Date: Thu, 14 May 1998 16:30:12 -0400 (EDT)
From: Richard Hartman <[r l h] at [recon.org]>
To: Multiple recipients of list <[n--b--n] at [Mainstream.net]>
Subject: Charge in Ruby Ridge Case Dismissed

This is a very sorry day for "justice" in this country.

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     BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- A federal judge today dismissed state involuntary
manslaughter charges against FBI sharpshooter Lon Horiuchi, who killed the
wife of white separatist Randy Weaver during the 1992 siege at Ruby Ridge,
Idaho.
     U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge accepted the Justice Department
argument that Horiuchi was acting in the line of duty when he fired and was
protected by the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, in that he was
working within the scope of his job.
     Boundary County Prosecutor Denise Woodbury charged Horiuchi last August
with firing the shot that went through the cabin door and killed Vicki
Weaver as she held her baby daughter.
     It was the third death in the 11-day standoff that began when federal
marshals maneuvering around the isolated mountain cabin trying to arrest
Weaver on a gun charge encountered Weaver's son, Samuel, and his dog. An
exchange of gunfire left the 14-year-old boy and Deputy Marshal William
Degan dead.
     Woodbury maintained Horiuchi acted negligently. Horiuchi contended
throughout that he was following the procedures set out for dealing with the
Ruby Ridge confrontation.
     ``I think it's a travesty the people of Idaho can't have their day in
court with Lon Horiuchi because he's a federal agent,''said Chuck Peterson,
one of the attorney's who represented Weaver during the criminal case
against him five years ago.
     ``That seems absurd,'' Peterson said. ``This clearly isn't a
vindication of Horiuchi. It's like the Simpson verdict. We all knew he did
it. There's just nothing we can do about it.''
      Woodbury did not immediately respond to a telephone call requesting
comment. But Robert Huntley, the former Idaho Supreme Court justice who was
one of the attorneys representing Horiuchi, speculated that an appeal was
unlikely.
     ``I would be surprised if there was anyone who would want to put up the
money for an appeal because the judge wrote a very carefully thought-out
opinion based on factual circumstances,'' Huntley said.
     Weaver, who is now living in Montana and writing a book about the
incident, and associate Kevin Harris were acquitted of all federal charges,
including murder, resulting from the siege. A state charge of murder against
Harris filed last August was dismissed under the double jeopardy protection.
     Another Horiuchi attorney, Patricia Maher, maintained the agent fired
with the understanding that Harris was holding a rifle outside the cabin,
that Harris was a suspect in Degan's killing and that Harris might open fire
on an FBI helicopter that was circling overhead at the time.
     And the fact that he was charged with involuntary manslaughter meant he
acted without malice, she said.
     The U.S. Justice Department decided in 1994 against prosecuting
Horiuchi, or any of his FBI superiors and reaffirmed the decision last year.
     Larry Potts, once the FBI's No. 2 official, and his chief aide, Danny
Coulson, were accused of destroying records to cover up the identity of the
official that allowed agents to shoot at any adult male seen outside the
Weaver cabin. Potts was suspended and ultimately denied the bureau's No. 2 job.
     E. Michael Kahoe, former chief of the violent crimes section, was
sentenced to 18 months in prison for destroying a report criticizing the
bureau's role in the shootout.
     A $10 million lawsuit filed by Harris against the federal government is
pending. Weaver filed a similar lawsuit, which last year resulted in a $3.1
million settlement.