Editing Ruby Ridge standoff (section)

== Siege and controversy ==
[[File:Ruby Ridge - Protestors supporting Randy Weaver.jpg|thumb|Protestors supporting the Weavers]]
In the aftermath of the gunfight on August 21<!--, 1992,--> at 11:20 am [[Pacific Time Zone|PDT]], DUSM Hunt<ref name="huntcall" /> requested immediate support from Idaho law enforcement,<ref name="rubyreport517_545">{{cite web|title=Report of the Ruby Ridge Task Force|url=https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opr/legacy/2006/11/09/rubyreport517_545.pdf|website=justice.gov|access-date=January 24, 2022|date=June 10, 1994}}</ref>{{rp|518}} and he also alerted the FBI by notifying it that a Marshal had been killed.<ref name="huntcall" /> Following Hunt's phone call, the Marshals Service Crisis Center was activated under the direction of Duke Smith, associate director for Operations. The Marshals Service Special Operations Group (SOG) was alerted to deploy.{{r|rubyreport517_545|p=518}} In response to the USMS call, the Boundary County sheriff's office mobilized.<ref name=RRTF_OPR_IVE2a>RRTF, ''Report of the RRTF to the OPR'' (1994), Ch. IV., §E.2.a., pp. 128–131. US Border Patrol agents were among the respondents at Ruby Ridge, according to USMS Crisis Center logs, see footnote 454. Quote: By this time, agents from the U.S. Border Patrol, the Boundary County Sheriff's Office, and the [[Idaho State Police]] had reached the scene ...</ref> Also in response to the USMS request, Idaho Governor [[Cecil Andrus]] declared a [[state of emergency]] in Boundary County, allowing use of the [[Idaho National Guard]] Armory at [[Bonners Ferry, Idaho|Bonners Ferry]] and, after an initial delay, to use National Guard [[Armoured personnel carrier|armored personnel carriers]] (APCs).<ref name=RRTF_OPR_IVH2b>RRTF, ''Report of the RRTF to the OPR'' (1994), Ch. IV., §H.2.b., p. 235.</ref> Soon thereafter,{{when|date=February 2017}} the [[Idaho State Police]] arrived at the scene.<ref name=RRTF_OPR_IVE2a />

[[J. Edgar Hoover Building|FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC]], responded by sending the [[Hostage Rescue Team]] (HRT) from [[FBI Academy|Quantico]] to Idaho. Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Eugene Glenn of the [[Salt Lake City]] FBI office was appointed Site Commander with responsibility for all active individuals from the FBI, ATF, and USMS.{{r|rubyreport517_545|p=519}} A stand-off ensued for eleven days, as several hundred federal agents surrounded the house,<ref name="timelinestandoff">{{cite web|title=Ruby Ridge standoff: A timeline|url=http://www.spokesman.com/picture-stories/20-years-ago-ruby-ridge-standoff/|website=Spokesman.com|access-date=July 23, 2017}}</ref> and negotiations for a surrender were attempted.{{r|rubyreport517_545|p=521}}

=== Special ROE and sniper/observer deployment ===
By Saturday, August 22, special rules of engagement (ROE) were drafted and approved by FBI Headquarters and the Marshal Service for use on Ruby Ridge.{{r|rubyreport517_545|p=520}} According to the later RRTF report to the [[United States Department of Justice|DOJ]] (1994), the Ruby Ridge ROE were as follows:

# "If any adult in the area around the cabin is observed with a weapon after the surrender announcement had been made, deadly force could and should be used to neutralize the individual."
# "If any adult male is observed with a weapon prior to the announcement deadly force can and should be employed if the shot could be taken without endangering any children."
# "If compromised by any dog the dog can be taken out."
# "Any subjects other than Randy Weaver, Vicki Weaver, Kevin Harris presenting threat of death or grievous bodily harm FBI rules of deadly force apply. Deadly force can be utilized to prevent the death or grievous bodily injury to oneself or that of another."

(From the sworn statement of FBI SAC Eugene Glenn).<ref name="RRTF_OPR_IVF2b">RRTF, ''Report of the RRTF to the OPR'' (1994), Ch. IV., §F.2.b., text before footnote 553, and again after footnote 714 (the latter of which corresponds to this numbered list); at pp. 163–172.</ref>

As noted in a footnote to the report in this crucial section:

{{blockquote|The [ROE] was modified from "adult" to "adult male" [in ROE point 2] to exclude Vicki Weaver around 2:30 or 3:00 p.m. after consultation with [SAC Eugene] Glenn because Vicki Weaver was not seen at the site of Degan's slaying.<ref name=RRTF_OPR_IVF2b_fn553>RRTF, ''Report of the RRTF to the OPR'' (1994), Ch. IV., §F.2.b., footnote 553, in pp. 163–172.</ref>}}

The ROE were communicated to agents on site, including communication to HRT sniper/observers prior to deployment, communications that included the change of "adult" to "adult male" to exclude Vicki Weaver.<ref name=RRTF_OPR_IVF2b_fn553 /> Some deployed FBI agents, in particular the sniper/observers, would later describe the adopted ROE as a "green light" to "shoot on sight".<ref name=RRTF_OPR_IVF>RRTF, ''Report of the RRTF to the OPR'' (1994), Ch. IV., §F., pp. 155–228.</ref>

On Wednesday, August 26, four days after Vicki was killed, the ROE that had been in effect since the arrival of the HRT were revoked. Per Glenn's direction, the FBI's Standard Deadly Force Policy replaced the ROE to guide the law enforcement personnel that were to be deployed to the cabin perimeter. The FBI rules of deadly force in effect in 1992 stated that:

{{blockquote|Agents are not to use deadly force against any person except as necessary in self-defense or the defense of another, when they have reason to believe that they or another are in danger of death or grievous bodily harm. Whenever feasible, verbal warnings should be given before deadly force is applied.}}

This was in stark contrast to the permissive ROE adopted for the Ruby Ridge stand-off.<ref name="permissive">{{cite news|last1=Lardner Jr|first1=George|last2=Lei|first2=Richard|title=Permissive Rules of Engagement' at Issue in Ruby Ridge Shooting|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/07/14/permissive-rules-of-engagement-at-issue-in-ruby-ridge-shooting/41005d73-b0cd-4104-ac25-e6b02d27e734/|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=July 23, 2017|date=July 14, 1995}}</ref><ref name=WalterEveryKnee98>{{ cite book|author=Walter, Jess|year=1996|orig-year=1995|title=Every Knee Shall Bow: The Truth and Tragedy of Ruby Ridge and the Randy Weaver Family|page=[https://archive.org/details/everykneeshallbo00walt/page/190 190]|location=New York|publisher=HarperPaperbacks|isbn=0061011312|url=https://archive.org/details/everykneeshallbo00walt|url-access=registration|access-date=February 7, 2017}} The link to this title is to the 1996 edition.</ref>

=== Deployment of sniper/observers, ROE understanding ===
On August 22, the second day of the siege, between 2:30 and 3:30 pm, the FBI HRT sniper/observer teams were briefed and deployed to the cabin on foot.{{r|rubyreport517_545|p=520}}

According to the RRTF report to the [[United States Department of Justice|DOJ]], there were various views and interpretations taken of these ROEs by members of [[FBI Special Weapons and Tactics Teams|FBI SWAT]] teams in action at the Ruby Ridge site. Denver SWAT team leader Gregory Sexton described them as "severe" and "inappropriate." Two members of the Denver [[SWAT]] team said they were "strong" and a "departure from the ... standard deadly force policy", "inappropriate", and of a sort one "had never been given" before. The latter of these two members said that "other SWAT team members were taken aback by the Rules and that most of them clung to the FBI's standard deadly force policy." Another team member responded to the briefing on the ROE with "[y]ou've gotta be kidding."<ref name=RRTF_OPR_IVF2c_fns614616>RRTF, ''Report of the RRTF to the OPR'' (1994), Ch. IV., §F.2.c., from footnote 614 to 616, pp. 173–183.</ref>

But most of the FBI HRT sniper/observers accepted the ROE as modifying the deadly force policy. According to later interviews, HRT sniper Dale Monroe saw the ROE as a "green light" to shoot armed adult males on sight, and HRT sniper Edward Wenger believed that if he observed armed adults, he could use deadly force, but he was to follow standard deadly force policy for all other individuals. Fred Lanceley, the FBI Hostage Negotiator at Ruby Ridge, was "surprised and shocked" at the ROE, the most severe rules he had heard in more than 300 hostage situations. He later characterized the ROE as being inconsistent with standard policy.<ref name=RRTF_OPR_IVF2ag>RRTF, ''Report of the RRTF to the OPR'' (1994), Ch. IV., §F.2.a.–g., pp. 156–193.</ref><ref name=RRTF_OPR_IVF3a>RRTF, ''Report of the RRTF to the OPR'' (1994), Ch. IV., §F.3.a., pp. 200–208.</ref> The 1996 Senate report criticized the ROE as "virtual shoot-on-sight orders."{{r|Subcommittee|p=61}}

=== Sniper shoots: R. Weaver is wounded, V. Weaver is killed ===
Before the negotiators arrived at the cabin, FBI [[Police sniper|sniper]] [[Lon Horiuchi]], from a position over {{convert|200|yd}} north and above the Weaver cabin,<ref name=RRTF_OPR_IVF2f>RRTF, ''Report of the RRTF to the OPR'' (1994), Ch. IV., §F.2.f., p. 188.</ref> shot and wounded Randy Weaver in the back with the bullet exiting his right armpit, while he was lifting the latch on the shed to visit the body of his dead son.<ref name="usnews">{{cite journal|author=Witkin, Gordon|date=September 11, 1995|title=The Nightmare of Idaho's Ruby Ridge|journal=[[U.S. News & World Report]]|format=print and online news|volume=119|issue=10|page=24|url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/9509127523/nightmare-idahos-ruby-ridge|access-date=February 8, 2017|archive-date=February 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211082435/http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/9509127523/nightmare-idahos-ruby-ridge|url-status=dead}}</ref> (The sniper testified at the later trial that he had put his crosshairs on Weaver's spine, but Weaver moved at the last second.<ref>{{cite book|last=Spence|first=Gerry|year=2015|title=Police State: How America's Cops Get Away with Murder|url={{GBurl|MvFICgAAQBAJ|pg=PA51}}|page=51|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-1-250-07345-7}}</ref>) As Weaver, his 16-year-old daughter Sara,<ref name="People" /> and Harris ran back toward the cabin, Horiuchi fired a second bullet, wounding Harris in the chest. This bullet killed Vicki Weaver, who was standing behind the door of the cabin when Harris entered.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Newsweek Staff |date=August 28, 1995|title=The Echoes of Ruby Ridge|journal=[[Newsweek]]|pages=25–28|url=https://www.newsweek.com/echoes-ruby-ridge-182402 |access-date=February 8, 2017}}</ref> Vicki was holding the Weavers' 10-month-old baby Elisheba.<ref name="People">{{cite journal|author1=Hewitt, Bill |author2=Nelson, Margaret |author3=Haederle, Michael |author4=Slavin, Barbara |date=September 25, 1995|title=A Time to Heal|journal=[[People (magazine)|People]]|volume=45|issue=13|url=http://people.com/archive/a-time-of-heal-vol-45-no-13/|access-date=February 13, 2017}}</ref><ref name=IdahoVHoriuchi1>{{cite court|litigants=State of Idaho v. Lon T. Horiuchi [1]|court=9th Cir.|date=June 5, 2001|url=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/9830149p.pdf |access-date=|via=Findlaw.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite episode|title=Ruby Ridge|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/ruby-ridge/|last=Goodman|first=Barak|access-date=July 23, 2017|series=American Experience|season=29|number=6|series-link=American Experience|network=PBS|date=February 14, 2017|time=30:00}}</ref>

=== Constitutionality of the second shot ===
The RRTF report to the [[United States Department of Justice|DOJ]]'s [[Office of Professional Responsibility]] (OPR) of June 1994 stated unequivocally in conclusion (in its executive summary) that the rules that allowed the second shot to have been made did not satisfy constitutional standards for legal use of deadly force.<ref name=RRTF_OPR_IB>RRTF, ''Report of the RRTF to the OPR'' (1994), Ch. I., §B., pp. 2–6.</ref> The 1996 report of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Government Information, [[Arlen Specter]] [R-PA], chair, concurred, with Senator [[Dianne Feinstein]] [D-CA] dissenting.<ref name=SenSubcommTerrorism96_D4c88>U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, ''Ruby Ridge: Report'' (1996), Ch. D. §&nbsp;4.c., p. 88. Quoting from the report: "c. Legality of the Second Shot / The Subcommittee believes that the second shot was inconsistent with the FBI's standard deadly force policy and was unconstitutional. It was even inconsistent with the special Rules of Engagement. [Footnote 1: Senator Feinstein dissents ...]"</ref> The DOJ's RRTF report said that the lack of a request for surrender before Agent Horiuchi's second shot was "inexcusable", as Harris and the Weavers were running for cover at the time and did not pose an imminent threat.<ref name="alle">{{cite book|last1=Balleck|first1=Barry J.|title=Allegiance to Liberty: The Changing Face of Patriots, Militias, and Political Violence in America|date=2014|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1440830969|page=145|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E_k7BQAAQBAJ&q=request+to+surrender+ruby+ridge&pg=PA145}}</ref>{{r|Subcommittee|p=89}}

The later Justice task force criticized Horiuchi for firing through the door, when he did not know if anyone was on the other side of it.<ref name="alle" /> While there is a dispute as to who approved the rules of engagement which Horiuchi followed, the task force condemned the rules of engagement that allowed shots to be fired without a request for surrender.<ref name="alle" /><ref name="usnews" />

=== Situational reevaluation, ROE is suspended, the siege ends ===
The FBI's HQ and the Site Commanders in Idaho both re-evaluated the situation based on information about what had happened on August 21 which they were receiving from U.S. Marshals Hunt, Cooper and Roderick. On August 23, repeated attempts to negotiate with Weaver via a bullhorn failed; there was no response from the cabin.{{r|rubyreport517_545|p=520}}

On about Monday, August 24, the fourth day of the siege, FBI Deputy Assistant Director [[Danny Coulson]], who did not know that Vicki Weaver had been killed,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Newton|first1=Michael|title=The FBI Encyclopedia|date=2012|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1476604176|page=154|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=74beCQAAQBAJ&q=Danny+Coulson%5D%5D,+who+was+unaware+that+Vicki+Weaver+had+been+killed&pg=PA154}}</ref> wrote a memo about the Weavers' legal position. The memo is recorded in the 1996 report (although it is unclear whether the Senate Subcommittee or Coulson himself censored the word "shit"):

{{blockquote|Something to Consider<br />
1. Charge against Weaver is Bull S___.<br />
2. No one saw Weaver do any shooting.<br />
3. Vicki has no charges against her.<br />
4. Weaver's defense. He ran down the hill to see what dog was barking at. Some guys in camys [camouflage] shot his dog. Started shooting at him. Killed his son. Harris did the shooting. He is in pretty strong legal position.{{r|Subcommittee|p=56}}
}}

The stand-off was ultimately resolved by civilian negotiators including [[Bo Gritz]], to whom Weaver agreed to speak.{{r|rubyreport517_545|p=521}} The wounded Harris, who had earlier urged Weaver for a [[mercy killing]], was convinced by Gritz's mediation to surrender on Sunday, August 30. Harris was removed from the property via stretcher and was then flown by a [[medical evacuation]] helicopter (a [[Bell UH-1N Twin Huey|Bell UH-1N]] belonging to the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]]) to [[Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital|Sacred Heart Medical Center]] in [[Spokane, Washington|Spokane]].<ref name=hrgivsp>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JnUzAAAAIBAJ&pg=5938%2C8470384 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |last1=Walter |first1=Jess |last2=Morlin |first2=Bill |title=Harris gives up; Weavers remain |date=August 31, 1992 |page=A1}}</ref><ref name=laednr>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=p-4qAAAAIBAJ&pg=5928%2C99701 |work=Moscow-Pullman Daily News |location=(Idaho-Washington) |last=Ashton |first=Linda |agency=Associated Press |title=End to siege drawing near |date=August 31, 1992 |page=1A}}</ref><ref name="gritzexp">{{Cite episode |title=Ruby Ridge |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/ruby-ridge/|last=Goodman|first=Barak|access-date=July 23, 2017 |series=American Experience|season=29|number=6|series-link=American Experience|network=PBS|date=February 14, 2017|time=45:15}}</ref> Weaver allowed the removal of his wife's body, which Gritz oversaw.<ref name=hrgivsp /><ref name=laednr /><ref name="gritzexp" />

[[File:Ruby Ridge - Surrender of Randy Weaver.jpg|thumb|Bo Gritz and FBI agents escort Randy Weaver down the mountain on August 31, 1992]]
The FBI HRT Commander gave Gritz a deadline to get the remaining Weavers to surrender, and if they did not surrender on the day of the deadline, he said he would resolve the standoff by launching a tactical assault.<ref name=BockAmbush98>{{cite book|author=Bock, Alan W.|author-link=Alan Bock|year=1998|orig-year=1995|title=Ambush at Ruby Ridge: How Government Agents Set Randy Weaver Up and Took His Family Down|location=Collingdale, PA|publisher=Diane Books|isbn=1880741482|url=https://archive.org/details/ambushatrubyridg00bock}}{{full citation needed|date=February 2017}}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2017}} Weaver and his daughters surrendered the next day; both Harris and Weaver were arrested.<ref name=fwaicrt>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=db8jAAAAIBAJ&pg=5873%2C230430 |work=Moscow-Pullman Daily News |location=(Idaho-Washington) |last=Wiley |first=John K. |agency=Associated Press |title=Fugitive's war in court |date=September 1, 1992 |page=1A}}</ref> Harris was in serious condition at Sacred Heart, but U.S. Marshals did not allow his parents to see him (or talk by telephone) until Monday evening, after a [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington|federal court]] order was issued.<ref name=aglvrrtr>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lVxWAAAAIBAJ&pg=4771%2C1350970 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |last=Guthrey |first=Molly |title=Agents leave Ruby Ridge to residents |date=September 2, 1992 |page=B1}}</ref> Weaver's daughters were released to the custody of relatives. Federal officials considered charging Sara, who was 16, as an adult.<ref>{{cite book|author=Neiwert, David A.|year=1999|title=In God's Country: The Patriot Movement and the Pacific Northwest|location=Pullman|publisher=[[Washington State University Press]]|page=66|isbn=0874221757|url=https://archive.org/details/ingodscountrypat00neiw |url-access=registration|access-date=February 8, 2017}}</ref>

Weaver was transferred by military helicopter to the [[Sandpoint Airport|airport]] at [[Sandpoint, Idaho|Sandpoint]] and from there he was flown by USMS jet to [[Boise, Idaho|Boise]]. There he was given a brief medical examination at [[St. Luke's Boise Medical Center|St. Luke's Medical Center]]. He&nbsp;was held at the [[Ada County, Idaho|Ada County]] jail and arraigned in federal court the following day, Tuesday, September&nbsp;1.<ref name=wcdfrm>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6ZhfAAAAIBAJ&pg=3635%2C3827 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |agency=Associated Press |last=Wiley |first=John K. |title=Weaver comes down from the mountain |date=September 1, 1992 |page=1A}}</ref><ref name=wsfakwir>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lVxWAAAAIBAJ&pg=2825%2C1353013 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |last=Miller |first=Dean |title=Weaver says federal agents killed wife in retaliation |date=September 2, 1992 |page=A1}}</ref>