Reno Weighs Backing of FBI Shooter

Atty. Gen. Janet Reno is considering whether to take the side of the FBI sharpshooter accused of involuntary manslaughter in the 1992 clash between federal agents and anti-government separatists in Ruby Ridge, Ida.

Reno is being urged by some advisors to declare that FBI sharpshooter Lon Horiuchi acted in a necessary and proper way in the course of his federal employment when he fired the shot that killed Vicki Weaver, wife of anti-government figure Randy Weaver, according to government and non-government sources.

That argument could help provide grounds for moving the case out of Idaho state court and into federal court, where most observers predict Horiuchi would stand a better chance of acquittal. It also could serve as a defense for Horiuchi.

FBI Director Louis J. Freeh, while calling Vicki Weaver’s death “a terrible tragedy,” has long maintained that Horiuchi was properly making a split-second decision when he fired the fatal shot.

A similar declaration by Reno, however, would draw criticism that she should not lend the weight of her office to the court debate, given that Horiuchi already is represented by government-paid lawyers led by Earl J. Silbert, a veteran prosecutor and defense attorney.

Some Reno advisors are urging her not to become involved, leaving the motion for removal from the Idaho court and the defense to Silbert. And still others are suggesting that she take a middle course, supporting the legal motion to remove the case from Idaho courts but not lending her support to a defense position that Horiuchi was acting in a necessary and proper way in the normal course of his federal employment.

The defense that Horiuchi’s conduct was necessary and proper would stem from the 1890 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that ordered California to release a federal marshal, David Neagle. Neagle had shot and killed David Terry, after Terry assaulted Supreme Court Justice Stephen J. Field, who was traveling by train to Los Angeles, where he was to sit as a circuit judge.

The Supreme Court ruled that California could not try Neagle because the killing had occurred in the course of Neagle’s duties under federal law. He had been assigned to protect Field because Terry and his wife, angry over the judge’s decision against their claim to an estate, had threatened to kill Field.

Sources said those recommending that Reno not sign off on such a defense argument include Michael R. Stiles, the U.S. attorney in Philadelphia who headed a two-year investigation into Ruby Ridge. Stiles declined to confirm or deny his recommendation.

Whatever the outcome, Reno’s decision on the matter is sure to add to the controversy surrounding the Ruby Ridge incident.

Earlier this month, an Idaho magistrate threw out state murder and assault charges against Kevin Harris, a Weaver family friend, for allegedly killing a deputy U.S. marshal on the first day of the standoff. Magistrate Quentin Harden ruled that the Boundary County, Idaho, prosecutor’s charges against Harris, filed the same day that Horiuchi was charged by the same authority, violated Idaho’s law against double jeopardy. Harden cited Harris’ acquittal in July 1993 on federal charges of murder, conspiracy and assaulting a federal officer in the death of the deputy federal marshal.

The dismissal left only Horiuchi facing state charges over the Ruby Ridge incident.

The confrontation was precipitated when federal authorities attempted to bring in Randy Weaver for failing to appear in court on a federal gun charge. The day before Vicki Weaver’s death, the Weavers’ 14-year-old son, Sammy, was killed.

The Idaho shootout, like the government assault the next year on a religious compound near Waco, Texas, became a rallying cry for anti-government groups.

Horiuchi is expected to be arraigned in the state case in about a month. The deadline for filing a removal petition under Idaho law is 30 days after arraignment.