Militias Accept Charges As Another Defeat Some Are Convinced The Federal Government Is Behind This Latest Development In The Ruby Ridge Ordeal

Inland Northwest rebels - some of whom gathered at roadblocks during the 1992 Ruby Ridge siege - expressed more resignation than rage Thursday.

Militia leaders from Washington to Montana said charges filed against Kevin Harris and an FBI sniper would spark no rallying cry.

It merely marked another defeat.

“We’re used to it,” said Dan Black, leader of Washington’s Lake Chelan Militia. “We’ve been disappointed so many times; we can’t go around angry all the time. It’s no way to live.”

The activists believe sniper Lon Horiuchi should face a more serious charge than manslaughter - murder. They believe Harris should be left alone.

Some are convinced the federal government is behind the new charges, filed by Boundary County prosecutors.

But five years after the siege that helped ignite their movement, many militia leaders said they were simply tired of the whole mess.

“I’m almost getting sick of the Weaver issue,” said Hari Heath, leader of a patriot group in St. Maries. “It’s flogging a dead horse - though I guess there’s some life left in the horse.”

One-time presidential candidate Bo Gritz, the founder of Kamiah’s Almost Heaven covenant community, suggested new trials would take the bluster out of the movement.

“Some of the hives on our body politic have disappeared because we prosecuted that case” the first time, Gritz said.

Militia of Montana co-founder David Trochmann said people were already convinced the federal government screwed up.

“The feds more or less said they were guilty of doing something wrong when they paid off Randy Weaver and his kids,” Trochmann said.

The Justice Department two years ago gave the Weaver family $3.1 million to settle a civil claim. The government admitted no wrongdoing.

Don Griesel, whose St. Maries militia fell apart after the Oklahoma City bombing, said Horiuchi will just get off anyway. And Bill Smyth, leader of the Idaho Citizens Awareness Network, even offered sympathy for the sniper.

“In a way I kind of feel sorry for Horiuchi; he’s taking the heat for everybody,” Smyth said.

Even Richard Butler, leader of Hayden Lake’s Aryan Nations Church - the organization FBI agents originally asked Weaver to infiltrate - said he couldn’t care less.

“It don’t mean anything for us one way or the other,” Butler said.

, DataTimes