The recent ruling is the latest decision in the Ruby Ridge case, which resulted from a 1992 standoff in northern Idaho. We agree that Randy Weaver's separatist worldview is obnoxious. He was later found guilty of weapons laws. But an Idaho jury found that he and his friend, Kevin Harris, acted in self-defense in the death of the agent, and the jurors rejected federal conspiracy charges alleging Weaver and Harris provoked the confrontation. The FBI, it should be noted, operated at Ruby Ridge under loose rules of engagement effectively allowing any armed male to be shot on sight.
Standard rules allow suspects to be shot only to protect lives.
Ruby Ridge was a disaster, not only for the Weaver family but for the FBI's reputation. Yet top leaders of the FBI initially appeared unaware of the significance of the agency's actions. The agency official who planned the operation wasn't reprimanded for overreaching. Moreover, she was not visible to the marksman because she was standing behind the cabin's open door. Attorneys for the FBI sniper, Lon T. Horiuchi, said he fired to protect an agency helicopter flying overhead.