:24

the U.S. attorney in early

29:26

1991 from the Weaver family,

29:28

specifically Vicky Weaver, Randy's wife.

29:31

And in the letter, Vicky

29:33

promised that they, meaning the

29:35

Weaver family, quote, will not

29:37

bow to your evil commandments

29:39

whether we live or whether

29:41

we die. Not really a

29:43

threat, but it sounds quite

29:45

threatening. Yeah. Now, because he

29:48

failed to appear in court,

29:50

this gets the US Marshals.

29:52

involved in the whole situation.

29:54

They were now responsible to

29:56

arrest and bring in Randy

29:58

Weaver, but they're checking up

30:00

and asking around about him

30:02

and the Intel that they're

30:05

getting is telling them that

30:07

the Weaver's had a lot

30:09

of guns and that they

30:11

were incredibly hostile, that they

30:13

would not be, Randy Weaver

30:15

would not be taken easily.

30:17

So the US Marshals brought

30:20

in the services special operations

30:22

group. to watch and surveil

30:24

the weavers. Now, I found

30:26

this incredibly strange and odd

30:28

here, Captain. All this talk

30:30

and fear of Zog. Yeah.

30:32

But the marshal service, they

30:34

do abbreviate the services special

30:37

operations group as Sog. So

30:39

while Vicky Weaver was having

30:41

all these visions and dreams.

30:43

that her family needs to

30:45

be afraid of Zog and

30:47

hide out in the hills

30:49

and live a survivalist lifestyle.

30:51

I found it very strange

30:54

that it wasn't Zog that

30:56

was coming for them. It

30:58

was some form of Zog

31:00

if you will. I'm just

31:02

kind of tongue-in-cheek saying that,

31:04

but it was Zog that

31:06

ultimately would be coming after

31:08

the weavers. No, and I

31:11

believe in this stuff. I

31:13

believe... Especially people that have

31:15

recurring dreams. It becomes, well,

31:17

did you have the reoccurring

31:19

dreams because something bad was

31:21

going to happen or did

31:23

the reoccurring dreams help facilitate

31:26

the bad thing happening? Speak

31:28

of the devil and he

31:30

shall appear. Right. You know,

31:32

and I believe that I

31:34

believe if you're negative, you're

31:36

going to attract negativity. That's

31:38

why we say be good

31:40

and be be kind that's

31:43

right good vibes in the

31:45

garage good vibes, brothers. It's

31:47

easy when you got a

31:49

lot of beer. Yeah, or

31:51

other stuff. So we talked

31:53

briefly about the Marshal Service,

31:55

the U.S. Marshal Service, surveilling

31:57

the Weavers, which they did

32:00

for the better part of

32:02

1992, gathering information on the

32:04

family, plus the family friend

32:06

Kevin Harris, who was living

32:08

on the property with the

32:10

Weaver family. Yeah, but my

32:12

problem with this whole scenario

32:14

is it doesn't seem like

32:17

any members of the Weavers

32:19

have... Like a criminal history

32:21

and the father like you

32:23

said he he served in

32:25

Vietnam, right? No, I don't

32:27

believe he was ever called

32:29

to action he enlisted while

32:32

Vietnam was ongoing But either

32:34

way he's he's a He

32:36

attempted to serve his country.

32:38

Yeah, yeah, well, I mean

32:40

you serve your country once

32:42

you sign up whether you

32:44

serve in in just a

32:46

department or at a base

32:49

locally or you actually fight

32:51

in a war, you're still

32:53

serving your country. Yes, you

32:55

can be called at any

32:57

time. So do you think

32:59

it's just these quote unquote,

33:01

she said threats? Well, let's

33:03

review this because this is,

33:06

you're sharing a lot of

33:08

what I am feeling about

33:10

this part of the story.

33:12

Yeah. So what you have

33:14

here is there's mounting pressure

33:16

for the federal agents to

33:18

take some form of action.

33:20

So at some point they're

33:23

going to decide to make

33:25

a move. Now on August

33:27

17th 1992 US Marshals Sog

33:29

team gathered at Sandpoint Idaho

33:31

to establish a command post

33:33

this up on the on

33:35

the Sweetser Mountain. The intention

33:38

was to more closely survey

33:40

the family to assess their

33:42

threat level to the public.

33:44

Over the next few months

33:46

agencies considered various plans to

33:48

couple Randy to surrender. It

33:50

was important. to remember that

33:52

Randy's only offenses were selling

33:55

two modified shotguns and failing

33:57

to appear in court. So

33:59

this reaction. So overkill. Seemed

34:01

ludicrously disproportionate considering Randy was

34:03

not a dangerous arms dealer.

34:05

He was simply a religious

34:07

zealot with a belief in

34:09

white separatism and a deep

34:12

mistrust of the federal government.

34:14

Yeah, but don't you think

34:16

that law enforcement could have

34:18

just made contact with him

34:20

and to say hey you

34:22

missed your trial date your

34:24

court date yes because if

34:26

they would have just made

34:29

contact and they didn't have

34:31

to make contact to him

34:33

directly they could have made

34:35

contact his lawyer it's an

34:37

overreaction is an understatement and

34:39

but beyond that there are

34:41

things that the the weavers

34:44

are also doing things that

34:46

don't mean they're not paying

34:48

their taxes right there they're

34:50

doing things that don't that

34:52

they are suggestive that they

34:54

are what the the government

34:56

agencies fear that they are

34:58

that the government agencies fear

35:01

that they are But by

35:03

having that fear you could

35:05

sometimes see things that aren't

35:07

there Exactly Now They're going

35:09

to decide to make their

35:11

move this the US Marshals

35:13

due to favorable weather conditions

35:15

on August 21st the Sog

35:18

team members proceeded up the

35:20

mountain toward the Weaver cabin

35:22

to confront the family of

35:24

three adults and four children

35:26

Agents were heavily armed with

35:28

M16 rifles, a sniper rifle,

35:30

a shotgun, and a suppressed

35:32

9mm car bean along with

35:35

their personal service weapons. In

35:37

the early hours of August

35:39

21st, 1992, the Sog team

35:41

armed and camouflaged approached the

35:43

Weaver's cabin on Ruby Ridge.

35:45

They proceeded further up the

35:47

mountain trail to a fork

35:50

in the woods and decided

35:52

to split into two three-man

35:54

teams. So they got a

35:56

unit of six going up

35:58

there, now they're going to

36:00

split into... two three man

36:02

teams. One group is called

36:04

the observation post, OP. They

36:07

went left to set up

36:09

surveillance about half a mile

36:11

from the structure in which

36:13

the Weaver families living, the

36:15

cabin. Meanwhile, the recon, a

36:17

reconnaissance team, they were going

36:19

to approach the cabin from

36:21

the right side, but stopping

36:24

about 250 to 300 yards

36:26

from the Weaver's driveway. At

36:28

approximately 1015 a.m. the teams

36:30

have exchanged information, but they

36:32

captured the attention of the

36:34

family dog. So they got

36:36

to their positions where they

36:38

wanted to be positioned. They've

36:41

radioed each other to let

36:43

them know, hey, we're all

36:45

in position here. But while

36:47

this is going on, the

36:49

dogs, the weavers dogs, are

36:51

now aware that there's movement

36:53

on the property. Dogs don't

36:56

typically like that. They tend

36:58

to start barking and making

37:00

a lot of noise, which

37:02

alerted, ultimately alerted, Randy and

37:04

Kevin and Randy's son, Sammy,

37:06

to the presence of someone,

37:08

the U.S. Marshals, being on

37:10

their property. So Randy decides

37:13

to go in one direction,

37:15

sending Kevin and Sammy, led

37:17

by the Weaver's yellow lab

37:19

named Striker, often a different

37:21

direction. So... Kevin and

37:23

the son, Sammy, and the dog,

37:26

they run off to where the

37:28

recon team had positioned themselves. This

37:30

is going to start a confrontation.

37:33

Both groups are armed. Now, I

37:35

cannot say this loudly enough, there

37:37

are conflicting reports on who fired

37:39

the first shot. Right. I don't

37:42

know that we've ever figured out

37:44

who fired the first shot. But

37:46

you want to talk about domino

37:49

effect. This is a one hell

37:51

of a domino here. Somebody fired

37:53

a shot. I don't know if

37:55

it's a man thing or mainly

37:58

a man thing, but I had

38:00

a lot of friends growing up

38:02

where we're like, hey, you know,

38:05

it'd be great to have five

38:07

acres or... 10 acres and I

38:09

always thought one of the bonuses

38:12

of having land was whoever's there

38:14

should be there and whoever and

38:16

people that aren't supposed to be

38:18

there you know very quickly like

38:21

where in a neighborhood if somebody

38:23

walks through your neighbor's yard you

38:25

don't you don't right away you

38:28

might not know if it's the

38:30

neighbor or if it's the neighbor's

38:32

son or it's a family friend

38:35

you know I mean but if

38:37

you own a bunch of land

38:39

and somebody is on your property

38:41

at night, you know they're not

38:44

supposed to be there. And so

38:46

you have this situation where you

38:48

have law enforcement coming up on

38:51

a family that, in their eyes,

38:53

they've done nothing wrong. He hasn't

38:55

missed a court date in his

38:57

eyes, and he doesn't know that

39:00

they're being surveilled by law enforcement.

39:02

So this is a tricky situation

39:04

because... If somebody's showing up to

39:07

your property armed with fatigues on,

39:09

you would think on some level

39:11

he has the right to protect

39:14

himself and protect his family. He

39:16

does have some awareness that they're

39:18

being watched because the US Marshals

39:20

were, what they were initially hoping

39:23

for is for the Randy Weaver

39:25

or the Weaver family to come

39:27

down the mountain to them and

39:30

surrender. Right. They didn't want to

39:32

have to go up the mountain,

39:34

but at some point they they

39:37

decided we got to do something.

39:39

I'm skipping over some stuff intentionally

39:41

because there there was a lot

39:43

going on behind the scenes, if

39:46

you will, during the course of

39:48

this US Marshals want to bring

39:50

him in on a bench warrant

39:53

and Randy Weaver doesn't want to

39:55

come down the hill. Right. And

39:57

on top of that, you have

40:00

the nasty neighbor who likely set

40:02

a lot of this shit into

40:04

motion to begin with. who is

40:06

still continuing to throw Randy Weaver

40:09

and his family under the bus.

40:11

Making additional claims about them while

40:13

they're essentially hold up in their

40:16

cabin. Regardless, this is where we

40:18

find ourselves with this confrontation that's

40:20

about to go down. And again,

40:22

with conflicting reports, later accounts of

40:25

this incident would vary. Law enforcement

40:27

maintaining that they had identified themselves

40:29

as US government agents. They also

40:32

claimed that Kevin Harris fired the

40:34

first shot, hitting Marshall Degan, who

40:36

would later die as a result.

40:39

Marshall Cooper won another member of

40:41

this three-man team position there the

40:43

recon team Return fire hitting Kevin

40:45

meanwhile Marshall Roderick unsure of who

40:48

fired first shot the dog striker

40:50

Fearing that it might the dog

40:52

might attack or further reveal their

40:55

position right now seeing his dog

40:57

shot of course Anybody's gonna react

40:59

to that especially a boy? fired

41:02

shots at the marshals shouting, you

41:04

son of a bitch, you killed

41:06

my dog. Randy Weaver, remember he's

41:08

elsewhere, he's positioned himself elsewhere, in

41:11

the chaos, he starts firing his

41:13

handgun into the air and instructing

41:15

his son, shouting at his son,

41:18

Sammy, to go home. So Sammy

41:20

responds, I'm coming, dad, you know,

41:22

or I'm going to go home,

41:24

but he is fatally wounded in

41:27

this gunfire that continues back and

41:29

forth. A short time after the

41:31

gunfire subsided, the shattered weaver parents

41:34

retrieved the lifeless body of their

41:36

14-year-old son Sammy and transported him

41:38

to one of their outbuildings. Grieveing

41:41

their loss, the family took refuge

41:43

in the cabin. Randy and Kevin's

41:45

account of the incident would differ

41:47

from that of law enforcement. They

41:50

insisted that the marshals did not

41:52

identify themselves and that the government

41:54

fired the shots first. killing

41:57

the dog and then setting

41:59

off a chain reaction of

42:01

deadly events. The following day

42:03

multiple federal agencies descended upon

42:05

the scene with armored tanks

42:08

helicopters and personnel carriers. Yeah

42:10

don't bring a shotgun to

42:12

a tank fight. No this

42:14

is this is really starting

42:16

to look like a small

42:18

family who's now facing a

42:20

full-on army. So essentially they

42:22

set up a military encampment.

42:25

At the base of Ruby

42:27

Ridge, this with hundreds of

42:29

federal agents, they had hostage

42:31

negotiators, state police, and military

42:33

personnel. Meanwhile, anti-government demonstrators began

42:35

gathering in support of the

42:37

Weaver family. As I rate

42:39

locals and other supporters of

42:42

the weavers protested near the

42:44

roadblock, they were angrily calling

42:46

for the government to stop

42:48

their interference into the business

42:50

of private citizens. News crews

42:52

and media outlets set up

42:54

the base of Ruby Ridge

42:56

to capture every minute of

42:59

the standoff. During this time,

43:01

the FBI's hostage rescue team,

43:03

who had been called into

43:05

assist, submitted a proposed revision

43:07

to the FBI standard rules

43:09

of engagement. This amendment would

43:11

allow agents to use deadly

43:13

force to neutralize any perceived

43:16

threat by an adult observed

43:18

to be carrying a weapon.

43:20

So this is different from

43:22

their standard rules of engagement.

43:24

Standard rules had restricted the

43:26

use of deadly force only

43:28

in the event an agent

43:30

or another is in imminent

43:33

danger of death or serious

43:35

bodily harm. This seems like

43:37

extreme here. However, if you

43:39

really want to analyze this

43:41

situation and dissect it, really

43:43

all the FBI is doing

43:45

in this moment. They're lifting

43:47

this a little bit because

43:50

they don't want their agents

43:52

and people there to be

43:54

involved in and have to

43:56

assess the situation. One of

43:58

the US Marshals was already

44:00

killed. Right. And to me,

44:02

that's once that agent is

44:04

killed, that's your assess, then

44:07

you make your, then you

44:09

assess the situation, it's a

44:11

deadly situation period. Exactly. That's

44:13

exactly right. So now they're

44:15

operating under these amended rules

44:17

of engagement. An FBI sniper.

44:19

But is the family firing

44:21

back because it just seems

44:24

like they retreated and there's

44:26

no fire coming. and that

44:28

we have no fire coming

44:30

from the father he shot

44:32

his gun up in the

44:34

air yeah and this is

44:36

the following day so essentially

44:38

this is like a ceasefire

44:41

without either side telling each

44:43

other they're not going to

44:45

be shooting at each other

44:47

right i mean this situation

44:49

horrible the kids dead and

44:51

marshal's dead the dog's dead

44:53

yeah but it's it's not

44:56

going to get any better

44:58

So now operating under these

45:00

amended rules of engagement an

45:02

FBI sniper positioned about 200

45:04

yards from the Weaver cabin

45:06

fire two shots. So keep

45:08

in mind this sniper not

45:10

only is not in threat

45:13

of imminent danger or death

45:15

or seriously bodily harm. This

45:17

FBI sniper 200 yards away

45:19

from the Weaver cabin likely

45:21

was even undetected. Right. by

45:23

the weavers or Kevin Harris

45:25

or anybody there. So he

45:27

fires two shots. The first

45:30

shot wounded Randy Weaver. That

45:32

very likely was a goal

45:34

of theirs. The second shot

45:36

was intended for Kevin Harris.

45:38

Remember, so now you would

45:40

have hit all three members

45:42

that were engaged in gunfire

45:44

with your agents. Right. Sammy,

45:47

the kids dead. Kevin Harris

45:49

who fired shots and Randy

45:51

Weaver, the father, dad, dad,

45:53

husband, husband. of the whole

45:55

Weaver family. The second shot

45:57

intended for Kevin Harris struck

45:59

and killed Vicky Weaver, the

46:01

wife, mother, as she stood

46:04

in the doorway of their

46:06

cap... and holding their 10-month-old

46:08

daughter. Jesus. And somehow, you

46:10

want to talk about JFK

46:12

magic bullet theory, this bullet

46:14

strikes and kills Vicky Weaver,

46:16

but eventually finding its way,

46:18

finding its mark to hit

46:21

Kevin after it passed through

46:23

Vicky's head. Vicky's lifeless body

46:25

would lay under the kitchen

46:27

table. They pulled her inside.

46:29

while the surviving family were

46:31

main barricaded inside that same

46:33

cabin. In an attempt to

46:35

persuade the weavers to surrender,

46:38

federal negotiators sunk to even

46:40

lower depths. FBI negotiator Fred

46:42

Lancely cruelly taunted the family,

46:44

addressing Mrs. Weaver, and inviting

46:46

her and the children to

46:48

come out and eat pancakes

46:50

and eat pancakes and eat

46:52

pancakes and eat pancakes in

46:55

the children to come out

46:57

and eat pancakes and eat

46:59

pancakes and eat pancakes and

47:01

eat pancakes and eat pancakes

47:03

in eat pancakes and eat

47:05

pancakes These unbelievably pitless remarks

47:07

directed at a woman they

47:09

surely knew was dead caused

47:12

the family to break down

47:14

in tears. There was a

47:16

phone placed outside of the

47:18

cabin door which would ring

47:20

every 15 minutes and negotiators

47:22

continually screamed threats through a

47:24

bullhorn at the family warning

47:26

that the weavers would die

47:29

if they did not exit

47:31

the cabin and come down.

47:33

The negotiator reportedly continued mockingly

47:35

addressing Vicky and asking about

47:37

the baby and offering help.

47:39

The callousness with which they

47:41

treated the weavers who had

47:44

just lost two family members

47:46

to incredible and largely senseless

47:48

violence is and was profoundly

47:50

disturbing. By August 25th, the

47:52

crowds of anti-government sympathizers and

47:54

supporters of the Weaver family

47:56

had grown. And five armed...

47:58

were arrested and route to

48:01

the cabin. These guys were

48:03

going to go up there

48:05

and even though the weavers

48:07

didn't request their assistance, apparently

48:09

these skinheads were going to

48:11

go up there and start

48:13

fighting back against the government.

48:15

They were arrested. As the

48:18

days wore on it became

48:20

increasingly evident that Randy and

48:22

his daughters as well as

48:24

Kevin Harris were never going

48:26

to willingly surrender. As a

48:28

last resort federal agents brought

48:30

in Bowe Gertz, A former

48:32

Green Beret and prominent figure

48:35

who shared many of the

48:37

same beliefs as the Weaver

48:39

clan. Federal agents hoped that

48:41

Gertz would be able to

48:43

persuade Randy in the remaining

48:45

occupants of the cabin to

48:47

surrender peacefully before they enacted

48:49

a full-scale attack on the

48:52

cabin. Randy eventually allowed Gertz

48:54

to enter the cabin and

48:56

he was ultimately successful in

48:58

securing Randy's agreement. to not

49:00

only remove Vicky's body from

49:02

the cabin, but to rescue

49:04

Kevin Harris as well, allowing

49:06

the gravely wounded young man

49:09

to receive much needed medical

49:11

attention. Finally, on August 31st,

49:13

Randy Weaver agreed to surrender

49:15

to federal officials, and he

49:17

and his three daughters exited

49:19

the cabin. Both Randy and

49:21

Kevin were arrested. Kevin for

49:23

the murder of Deputy Marshall

49:26

Degan. and Randy for aiding

49:28

and abetting. In total, the

49:30

men faced 10 counts, including

49:32

murder, aiding and abetting murder,

49:34

conspiracy, and assault. The standoff

49:36

lasted 11 days. I mean,

49:38

this is a difficult situation

49:40

because obviously horrific. I don't

49:43

agree with some of the

49:45

thoughts or ideology of the

49:47

weavers, but it doesn't seem

49:49

like they were posing any

49:51

threat. to the community or

49:53

to them. and it just

49:55

doesn't seem like there was

49:57

enough communication from law enforcement

50:00

to warrant this kind of

50:02

or this type of surveillance

50:04

or this type of attack.

50:06

It's very strange. It's horrible

50:08

because you have this horrific

50:10

situation where it's this beyond

50:12

overreaction, right? Overreaction would be

50:14

an understatement. Yeah, but hold

50:17

on in fairness. What information

50:19

law enforcement was being fed?

50:21

Well, no, that's what I'm

50:23

getting to. Beyond over reaction,

50:25

however, they believed that this

50:27

family was in fact a

50:29

threat to the public and

50:32

a threat to government agencies.

50:34

And so when everybody's right,

50:36

everybody's wrong. And this situation

50:38

just, I mean, could it

50:40

have been handled differently by

50:42

all parties involved? Absolutely. And

50:44

it's sad that it wasn't.

50:46

The Weaver case would be

50:49

prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Ron

50:51

Hohen and would be tried

50:53

in Boise, Idaho with Judge

50:55

Edward Lodge. And Randy and

50:57

Kevin would stand trial together.

50:59

Jury selection began on April

51:01

13th, 1993 and the trial

51:03

started the very next day.

51:06

Ultimately here, Captain, this trial

51:08

would last about 36 days.

51:10

The prosecution called a total

51:12

of 56 witnesses while the

51:14

defense led by famed defense

51:16

attorney Jerry Spence called zero.

51:18

Coincidentally, the trial coincided with

51:20

the violent and fiery ending

51:23

to the Waco siege. And

51:25

this ultimately, and for many

51:27

other reasons why, is forever

51:29

linking both events. To describe

51:31

it, it's been described as

51:33

chaotic, with contradictory witnesses and

51:35

attempts to portray the weavers

51:37

as racist. Really what the

51:40

prosecution wants to put together

51:42

here because you have a

51:44

situation where a jury could

51:46

be sympathetic to Randy Weaver

51:48

and Kevin Harris, right? Kevin

51:50

Harris almost died. Randy Weaver

51:52

lost his son and his

51:54

wife and his dog. Yeah.

51:57

And their home was essentially

51:59

besieged by an army of

52:01

government agencies. I don't agree

52:03

with racist beliefs and racist

52:05

thoughts or actions. It seems

52:07

like a very dumb defense

52:09

to say, well, we're going

52:11

to say that they were

52:14

racist. But that doesn't, it

52:16

still doesn't justify your actions.

52:18

Yeah, the state wants to

52:20

present these people as just

52:22

bad all around. Like they

52:24

were horrible, terrible people before

52:26

we went up the hill

52:28

and... The result was they

52:31

were going to shoot whoever

52:33

came up there. It just

52:35

so happened to be that

52:37

it was our US Marshals.

52:39

And now we've lost a

52:41

US Marshal. And look, it

52:43

wasn't a great trial. Again,

52:45

it appears that the trial

52:48

in ways mirrored the standoff

52:50

where when nobody's right, everybody's

52:52

wrong. Yeah. Part of this

52:54

too that gets lost in

52:56

the sauce here is Randy

52:58

Weaver may have found himself

53:00

in a whole lot of

53:02

trouble. Because at some point

53:05

he was approached. Remember we

53:07

mentioned Gerts, who Gerts was

53:09

the guy that really put

53:11

an end to the standoff.

53:13

He was somebody that was

53:15

friends or friendly with Randy

53:17

Weaver. Gerts was somebody that

53:20

the ATF wanted to bring

53:22

down. Okay, Gerts was the

53:24

one that was directly involved

53:26

in a member of all

53:28

of these extremist groups, several

53:30

of them, and several of

53:32

the hate groups. And he

53:34

was also involved in a

53:37

lot of the arms dealings

53:39

dealings. From my understanding here,

53:41

Captain, the ATF initial reached

53:43

out to Randy Weaver well

53:45

before any of this mess

53:47

started to try to get

53:49

him to be an informant

53:51

for them for their agency

53:54

to take down Gerts and

53:56

people like Gerts right but

53:58

weavers like hey I'm not

54:00

gonna be a snitch and

54:02

so then you also wonder

54:04

is there motivation from them

54:06

to take out Weaver so

54:08

he doesn't snitch on what

54:11

they're trying to do possibly

54:13

but more so what I

54:15

think played out with this

54:17

situation is the US Marshals

54:19

were not informed of any

54:21

of this attempting to recruit

54:23

Randy Weaver as an informant.

54:25

And he didn't comply, right?

54:28

He didn't do what they

54:30

wanted him to do, but

54:32

he didn't get violent when

54:34

they asked him if he

54:36

wanted to be an informant.

54:38

He just said, I'm not

54:40

going to be a part

54:42

of this, not going to

54:45

be a snitch. They really

54:47

seemed like a family that

54:49

had their own beliefs and

54:51

didn't want to be a

54:53

part of this society. You

54:55

know, case under multiple lenses.

54:57

One of the lenses I'm

54:59

looking at it under is,

55:02

is there a chance that

55:04

had the marshals and other

55:06

agencies? This is why these

55:08

agencies got to talk and

55:10

communicate more. Is there a

55:12

chance that had the US

55:14

Marshals known that Randy Weaver

55:16

did speak with the ATF,

55:19

did engage and have conversations

55:21

with them, just didn't comply,

55:23

but didn't do it in

55:25

a violent manner? Would this

55:27

thing have started off differently?

55:29

Right. Would they not have

55:31

felt like we need to

55:33

surveil this whole family for

55:36

days and days? And one

55:38

of the things that we

55:40

were talking about off air

55:42

was the idea of if

55:44

your law enforcement and you're

55:46

going to do a raid

55:48

on, let's say, drug dealers,

55:50

you might have this idea,

55:53

you might have some fear

55:55

that they're going to put

55:57

up a fight. So you

55:59

outman them, you outgun them,

56:01

you make sure that if

56:03

there is a fight... that

56:05

you're going to win. But

56:07

when you're dealing with people

56:10

that have odd views on

56:12

reality, I mean even just

56:14

hearing that the wife had

56:16

these visions or dreams that

56:18

their family would be attacked,

56:20

then you have to wrestle

56:22

with the idea of, okay,

56:25

we can outgun them, we

56:27

can outman them, but are

56:29

we stepping into a situation

56:31

that if they're losing? If

56:33

the weavers are losing, do

56:35

they have some kind of

56:37

system that will just blow

56:39

us all up? And I

56:42

think that would lend to,

56:44

you know, that fear would

56:46

lend to law enforcement agents

56:48

making bad decisions and decisions

56:50

out of fear. Well, and

56:52

ultimately, the public sided with

56:54

the weavers. And the

56:57

way that this trial played

56:59

out is in agreement with

57:01

that and is suggestive that

57:03

the public did side with

57:05

the weavers. So in July

57:07

of 1993 we have a

57:10

jury of 12. They issued

57:12

their verdict. The jurors had

57:14

concluded that the US Marshals

57:16

were the ones who in

57:18

fact fired the first shot.

57:20

Remember the defense called zero

57:23

witnesses. The prosecution called 56.

57:25

So it was all the

57:27

prosecution's witnesses and piecing together

57:29

their stories that the jury

57:31

concluded that it was the

57:33

US marshals that fired the

57:36

first shot right Killing the

57:38

dog Which the jury then

57:40

says set off the chain

57:42

of events leading to the

57:44

tragic deaths of three people

57:46

and the jury ultimately found

57:49

for the defense acquitting Kevin

57:51

Harris outright on all accounts

57:53

Randy Weaver was also found

57:55

not guilty on all felony

57:57

federal charges, but he was

57:59

convicted of two minor charges.

58:02

charges, failing to appear in

58:04

court and violating his bail

58:06

conditions. So in October, Randy

58:08

Weaver was sentenced to 18

58:10

months in jail. However, he

58:12

had already served 14 months

58:15

in jail while awaiting trial.

58:17

He was also fined $10,000.

58:19

This verdict was a scathing

58:21

pronouncement of the public's overwhelmingly

58:23

critical perception. of the federal

58:25

government's abuses denouncing its use

58:28

of entrapment and manipulation to

58:30

further its goals. Randy served

58:32

his sentence and was released

58:34

on December 17th 1993. He

58:36

reunited with his children who

58:38

were staying with family members

58:41

in Iowa. The weavers relocated

58:43

to Montana, where the surviving

58:45

family members filed a $300

58:47

million lawsuit against the federal

58:49

government for the wrongful deaths

58:51

of Vicky and Samuel Weaver.

58:54

In August of 1995, the

58:56

government settled the suit awarding

58:58

Randy $100,000 and $1 million

59:00

each to his three remaining

59:02

children. Five years later, Kevin

59:04

Harris received a $380,000 settlement

59:07

for his pain and suffering.

59:09

In 1993, the government launched

59:11

an investigation to the actions

59:13

of federal agents involved in

59:15

the Ruby Ridge standoff to

59:17

determine if any misconduct or

59:20

excessive force was used. By

59:22

June of 1994, the Department

59:24

of Justice delivered a report

59:26

condemning the agent's actions and

59:28

recommending reforms. The next spring

59:30

details of this 542-page report

59:33

were leaked to the press.

59:35

And in the fall of

59:37

1995, Randy Weaver testified at

59:39

a U.S. Senate judiciary hearing

59:41

about the Ruby Ridge incident.

59:43

Randy reflected that he had

59:46

been given a second chance.

59:48

He would have come down

59:50

the mountain to attend his

59:52

court appearance, thereby avoiding the

59:54

ensuing bloodshed and horror. He

59:56

maintained that while he still

59:59

believed in the separation of

1:00:01

the races, he emphatically denied

1:00:03

being a racist or white

1:00:05

supremacist, and that he did

1:00:07

not consider himself to be

1:00:09

superior to other races. He

1:00:12

ended by reiterating his grief

1:00:14

and frustration over not being

1:00:16

able to bring his wife

1:00:18

and son's killers to justice.

1:00:20

Now on that front... in

1:00:22

1997, Lon Hiroichi, the FBI

1:00:25

sniper responsible for Vicky Weaver's

1:00:27

death, was charged with involuntary

1:00:29

manslaughter. So the case moved

1:00:31

from state to the federal

1:00:33

court where the charges were

1:00:35

initially dismissed due to federal

1:00:38

immunity, given the situation we

1:00:40

talked about the rules of

1:00:42

engagement. This dismissal was later

1:00:44

reversed. But the charges were

1:00:46

ultimately dropped in 2001 due

1:00:48

to the time that had

1:00:51

passed making a conviction very

1:00:53

unlikely. In May of 2022

1:00:55

an online Facebook post of

1:00:57

Randy Weaver's daughter Sarah she

1:00:59

posted that her father had

1:01:01

passed away the previous day.

1:01:04

So this would be May

1:01:06

11th. After suffering a brief

1:01:08

illness in April of that

1:01:10

year, no cause of death

1:01:12

is given. He was 74

1:01:14

years old at the time

1:01:17

of his death. And Sarah

1:01:19

eulogized her father simply with

1:01:21

the line, Love You Always

1:01:23

Dad. The tragedy at Ruby

1:01:25

Ridge poses an age-old question.

1:01:27

Was self-described white separatist Randy

1:01:30

Weaver a radical right-wing extremist,

1:01:32

or the victim of blatant

1:01:34

and egregious governmental overreach? resulting

1:01:36

in disastrous consequences. Public sentiment

1:01:38

in the 1990s decided

1:01:40

in favor of

1:01:43

the latter. And

1:01:45

And upon examination,

1:01:47

it seems

1:01:49

that in truth,

1:01:51

it is

1:01:53

possible to be

1:01:56

both. We

1:01:58

can only hope

1:02:00

that the

1:02:02

bitter lessons learned

1:02:04

at at are

1:02:06

never forgotten,

1:02:09

particularly through the

1:02:11

2025 lens

1:02:13

of the deeply

1:02:15

divided state

1:02:17

of our nation.

1:02:26

I to thank everybody for

1:02:28

joining us here in the

1:02:30

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1:02:32

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