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The Trial That Exposed the Government's Case
Audio is available on Spreaker — see link below.
The Ruby Ridge trial ended in acquittals that shocked the country — and the evidence that emerged in the courtroom tells you exactly why. From a rigged firearms sting to unconstitutional rules of engagement, this is how the government's case fell apart.
Audio is available on Spreaker — see link below.
Before the trial, the government's case against Randy Weaver looked solid on paper. A firearms charge.
The original charge against Randy Weaver was a federal firearms violation. In nineteen eighty-nine, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms informant named Kenneth Fadley befriended Weaver through the Aryan Nations meetings at Hayden Lake, Idaho.
The shooting on August twenty-first, nineteen ninety-two, was the event that transformed a standoff into a catastrophe. Federal marshals conducting covert surveillance near the Weaver property were discovered by the family's dog, a yellow Labrador named Striker.
The day after the firefight, the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team arrived and replaced the marshals on the perimeter. What came with them was a set of rules of engagement that the presiding judge, Edward Lodge, later described as unconstitutional.
On August twenty-second, FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi fired twice. The first shot struck Randy Weaver under the arm from behind as Weaver was reaching to open the shed door where Sammy's body had been placed.
Prosecutors went to trial on multiple counts, including conspiracy. The conspiracy charge was the centerpiece.
The settlement came later. The Weaver family was awarded three million dollars by the federal government in a wrongful death action.
The trial's outcome is still misread in two directions. On one side, some treat it as proof that Randy Weaver was a hero or a victim with clean hands.
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