Randy Weaver Trial: 1993

On August 21, 1992, three armed federal marshals, without a warrant, entered the Weavers' property on a reconnaissance mission. Their rifles had silencers, and at the trial the defense suggested they intended to kill the family dog to permit them to approach nearer to the cabin unnoticed. On the road downhill from the cabin they encountered Randy Weaver, his 13-year-old son Sammy, and family friend Kevin Harris. All were armed and looking for game; the dog's barking had alerted them. The marshals hid in the woods and shouted, "Freeze!" When the Weaver party turned back toward the cabin, a marshal fired, killing the dog. Sammy returned the fire and then ran uphill. A marshal shot him in the back, killing him. Harris and Weaver also fired. At some point in the melee, one of the marshals, William Degan, was killed, and Harris was wounded. The surviving marshals made their way off the property.

The marshals' exaggerated story—that they had been victims of an unprovoked attack and had been pinned down for hours by gunfire from the cabin—led the government to cordon off the entire area and mobilize its heaviest law enforcement resources, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) crack Hostage Rescue Team. The following day, FBI snipers were stationed in the woods above the cabin and a helicopter was sent over. Their purpose was to protect federal agents who would have to approach the cabin. They were ordered to shoot to kill any armed adult male who appeared outside.

In the courtroom, Randy Weaver is holding the shot up door of his cabin. (AP/Wide World Photos)

In the late afternoon, Weaver, Harris, and 16-year-old Sara Weaver emerged from the cabin to retrieve Sammy's body. Weaver and Harris were armed. The snipers fired at them without warning, using a rifle especially designed for precision shooting at long distances, wounding Weaver in the arm. As the three fled back into the cabin, Vicki Weaver, holding her ten-month-old baby Elisheba, came out to hold the door open for them. A bullet fired by Lon Horiuchi, one of the snipers, passed through her temple, killing her.

After a ten-day standoff, Weaver, his remaining children, and Harris were persuaded to surrender to federal authorities, with the promise that Gerry Spence, one of the leading defense lawyers in America, would consider representing Weaver. The prosecutor would be Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Howen, who had handled Weaver's case ever since the original weapons charge.

After talking with Weaver, Spence agreed to represent him. He stressed, however, that he abhorred Weaver's racist views and was defending him simply as a victim of abusive government. In their interview, Spence began by saying, "I want you to know that I can't stand racists." Weaver replied, "I want you to know that I can't stand lawyers." Nonetheless, they managed to work together.