WrittenBy Marc Kelley A year has now passed since FBI Director Christopher Wray spent his day answering questions before The Senate Judiciary Committee and speaking about his ideas on curbing the increase in violent crime sweeping across America. During the questioning Texas Senator Ted Cruz unveiled internal FBI training material which had been leaked by a “whistleblower”, and voiced his concern these documents are being used by the FBI to label U.S. citizens as “Militia Violent Extremists” (MVE’s). During his time, Senator Cruz asked Director Wray “What are y’all doing, do you honestly believe these historic American symbols represent Militia Violent Extremists.” With an answer which should come as a surprise to no one, Director Wray claimed to be “unfamiliar” with the documents Senator Cruz displayed; and as such, “makes a practice of not commenting on documents with which he was not familiar.” When pressed further by Senator Cruz, the dog and pony show continued, in typical political jibber jabber, Director Wray promised to look into the matter, to get to the bottom, and to find the truth. However, given the behavior of the FBI and its long and sordid history of having trouble distinguishing truth from fiction, a great many Americans believe, finding the truth was the last thing on Director Wray’s mind. Now that another year has passed can anyone tell me what we have learned from the FBI? |
 On the twenty-first of this month, our country will mark the 31st anniversary of the eleven day FBI siege at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. This event ended in tragedy and will forever remain as a stain on the reputation of the U.S. Governmental agencies involved. Those individuals who lost their lives in the mountains of Idaho include: U.S. Deputy Marshal W.F. Degan, Vicki Weaver, the Weavers’s fourteen year old son Sammy and his dog Striker. What follows is a true, albeit ugly story, backed up by the findings of the U.S. Senate’s Judiciary Committee during their investigation into how Randy Weaver became a target of the U.S. Government and how once in their sights, set in motion a series of events filled with deceptions, omissions and lies. |
| The FBI was not always the FBI; in fact, in its infancy the nation’s top law enforcement agency underwent many changes. In 1896 politician’s began to speak of perceived threats against the U.S. Government itself, as an “existential threat” to our democracy. It was this perception which drove the establishment of a new crime fighting agency called the National Bureau of Criminal Identification. The task of this agency was strictly limited to gathering intelligence and compiling files on known criminals. This system remained in place until September 6, 1901, when William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States, was assassinated by a blue collar, working-class man who truly believed his own Government was creating the great injustice in American society which allowed the ruling class to enrich themselves by exploiting the poor. This act in and of itself, fueled the already common belief, that the United States Government was under attack by anarchists seeking to change the social direction and ideology of the United States. Following the assassination of President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th President and vowed to quash the Anarchist movement. Roosevelt instructed then Attorney General Charles Bonaparte to organize an investigative service who would have vast autonomy and answer only to the U.S. Attorney General himself. Bonaparte initially recruited thirty-four individuals, including several members of the Secret Service, who would act as Special Agents and report to the “Chief” (The Director), of the newly formed Bureau of Investigation. In turn, the Chief would report directly to the U.S. Attorney General; thereby, establishing the story the newly formed agency would serve the people of the United States and remain free of political influence. |
| Randy Weaver was a Ret. U.S. Special Forces Green Beret who moved his wife and their four children to the mountains of Idaho in the 1980’s. The Weaver’s believed home schooling their children and insulating them from a world they perceived as corrupt, was the only way to preserve the values, morals, and freedoms in which they believed. The move came shortly after Vicki Weaver (Randy’s wife), a devout Christian woman, began experiencing recurrent dreams of the family living on a mountain top to escape what she believed would be the “apocalypse” as described in the Bible’s, Book of Revelations. Vicki believed the corruption In Washington D.C. had become so ingrained in our system, that our political leaders no longer served We the People, but rather had become, “Servants of the Queen of Babylon.” |
| Wanting nothing more than to be left alone and to raise their children, the Weaver’s socialized very little; yet somehow, managed to come into contact with an ATF informant named Rico Valentino. Valentino, a former WWE wrestler who portrayed himself as a gay hairstylist during his wrestling career, used his celebrity and homophobic persona to curry favor with a group of white supremacists living in Hayden Lake, Idaho. Valentino had begun working with the AFT sometime in the late 1980’s and was providing information on an Aryan Nation group operating in Idaho and known to have weaponry which was of interest to the ATF. It would be this chance encounter which would lead the ATF to attempt to recruit Randy Weaver as an additional informant. When Weaver refused, the ATF increased their focus on Weaver, believing his military training earned him additional scrutiny. Over the next three years Weaver had multiple conversations with Rico Valentino in which Valentino repeatedly asked to buy “sawed off shotguns” from Weaver. Finally, in July of 1989, Randy Weaver did in fact provide two sawed off shotguns to Valentino and was paid $ 300.00 for each. Valentino, who was wearing a wire at the time, gave a statement in which he indicated the ATF knew of the transaction as it occurred. Interestingly, no charges were filed at the time and interactions between Weaver and Valentino suddenly stopped. In 1990 Weaver was again approached by ATF Agents. This time the sawed off shotgun sale would be used as leverage by the ATF to attempt to force Weaver into becoming an informant. When Weaver again refused, the ATF filed charges against Weaver and in a sworn affidavit, asserted, “Weaver was a known bank robber with multiple criminal convictions.” It would take until the 1995 U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation for the U.S. Government to admit Randy Weaver had no previous criminal record. |
| Formal documents presented to the 1996 U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, cite a 1984 dispute over a three thousand dollar land deal with the Weaver’s neighbor, Terry Kinnison, and the ensuing Civil Lawsuit, as the catalyst for the event we now call Ruby Ridge. After losing the lawsuit, Weaver’s aggrieved neighbor wrote a letter to The FBI, The U.S. Secret Service, and The Boundary County Sheriff, alleging Randy Weaver had “ threatened to kill: Pope John Paul II, then President Ronald Reagan, and Idaho Governor John V. Evans. Even though no corroborating evidence was found verifying these threats, Randy Weaver had now become a person of interest to multiple agencies including: The ATF, FBI, and U.S. Marshalls Service. |
| Internal ATF documents spelled out their belief, it would be “too dangerous” to arrest Weaver at his home and they developed a plan to use undercover agents posing as stranded motorists with vehicle problems and stranded on the road, just outside of the Weaver property boundary. When the vehicle was noticed by the Weaver’s, they approached in their own vehicle and offered their help. The ATF arrested Weaver on the spot and when released on bail he was told his trial would begin February 19, 1991. In what we are to believe was a series of clerical errors and individual oversights, Randy Weaver’s trial date of February 19, 1991 was canceled and rescheduled for February 20,1991. Unbeknownst of the change, Weaver failed to appear on February 20, 1991 and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. |
| On March 14, 1992 Randy Weaver’s case was transferred from the ATF to the U.S. Marshall’s Service, as the Marshal’s are the law enforcement agency of the Federal Court. Several attempts by the Marshal’s Service to get Weaver to surrender peacefully failed as he refused to leave his cabin. Weaver had become increasingly suspicious of the Government and when he was told by his court appointed attorney, if he lost his case “ the government would seize his land, leaving his wife homeless and having no place to live, his children would be placed in foster care”. When Randy Weaver learned of this information the odds he would negotiate with U.S. Government official’s became slim to none. Weaver did agree to negotiate through a third party and just as some progress was being made, the process was cut short by U.S. Assistant Attorney Ron Howen when he gave the order the third party negotiations must cease, and all further communications be held through his negotiator. Viewing this move as just another government ploy, Weaver believed this action was yet another promise broken by the government and stopped all communication. |
| Beginning in early February, 1991, the U.S. Marshals began surveillance on the Weaver home with the intention of establishing a “Psychological Threat Profile” on Randy Weaver. Again, only through the investigation conducted by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, were the true facts learned. Assumptions made by the U.S. Marshals included: “Weaver was a former Green Beret who would shoot on sight, anyone attempting to arrest him. Weaver had collected certain types of arms, though no identification of the types of arms was disclosed. Weaver had employed booby traps on his property to create a defensive position. Weaver had dug escape tunnels throughout his property.” The government’s psychological profile characterized Weaver as an “extreme threat”, setting into motion a mindset fueled by group think. Again it would take the Congressional investigation to learn the truth about the “threat assessment.” Through questioning by Senator Dianne Feinstein, it was learned the person in charge of building the profile had no first hand knowledge of Randy Weaver, had never attempted to talk with him, and was so unfamiliar with the case, his reference to the subject throughout his assessment was limited to the name Mr. Randall. |
| The incident at Ruby Ridge had now caught the attention of the media and on April 18, 1991, Geraldo Rivera, sent a team of producers to fly a helicopter over the Weaver property, seeking to record live television footage. Reports from the media were given to the U.S. Marshals stating their helicopter had been fired upon by Weaver. Even though the pilot of the helicopter signed an affidavit stating “his helicopter was never fired upon”. Rivera’s false reporting combined with his ego and lack of journalistic ethic drove the narrative which became the justification to charge Randy Weaver with Conspiracy Against The Federal Government. On August 21,1991 six U.S. Marshals dressed in camouflage, armed with M16’s and Colt 9mm Sub-machine guns engaged in a gunfight with fourteen year old Sammy Weaver, killing the boy and his dog Striker. Also killed in this initial exchange was Deputy U.S. Marshal William “Bill” Degan who was struck in the chest by a 30.06 round fired by Weaver’s friend Kevin Harris. |
| Following the initial gunfight the U.S. Marshals requested back-up from both local law enforcement, as well as the FBI. By Saturday August 22, 1991, the FBI and Marshals service had drawn up “special rules of engagement” to be implemented at Ruby Ridge. The forces deployed during the day of August 22, included FBI Hostage Rescue Teams, as well as sniper teams. Before the FBI negotiators had arrived at the Weaver cabin, FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi spotted Randy Weaver. Interpreting the agreed upon “rules of engagement” as a “shoot on sight order”, Horiuchi fired a single round from his 308 rifle, striking Randy Weaver in the back. Horiuchi then fired a second round which struck Kevin Harris in the chest and when it exited his body, struck Vicki Weaver in the head, killing her instantly as she held her 10 month old daughter. |
| On August 23, 1991, communication with Weaver was once again attempted but would fail as a result of Weaver’s lack of trust in the government agents attempting to communicate with him. The siege would not end until August 30, 1991, when civilian negotiators including James “Bo” Gritz, a retired former Special Forces, Lt. Colonel and likely the only person on earth Randy Weaver would trust with his life, begged Weaver to “end the bloodshed and his personal suffering.” Weaver agreed to surrender only if Col. Gritz would oversee the removal of the bodies of his son and wife, which Col Gritz immediately promised to do. Both Randy Weaver and Kevin Harris were removed from the Ruby Ridge cabin and flown to Sacred Heart Medical Center. Weaver’s three daughters were released into the custody of relatives and faced no charges.Both Weaver and Harris were charged with a host of crimes by the Federal Government, and their trial began in April of 1993. Weaver was represented by Gerry Spence, who rested his case in mid June without calling a single witness for the defense of Randy Weaver. Observers present throughout the trial told countless reporters, Spence took the government case apart piece by piece, discrediting the government’s evidence, as well as each of their witnesses. Randy Weaver was acquitted on all charges with the exception of missing his original court date and violating the conditions of his bail. Weaver was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $10,000.00. Ultimately he served 16 months with time off for good behavior. Kevin Harris was represented by Attorney David Nevin an ACLU Lawyer, was also acquitted of all charges. In an act seen by many as nothing short of a vindictive abuse of power, the U.S. Government structured Weaver’s release to include the provision he would never be allowed to profit from telling the story of Ruby Ridge. After Weaver wrote a book titled: “The Federal Siege at Ruby Ridge: In our Own Words. The U.S. Government through the IRS prevented Weaver from selling his story. Left without any means of making money, Weaver would begin each day by loading cases of his book into his car and driving to a local Bar / Cafe in Kalispell, Montana. Weaver would sit for hours speaking to anyone who came to meet the man and hear his story. Weaver would not violate the order preventing him from profiting from telling his story; but rather, would give a signed copy to anyone who chose to leave money on the bar to pay for his dinner.Ruby Ridge and Randy Weaver have become symbols of the heavy hand of a government, hell bent on first finding a target and then finding the crime. This week as we remember Ruby Ridge, the Government would have us believe they acted in accordance with the law, and no one is above that law. When you contrast this ideology with the words and actions of the FBI today, we are left with far more questions than answers. As Senator Ted Cruz asked FBI Director Christopher Wray, “what are y’all doing”, he misses the big picture concept. The real question which should be asked is, given the hostile view of some 70 million U.S. citizens by the Biden Administration’s Dept. of Justice: where and when will the next Ruby Ridge occur?So here we find ourselves thirty plus years after Ruby Ridge. In this time both Democrats and Republicans have held power, and as such, controlled the U.S. Department of Justice and more specifically the FBI. From its earliest infancy as the National Bureau of Criminal Identification the FBI has been nothing more than a weaponized arm of the Justice Department, seeking not the truth, but rather total control over anyone they deem to be an “extremist.” |
