Jack of Harts

The Ruby Ridges standoff’s final stage was bleak indeed. US Marshals had killed Randy Weaver’s son. An FBI sniper killed Weaver’s wife, shot Weaver in the back, and shot the family friend in the chest. Third party civilian negotiators spent the next week trying to mediate terms of their surrender to the FBI. They finally got the family friend to agree to surrender on August 30, and took him and the body of Weaver’s wife out of the house. The FBI commander on site then ordered Weaver to surrender or they would stage a tactical assault on the house. Weaver and his daughters surrendered the next day. The government decided in the end not to charge his daughters for the standoff, but did charge Weaver with numerous and sundry crimes. The jury acquitted him of all charges except for failing to go to court on February 20. He received 18 months and a 10,000 dollar fine for that.