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To: peteypupperdoo
Weaver did have a warrant for his arrest, but because he was given 3 different appear dates, he thought it was a set up. He’s not innocent in this.

(Ruby Ridge slide) Here's a bit more on it - he is basically as innocent as Flynn.

After moving to Ruby Ridge, Weaver became acquainted with members of the Aryan Nations in nearby Hayden Lake. He even attended some rallies. The FBI believed his involvement in the church was much deeper than it actually was – they thought he was a regular congregant of the Aryan Nations and had attended the Aryan Nations World Congress.

Both Randy and Vicki were interviewed by the FBI in 1985, with Randy denying membership in the group, citing profound theological differences. Indeed, the Weavers (who had some points of agreement with the Aryan Nations, primarily about the importance of the Old Testament) mostly saw their affiliation with the Aryan Nations as a social outlet. Living off-grid, the nearby members of the Aryan Nations were neighbors in remote northern Idaho.

Later, in 1986, Randy was approached at a rally by undercover ATF informant Kenneth Faderley, who used a biker alter ego of Gus Magisono and was currently monitoring and investigating Weaver’s friend Frank Kumnick. Faderley introduced himself as an illegal firearms dealer from New Jersey. Randy later encountered Faderley at the World Congress of 1987. He skipped the next year’s Congress to run for county sheriff, an election that he lost.

The ATF claims that in 1989, Faderley purchased two illegally shortened shotguns from Randy Weaver. However, Weaver disputes this, saying that the shotguns he sold Faderley were entirely legal and were shortened after the fact. The notes from the case show that Faderley purchased the guns and showed Weaver where to shorten them, which would constitute illegal entrapment. What’s more, the government preyed on the destitute nature of the Weavers, who lived in a small cabin in the woods with no electricity or running water.

The real purpose of the investigation was not to grab Weaver, but to use him to infiltrate a group in Montana being organized by Charles Howarth. In November 1989, Weaver refused to introduce Faderley to Howarth, and Faderley was ordered by his handlers to have no further contact with Weaver.

In June 1990, Faderley’s cover was blown. It was then that the ATF reached out to Weaver, stating that they had evidence he was dealing illegal firearms. They told him they would drop all charges if he would agree to become their new informant regarding the investigation of the Aryan Nations groups in the area. Weaver refused. To coerce him into changing his mind, the Feds staged a stunt where a broken down couple were at the side of the road. Weaver stopped to help them and was handcuffed, thrown face down in the snow and arrested. He had to post his home as bond. Still he refused to become a federal informant.

The irony of the federal government’s desire to obtain informants within the Aryan Nations is that different branches of federal law enforcement and intelligence gathering occupied five of the six key positions in the organization. This means that the Aryan Nations were effectively a government-run shop, with agents spying on each other to ensure the integrity of an investigation – into an organization almost entirely run by the federal government. The government had an obsession with the Aryan Nations due to Robert Jay Matthews, who was a member of The Order, a terrorist organization including members of the Aryan Nations. The FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team burned Matthews alive inside his own home.

Due to his ongoing refusal to snitch, Weaver was then arrested in January 1991, on illegal firearms sales charges. These charges stemmed from Weaver’s earlier “sale” of two shortened shotguns to Faderley, the undercover ATF agent – a sale which the feds later admitted constituted illegal entrapment.

I wouldn't doubt that there are more than a couple of 'FBI informants' on or monitoring this thread.

1,059 posted on 08/19/2020 10:36:00 PM PDT by eldoradude (Bad robot)
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To: eldoradude; All

Thank for the info. Very good rundown of events.


1,197 posted on 08/20/2020 5:56:44 AM PDT by Wegelhof (If the Articles don' fit, you must acquit.)
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To: eldoradude
***Due to his ongoing refusal to snitch, Weaver was then arrested in January 1991, on illegal firearms sales charges. These charges stemmed from Weaver’s earlier “sale” of two shortened shotguns to Faderley, the undercover ATF agent – a sale which the feds later admitted constituted illegal entrapment***

Thanks for the more complete informative post. Randy Weaver was a patriotic veteran but susceptible to his wife's increasingly radical religious views. Apparently they did a bit of stealing and failing to meet some personal obligations, but it was generally petty stuff.

Unquestionably Weaver was entrapped by an undercover govt agent. I mentioned Ron Noble who was deeply involved in the USGvt's heavy handed enforcement against the far right groups. After Waco many somewhat more acceptable patriots agreed they would not allow another enforcement massacre. That pledge became manifested when armed govt agents were sent against the Bundy's (I forget many of the details.) The govt backed off there. There were some earlier potential incidents.

Whatever the dynamics of the previous, IMO there is an (unspoken?) understanding between the USGvt and the rightist patriot groups that govt enforcement operations should be proportional to the threat and carefully executed. The problem with that is the intrusion of the media. The media was very instrumental in motivating the excesses at Ruby Ridge and Waco.

1,246 posted on 08/20/2020 7:22:01 AM PDT by Bob Ireland (The Democrap Party is the enemy of freedom.They use all the seductions and deceits of the Bolshevics)
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