Editing Ruby Ridge standoff (section)

=== Rivera helicopter incident ===
Following a flyover by a hired helicopter for [[Geraldo Rivera]]'s ''Now It Can Be Told'' television show on April 18, 1992, the USMS received media reports that Weaver had shot at the helicopter.<ref>{{cite web |title=DOJR - IV. Specific Issues Investigated (Part E) |url=https://famous-trials.com/rubyridge/1128-fbihostage |website=www.famous-trials.com |publisher=Department of Justice |access-date=24 March 2024 |quote=Smith reported that TV show host Geraldo Rivera had unsuccessfully attempted to interview Weaver and that there were unconfirmed reports that Weaver had fired at Rivera's helicopter}}</ref><ref name=hsnfcb>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2lxWAAAAIBAJ&pg=6614%2C1355554 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |last=Morlin |first=Bill |title=Helicopter shot at near fugitive's cabin |date=April 23, 1992 |page=B1}}</ref> That day in Idaho, U.S. Marshals were installing surveillance cameras overlooking the Weaver property.{{r|rubyreportcover_39|p=3}} In a field report dated April 18, 1992, Marshal W. Warren Mays noted the sighting of a helicopter near the Weaver property but did not report hearing any gunfire. In an interview with a [[Coeur D'Alene, Idaho|Coeur D'Alene]] newspaper, Weaver denied that anyone had fired at the helicopter.<ref name="RRTF_OPR_IVCfn246">RRTF, ''Report of the RRTF to the OPR'' (1994), Ch. IV., §C.2.g.(2), footnote 246, pp. 78–80.</ref> When interviewed by the FBI, the helicopter pilot Richard Weiss said that Weaver had not fired on his helicopter. The ''Report of the RRTF to the OPR'' (1994) said, when the "indictment [of Weaver] was presented to the grand jury, the prosecution had evidence that no shots had been fired at the helicopter."<ref name=RRTF_OPR_IVL3afn1196>RRTF, ''Report of the RRTF to the OPR'' (1994), Ch. IV., §L.3.a., and footnote 1196, pp. 359-365.</ref><ref>Quoting footnote 1196 in its entirety, cited in the preceding: Only one of the four people in the helicopter thought he heard shots; the other three heard nothing of [''sic.''] were certain that the helicopter had not taken fire. A photographer in the helicopter saw someone gesture at the helicopter and thought he heard two shots on a boom microphone. [Report references for the foregoing statement,] FD-302 Interview of Dave Marlin, September 16, 1992. However, another passenger said that no shots has been fired and that "it would have been 'grossly unfair' to accuse the Weavers of shooting." [Report references for the foregoing statement,] FD-302 Interview of Richard Weiss, September 11 & 18, 1992, at 1–2; see FD-302 Interview of Brooke Skulski, September 28, 1992. Weaver denied that shots had been fired at the helicopter. [Report references for the foregoing statement,] "Fugitive: No Surrender," ''Coeur D'Alene Press,'' May 3, 1992, at 1. Deputy property [''sic.'', text presumed omitted] on the day of the alleged shooting, but was unaware of any evidence that shots had been fired. See Report of Investigation by Mays, April 18, 1992.</ref>

Media reports that Weaver had fired on the Rivera helicopter became part of the justification later cited by U.S. Marshal Wayne "Duke" Smith and FBI HRT Commander Richard Rogers in drawing up the Ruby Ridge [[rules of engagement]] on August 21–22, 1992. Also, in spite of Weiss's repeated denials that shots had been fired at his helicopter, Howen charged that, as Overt Act 32 of the Weavers' Conspiracy Against the Federal Government, Randy, Vicki, and Harris fired two shots at the Rivera helicopter.<ref>{{cite web |title=DOJR - IV. Specific Issues Investigated (Part L) |url=https://famous-trials.com/rubyridge/1135-indictmentscope |website=www.famous-trials.com |publisher=Department of Justice |access-date=24 March 2024 |quote=On or about April 18, 1992, Randall C. Weaver, Vicki Weaver, or Kevin L. Harris shot at or near a helicopter and its occupants}}</ref>

Operation "Northern Exposure" was suspended for three months due to the confirmation hearings for [[Director of the United States Marshals Service|United States Marshals Service Director]] [[Henry E. Hudson]].{{r|Walter02|p=158}}