VICKI WEAVER
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Timothy McVeighTimothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was an American domestic terrorist who masterminded and perpetrated the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. The bombing itself killed 167 people (including 19 children), injured 684 people, and destroyed one-third of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. A rescue worker was killed after the bombing when debris struck her head, bringing the total to 168 killed. It remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. A Gulf War veteran, McVeigh became radicalized by anti-government beliefs. He sought revenge against the United States federal government for the 1993 Waco siege, as well as the 1992 Ruby Ridge incident. McVeigh expressed particular disapproval of federal agencies such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for their handling of issues regarding private citizens. He hoped to inspire a revolution against the federal government, and he defended the bombing as a legitimate tactic against what he saw as a tyrannical government. He was arrested shortly after the bombing and indicted on 160 state offenses and 11 federal offenses, including the use of a weapon of mass destruction. He was found guilty on all counts in 1997 and sentenced to death. McVeigh was executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001, at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. His execution, which took place just over six years after the offense, was carried out in a considerably shorter time than for most inmates awaiting execution, due in part to his refusal to pursue appeals or stays of execution.
Ruby Ridge standoffThe Ruby Ridge standoff was the siege of a cabin occupied by the Weaver family in Boundary County, Idaho, in August 1992. On August 21, deputies of the United States Marshals Service (USMS) came to arrest Randy Weaver under a bench warrant for his failure to appear on federal firearms charges after he was given the wrong court date. The charges stemmed from Weaver's sale of a sawed-off shotgun to an undercover federal informant, who had induced him to modify the firearm below the legal barrel length. During a surveillance operation, officer Art Roderick shot Weaver's dog when it ran at them and then pointed his rifle at Weaver's 14-year-old son, Samuel, who was armed. Samuel fired back at the marshals, and was shot in the back and killed by the team. In the ensuing exchange of fire, Weaver's friend Kevin Harris shot and killed Deputy Marshal William Francis Degan Jr. Weaver, Harris, and members of Weaver's immediate family refused to surrender. The Hostage Rescue Team of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI HRT) became involved as the siege was mounted. In the standoff, FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi shot Weaver, then shot Harris, but the second shot also hit and killed Weaver's wife Vicki. The conflict was ultimately resolved by civilian negotiators, including veteran activist Bo Gritz, who eventually convinced them to surrender. Harris surrendered and was arrested on August 30; Weaver and his three daughters surrendered the next day. Extensive litigation followed. Initially, Randy Weaver and Harris were tried on a variety of federal criminal charges, including first-degree murder for the death of Degan. In the successful defense, Weaver's attorney Gerry Spence accused the agencies that were involved of criminal wrongdoing, in particular the FBI, the USMS, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), and the United States Attorney's Office (USAO) for Idaho. Harris and Weaver were acquitted of all the siege-related charges, and Weaver was only found guilty of violating his bail terms and of failing to appear for a court hearing, both related to the original federal firearms charges. The Weaver family and Harris both filed civil suits against the federal government in response to the firefight and the siege. In August 1995, the Weavers won a combined out-of-court settlement of $3.1 million; Harris was awarded a $380,000 settlement in September 2000. In 1997, a Boundary County prosecutor indicted Horiuchi for the manslaughter of Vicki, but the county's new prosecutor controversially closed the case, judging that he would be unlikely to secure a conviction. The behavior of federal agents during these events drew intense scrutiny. At the end of Weaver's trial, the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility formed the Ruby Ridge Task Force (RRTF) in an attempt to investigate Spence's charges; their report raised questions about all of the participating agencies' conduct and policies. Another inquiry was led by the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Government Information, which held hearings between September 6 and October 19, 1995. It issued a report in which it called for reforms in federal law enforcement in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the losses of life at Ruby Ridge and to restore the public's confidence. Several documentaries and books were produced on the siege. The law enforcement's response at Ruby Ridge and during the Waco siege roughly six months later were both cited by Timothy McVeigh as his motivation to carry out the Oklahoma City bombing with Terry Nichols.
Lon HoriuchiLon Tomohisa Horiuchi (born June 9, 1954) is an American former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) sniper and former United States Army officer who was involved in the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff and 1993 Waco siege. In 1997, Horiuchi was charged with manslaughter for killing Vicki Weaver at Ruby Ridge; the charges were later dropped due to Constitutional supremacy, granting federal officers immunity from actions taken in the scope of their practice.
Randy WeaverRandall Claude Weaver (January 3, 1948 – May 11, 2022) was an American survivalist. He was a central figure in the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff with federal law enforcement at his cabin near Naples, Idaho, during which his wife, son and family dog were killed. 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. 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.
List of snipersA sniper is a trained sharpshooter who operates alone, in a pair, or with a sniper team to maintain close visual contact with a target and engage the targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the detection capabilities of enemy personnel.
The Siege at Ruby RidgeThe Siege at Ruby Ridge is a 1996 drama television film directed by Roger Young and written by Lionel Chetwynd about the confrontation between the family of Randy Weaver and the US federal government at Ruby Ridge in 1992. It was based on the book Every Knee Shall Bow by reporter Jess Walter. It originally aired as a two-part CBS miniseries titled Ruby Ridge: An American Tragedy on May 19 and May 21, 1996. The miniseries was edited together to become the film The Siege at Ruby Ridge.
List of ATF controversiesThe following is a list of controversies involving the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Throughout its history, the ATF has been the subject of a number of controversial cases, both at home and abroad. Notable examples include the sieges at Ruby Ridge and Waco, and the gunwalking scandal. These incidents have drawn intense criticism from gun activists and members of the United States Congress, who accuse the agency of excessive force, poor oversight and planning, and constitutional violations. The ATF's role in these events, along with broader concerns over its authority and mission, has led to repeated calls for its reform or abolition, including multiple legislative efforts to do so.
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