Editing Ruby Ridge standoff (section)

{{Short description|1992 standoff and shootout in Idaho}}
{{redirect|Ruby Ridge}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox Civil Conflict
| title = Ruby Ridge standoff
| image = {{multiple image|border=infobox|perrow=1/1|total_width=300
| image1 = VickiWeaverLastPhoto1992.jpg
| caption1 = {{resize|113%|Vicki Weaver as seen from a USMS surveillance position}}
| image2 = Weavers1992.jpg
| caption2 = {{resize|113%|USMS surveillance photo showing Sammy Weaver (right), Kevin Harris (center), Sara Weaver (left)}}
| footer = Both photos taken on August 21, 1992
}}
| date = August 21–31, 1992
| place = Near [[Naples, Idaho]]
| coordinates = {{coord|48|37|14|N|116|25|59|W|region:US-ID_type:incident}}
| causes = Failure of Randy Weaver to appear in court {{small|(due to being provided the incorrect court date)}}
| status = 
| goals = 
| result = Deaths of Deputy U.S. Marshal W. F. Degan, Samuel Weaver (juvenile), Vicki Weaver, and Striker (dog); prosecution of Randy Weaver and Kevin Harris (later acquitted); civil suits against the US
| methods = 
| side1 = Randy Weaver<br>
*Immediate family
Kevin Harris
| side2 = [[Federal government of the United States|United States]]
*[[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Marshals]]
*[[United States Border Patrol|USBP]]
*[[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|ATF]]
*[[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]]
*[[United States Secret Service|USSS]]
*[[National Security Agency|NSA]]
*[[Idaho Army National Guard]]
[[Idaho|State of Idaho]]
*[[Idaho State Police|ISP]]
| side3 = 
| leadfigures1 = 
| leadfigures2 = 
| leadfigures3 = 
| howmany1 = 
| howmany2 = 
| howmany3 = 
| casualties1 = 2 killed <br />2 wounded
| casualties2 = 1 U.S. Marshal killed
| casualties3 = 
| casualties_label = 
| notes = 
| map_type = USA#Idaho
| map_size = 260
| map_label = Ruby Ridge
| map_caption = Location in the [[United States]]##Location in [[Idaho]]
}}

The '''Ruby Ridge standoff''' was the siege of a cabin occupied by the Weaver family in [[Boundary County, Idaho]], in August 1992. On August 21, deputies of the [[United States Marshals Service]] (USMS) came to arrest [[Randy Weaver]] under a [[Arrest warrant#Bench warrant|bench warrant]] for his failure to appear on federal firearms charges after he was given the wrong court date.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Weaver's Lawyers Say Warrant Was Invalid -- Court Clerk Testifies That Suspect Was Given Wrong Date {{!}} The Seattle Times |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19930423&slug=1697496 |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=archive.seattletimes.com}}</ref> The charges stemmed from Weaver's sale of a [[sawed-off shotgun]] to an [[Law enforcement|undercover federal informant]], who had induced him to modify the firearm below the legal barrel length.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weiss |first=Philip |date=1995-01-08 |title=Off the Grid |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/08/magazine/off-the-grid.html |access-date=2025-01-19 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

During a surveillance operation, officer Art Roderick shot Weaver's dog when it ran at them and then pointed his rifle at Weaver's 14-year-old son, Samuel, who was armed. Samuel fired back at the marshals, and was shot in the back and killed by the team. In the ensuing exchange of fire, Weaver's friend Kevin Harris shot and killed Deputy Marshal William Francis Degan Jr. Weaver, Harris, and members of Weaver's immediate family refused to surrender. The [[Hostage Rescue Team]] of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI HRT) became involved as the siege was mounted.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Ruby-Ridge|title=Ruby Ridge &#124; History, Facts, Aftermath, & Map &#124; Britannica }}</ref> In the standoff, FBI sniper [[Lon Horiuchi]] shot Weaver, then shot Harris, but the second shot also hit and killed Weaver's wife Vicki. The conflict was ultimately resolved by civilian negotiators, including veteran activist [[Bo Gritz]], who eventually convinced them to surrender. Harris surrendered and was arrested on August 30; Weaver and his three daughters surrendered the next day.

Extensive litigation followed. Initially, Randy Weaver and Harris were tried on a variety of federal criminal charges, including first-degree murder for the death of Degan. In the successful defense, Weaver's attorney [[Gerry Spence]] accused the agencies that were involved of criminal wrongdoing, in particular the FBI, the USMS, the [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms]] (ATF), and the [[United States Attorney's Office]] (USAO) for Idaho. Harris and Weaver were acquitted of all the siege-related charges, and Weaver was only found guilty of violating his bail terms and of failing to appear for a court hearing, both related to the original federal firearms charges.<ref name="nyt18">{{cite news |title=18 Months in Jail for White Supremacist |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/19/us/18-months-in-jail-for-supremacist.html |access-date=July 22, 2017 |url-access=subscription |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 19, 1993}}</ref>{{r|Walter02}}{{page needed|date=August 2021}} The Weaver family and Harris both filed civil suits against the federal government in response to the firefight and the siege. In August 1995, the Weavers won a combined out-of-court settlement of $3.1 million; Harris was awarded a $380,000 settlement in September 2000. In 1997, a Boundary County prosecutor indicted Horiuchi for the manslaughter of Vicki, but the county's new prosecutor controversially closed the case, judging that he would be unlikely to secure a conviction.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Verhovek |first=Sam Howe |date=June 15, 2001 |title=F.B.I. Agent to Be Spared Prosecution in Shooting |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980CE2DA1731F936A25755C0A9679C8B63 |access-date=September 4, 2010 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite court|litigants=Idaho v. Horiuchi|court=9th Cir.|vol=266|date=June 5, 2001|url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1430138.html}}</ref>

The behavior of federal agents during these events drew intense scrutiny. At the end of Weaver's trial, the Department of Justice's [[Office of Professional Responsibility]] formed the Ruby Ridge Task Force (RRTF) in an attempt to investigate Spence's charges; their report raised questions about all of the participating agencies' conduct and policies. Another inquiry was led by the [[United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security|Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Government Information]], which held hearings between September 6 and October 19, 1995. It issued a report in which it called for reforms in federal law enforcement in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the losses of life at Ruby Ridge and to restore the public's confidence.<ref name="reformstatement">{{cite web |title=Opening Statement of Louis J. Freeh, Director Federal Bureau of Investigation |url=https://fas.org/irp/congress/1995_hr/s951019f.htm#reforms%20subsequent |publisher=fas.org |access-date=July 22, 2017 |date=October 19, 1995}}</ref> Several documentaries and books were produced on the siege. The law enforcement's response at Ruby Ridge and during the [[Waco siege]] roughly six months later were both cited by [[Timothy McVeigh]] as his motivation to carry out the [[Oklahoma City bombing]] with [[Terry Nichols]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Niebuhr |first1=Gustav |title=Terror in Oklahoma: Religion; Assault on Waco Sect Fuels Extremists' Rage |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/26/us/terror-in-oklahoma-religion-assault-on-waco-sect-fuels-extremists-rage.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=18 August 2018 |date=26 April 1995 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818084226/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/26/us/terror-in-oklahoma-religion-assault-on-waco-sect-fuels-extremists-rage.html |archive-date=August 18, 2018 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref>