Randy Weaver | |
|---|---|
 Mugshot, taken January 17, 1991 | |
| Born | (1948-01-03)January 3, 1948 Villisca, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | May 11, 2022(2022-05-11) (aged 74) U.S. |
| Other names | Pete Weaver |
| Education | Iowa Central Community College (dropped out) University of Northern Iowa (dropped out) |
| Known for | Ruby Ridge siege |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Service years | 1968–1970 |
| Rank | Sergeant |
| Awards | National Defense Service Medal |
| Signature | |
 | |
Randall Claude Weaver (January 3, 1948 – May 11, 2022) was an Americansurvivalist and self-proclaimedwhite separatist.[1][2] He was a central figure in the 1992Ruby Ridge standoff with federal law enforcement at his cabin nearNaples, Idaho, during which his wife, son and family dog were killed.[3][4] Weaver was charged with murder, conspiracy, and assault as well as other crimes. He was acquitted of most of the charges, but was convicted of failing to appear in court on a previous weapons charge and sentenced to 18 months in prison.[2] He and his family eventually received a total of $3.1 million in compensation for the killing of his wife and son by federal agents.[5]
Randy Weaver was born on January 3, 1948, to Clarence and Wilma Weaver, a farming couple inVillisca, Iowa. He was one of four children.[6][7] The Weavers were deeply religious and had difficulty finding a denomination that matched their views; they often moved around amongevangelical,Presbyterian, andBaptist churches.[8]: 20–21
After graduating fromJefferson High School in 1966, he attendedIowa Central Community College for two years. In 1968, he dropped out to enlist in theUnited States Army during the height of theVietnam War. He was stationed atFort Bragg inNorth Carolina, where he served as aGreen Beret.[4][8]: 23
In 1970, during a visit to his hometown while on leave, Weaver met his future wife Victoria "Vicki" Jordison. He introduced himself as "Pete", rather than his "hated" given name Randall.[8]: 20 He was discharged at the rank ofsergeant on October 8, 1971, and married Vicki the following month.[9]
A month after leaving the Army, Randy Weaver and Vicki Jordison married in a ceremony at the First Congregationalist Church inFort Dodge, Iowa, in November 1971. After a semester at theUniversity of Northern Iowa, Randy dropped out after finding well-paying work at a localJohn Deere factory.[8]: 25 Vicki worked first as a secretary and then as a homemaker.[10]
Around 1978, partially as a result of reading the 1970 bookThe Late Great Planet Earth, the couple began to harbor moreChristian fundamentalist beliefs, with Vicki believing that theapocalypse was imminent.[8]: 28 To follow Vicki's vision of her family surviving the apocalypse away from what they saw as a corrupt civilization, the Weaver family moved to a 20-acre (8-hectare) property in remoteBoundary County, Idaho, in 1983 and built a cabin there.[10] They paid $5,000 in cash ($13,000 in 2024[11]) and traded their moving truck for the land, valued at $500 an acre.[8]: 51
In 1988, Weaver decided to run for county sheriff by using the slogan "Get out of jail – free" and he was adamant about his decisionnot to pay taxes.[12]
While the Weavers subscribed to ideas that broadly fell under the category ofChristian Identity, their beliefs were still different.[13] Like many in that movement, Vicki Weaver developed a set of beliefs which were based on her adherence toOld Covenant Laws, and her family referred toGod asYahweh (seeSacred Name Movement). They also believed themselves to beIsraelites.[14]
In 1989, Weaver met Kenneth Fadeley at a meeting of the white supremacist groupAryan Nations.[15] Fadeley was actually an undercoverATF agent investigating the Aryan Nation complex under the alias "Gus Magisano".[16] Weaver agreed to sell Fadeley twosawed-off shotguns, and was recorded on tape saying he could supply Fadelay with four or five illegal shotguns a week.[17] In December 1990, Weaver received felony weapons charges in connection with the 1989 transaction.[16] During the initial encounter with Fadeley, the Weaver family relocated from a rental house to a cabin near Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in theSelkirk Mountains.[16] After charges were pressed against her husband, Vicki Weaver wrote toU.S. Attorney Maurice O. Ellsworth, addressing him as "Servant of the Queen ofBabylon" and writing, "The stink of your lawless government has reachedHeaven, the abode of Yahweh ourYashua", and "Whether we live or whether we die, we will not bow to your evil commandments."[18]
At the time of the Ruby Ridge siege, the Weavers had four children: Sara, 16; Samuel, 14; Rachel, 10; and Elisheba, 10 months. Vickihomeschooled the children.[10]
Ruby Ridge was the site of an 11-daypolice standoff in 1992 in Boundary County, Idaho, nearNaples. It began on August 21, when deputies of theUnited States Marshals Service (USMS) initiated action to apprehend and arrest Randy Weaver under a bench warrant after hisfailure to appear on firearms charges.[10]
Weaver refused to surrender and remained at home with his family and friend Kevin Harris. TheHostage Rescue Team of theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI HRT) became involved as the siege developed.[19]
During the Marshals Service reconnoiter of the Weaver property, six Marshals encountered Harris, and Randy's 14-year-old son, Sammy Weaver, in the woods near the family cabin. Ashootout took place. Marshals shot the Weavers' dog Striker, then shot Sammy in the back as he ran away, killing him. During the firefight, Harris shot Deputy U.S. Marshal, William Francis Degan, in the chest, resulting in Degan's death.[8]: 170–171
On August 22, 1992 FBI sniper/observers in the Hostage Rescue Team were dispatched to Ruby Ridge.[16] The team used specified "Rules of Engagement" which allowed them to shoot any armed adult male exiting the cabin.[12]
In the subsequent siege of the Weaver residence, led by the FBI, Weaver's wife Vicki was shot and killed[19] by an FBI sniper while standing in her home holding her 10-month-old daughter. Harris was critically wounded and almost died during the subsequent standoff. Weaver was shot once; he was not holding a weapon at the time.[10][20][21] All casualties occurred in the first two days of the operation. The siege and standoff were ultimately resolved by civilian negotiator,Bo Gritz, who was instrumental in getting Weaver to allow Harris to get medical attention. Harris surrendered and was arrested on August 30. Weaver and his three daughters surrendered the next day after being convinced by Gritz that there was no other sensible solution.[8]: 233–250
Weaver was charged with multiple crimes relating to the Ruby Ridge incident — a total of ten counts, including the original firearms charges. AttorneyGerry Spence handled Weaver's defense, and successfully argued that Weaver's actions were justifiable asself-defense. Spence did not call any witnesses for the defense, rather focusing on attacking the credibility of FBI agents and forensic technicians.[22] The judge dismissed two counts after hearing prosecution witness testimony. The jury acquitted Weaver of all remaining charges except two, one of which the judge set aside. He was found guilty of one count, failure to appear, for which he was fined $10,000, and sentenced to 18 months in prison.[2] He was credited with time served plus an additional three months, and was then released. Kevin Harris was acquitted of all criminal charges.[8]: 367–369
In August 1995, the US government avoided trial on a civil lawsuit filed by the Weavers by awarding the three surviving daughters $1,000,000 each, and Randy Weaver $100,000 over the deaths of Sammy and Vicki Weaver.[23]
Weaver testified about his racial beliefs before a U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee in 1995: "I'm not a hateful racist as most people understand it. But I believe in the separation of races. We wanted to be separated from the rest of the world, to live in a remote area, to give our children a good place to grow up."[3]
In 1995, Weaver was interviewed byNew York Times reporterKen Fuson and expressed regret about not appearing in court for his 1991 gun charge: "I'm not totally without fault in this."[24]
In April 1996, Weaver accompaniedBo Gritz toJordan, Montana, where Gritz was to attempt to negotiate a conclusion to theMontana Freemen standoff. However, Weaver was not allowed by the FBI to enter the Freemen's holdout.[25]
In 1998, Weaver publishedThe Federal Siege at Ruby Ridge: In Our Own Words, which he partly sold in person atgun shows.[14]
In 1999, Weaver married Linda Gross, alegal secretary, inJefferson, Iowa.[26]
On June 18, 2007, Weaver participated in a press conference with tax protestersEdward and Elaine Brown on the front porch of their home inPlainfield, New Hampshire.[27] He declared, "I ain't afraid of dying no more. I'm curious about theafterlife, and I'm anatheist."[28]
Weaver's daughter, Sara, posted online that he had died on May 11, 2022, after being sick since at least mid-April. A cause of death was not given.[29][30] He was 74 years old.[31]
ACBSminiseries about the Ruby Ridge incident, titledRuby Ridge: An American Tragedy, aired on May 19 and 21, 1996.[32] It was based on the bookEvery Knee Shall Bow by reporterJess Walter.[33] It starredLaura Dern as Vicki,Kirsten Dunst as Sara, andRandy Quaid as Randy.[33] Later that year, the television series was adapted into a full-length TV movie,The Siege at Ruby Ridge.[34]
PBS'American Experience aired an episode titled "Ruby Ridge" on February 14, 2017.[35]
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
