Ruby Ridge Standoff | Down from the Mountain | 4

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0:24It's the evening of August 28, 1992, on Ruby Ridge in the mountains of North Idaho. Former Special Forces agent and right-wing personality Bo Grites sits inside an armored personnel carrier as it slowly drives up a steep slope. The rocky terrain makes for a bumpy ride, and Greitz holds tight to a handle on the ceiling. Also in the vehicle is FBI negotiator Fred Lansley. The two men are on their way to a ramshackle cabin at the top of the hill where Randy Weaver, his family, and a friend have been holed up for nearly a week following a shootout with government agents. Two days ago, Greitz appeared at a protest near the property.

1:02He wanted to show his support for the Weaver family and offered to negotiate an end to the standoff. At first, the FBI brushed him off, but yesterday all that changed. When Weaver learned that Greitz was in Idaho, he asked the FBI to send him up to the mountain to talk face to face.

1:21The armored vehicle comes to a stop 200 feet from the cabin, and Greitz gets to work. He undoes the hatch on the roof of the vehicle and tilts a megaphone toward the opening. Randy, this is Bo Greitz. They say you want to talk to me. Can you hear me? Weaver yells something in response, but Grites can't make it out. He turns to Lansley. I'm going to stick my head out of the roof here, but don't worry, he's not going to shoot me. And if he does, well, I've been shot at before. Grites stands up and lifts his head and shoulders through the hatch. Randy, please speak up so I can hear you. Is everyone all right in there?

1:57No, no. I've been hit in the hand. Kevin's shot in the shoulder. He's in a lot of pain and Vicky's dead. A sniper shot her in the head. The feds are trying to cover it up, Bo. Greitz is shocked because no one has told him this. Randy, I'm so sorry. We're going to bring this vehicle closer so you and I can talk face to face without this megaphone. But as Greitz looks to FBI negotiator Lansley, he shakes his head, reluctant to move any closer. Greitz ducks down into the APC. Hey, look, Fred, your guys seem to have killed Randy's wife. We need to show some human touch here if we want to build trust.

2:36Lansley gives a reluctant nod and moves away from the hatch to give instructions to the driver. The APC moves closer to the cabin, and as soon as it stops, Grites opens the door and steps outside. He then raises his palms in the air, showing he's not a threat. He walks slowly toward the cabin, stopping just a few feet from the door. Hey, Randy, it's me, Bo. I'm real sorry about Vicki. I have no idea. Weaver's strained voice comes through the door. I've been telling the feds for days, but they're pretending not to hear. They don't want people to know the truth. Well, maybe so. But now I know, don't I?

3:13And I promise the rest of the world will know, too, as soon as I get back down the hill. Well, be careful they don't shoot you. You got it out for people like you and me, Bo, patriots and Christians. I know what you mean, Randy. But look, your sister and Vicki's family are down the hill. We're all praying that you and the kids come out of that cabin safe. Maybe you could let me take the kids now. and I can bring them to see their grandparents. Grides waits through a long silence. Bo, I appreciate you coming, but I think we've done enough talking here today. You just head back now and tell everyone about Vicki and break it easy to her folks.

3:47Tell them she didn't suffer. All right, I understand, and I'll do what I promise. Glad we talked, Randy. I'll come back up here tomorrow if that's okay. As Grides walks back to the FBI vehicle, he feels a glimmer of hope. The news about Vicky is shocking, but he's the first person to get that close to the Weaver's home without trouble since the standoff began. And Greitz knows that from here on out, he'll be the broker between the two sides. He just hopes that he'll be able to resolve the situation with words before the government decides to do so with force.

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5:34From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American Scandal.

5:58By the night of August 28, 1992, the standoff on Ruby Ridge was nearly a week old, and three people were dead. U.S. Marshal Billy Deegan had been killed in the initial firefight, along with Randy Weaver's 14-year-old son, Samuel. Then a day later, Vicki Weaver had been shot by an FBI sniper. All subsequent attempts to negotiate an end to the siege had failed, and almost no one had even been able to talk to Randy until the arrival of Beau Grites. As a former soldier and an icon of the far right, Grites had the credentials to win Randy's trust, and the federal authorities soon realized that he was their best hope of ending the standoff without more bloodshed.

6:37So after the news of Vicki Weaver's death was announced to the public, the FBI sent Greitz back up the hill to continue negotiations with the Weavers. But this time, he wouldn't go to the cabin alone. This is Episode 4, Down from the Mountain.

6:54It's the morning of August 29, 1992, on Ruby Ridge. A short distance from the Weaver's cabin, family friend Jackie Brown stands beside Richard Rogers, head of the FBI's hostage rescue team. Brown holds a large cardboard box filled with supplies, fresh fruit, milk, apple juice, and baby formula. Bringing groceries to the Weaver's is nothing new for Brown. She's been running errands for the family ever since Randy became a fugitive 18 months ago, but she never imagined she'd be doing so while a federal agent with a rifle stood guard next to her. Both Brown and Rogers are watching as Bo Grites finishes his conversation with Randy from outside the cabin door.

7:34Then he steps away and heads toward them. He tells Brown that the Weavers have asked her to go inside alone. But before Brown can move, Rogers grabs her shoulder. He tells her to be quick because if she stays in the cabin too long, the FBI will have to consider her a hostage or worse, an accomplice. With that warning ringing in her ears, Brown heads to the cabin with the supplies. She climbs the porch's creaky wooden steps and calls out to the weavers in a loud voice. She says that she's alone and asks them to unlock the door. A moment later, she hears the bolt sliding back. She nudges the door open with her foot and steps inside.

8:12Immediately, she sets the box on the floor and locks the bolt behind her. It takes a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness of the cabin, but then Brown sees Randy and his daughters huddled in a corner of the far side of the cabin. Randy is holding a rifle. Sixteen-year-old Sarah and ten-year-old Rachel are also both armed, while ten-month-old Elisheba is on the floor at their feet playing with blocks. The family's friend, Kevin Harris, is slumped on a recliner nearby. He looks too weak to stand. And as Brown's gaze wanders to the kitchen area, she sees Vicki's body underneath the table covered in a bloody sheet.

8:50Vicki was one of her best friends, but Brown wants to stay strong for the family, so she tries not to get too emotional. But then the Weaver girls rush across the cabin and throw their arms around her, and all three begin to cry. Wiping away her tears, Brown suddenly remembers the FBI's warning. She escapes the children's embrace and picks up the cardboard box. While she hands out the supplies, Randy lays out the saga of the past week. He explains they never intended to shoot it out with the feds, but the marshals ambushed them when they were out hunting, and everything spiraled from there. Brown asks what it will take to end the standoff, get the family safely out of the cabin.

9:28But it's Sarah who speaks up, saying that that will never happen. The feds will take the first chance they can to finish off the rest of the family. Brown isn't sure what to think. When she was talking to the FBI, it seemed like the government was desperate to end things peacefully. But now that she's heard the story from the family's side, she wonders if maybe Sarah is right. The government has already killed two Weavers, so who's to say they'll hesitate to take out the others? Brown doesn't express her concerns, and instead tells the family she wishes she could stay longer, but that she's been warned to keep the visit brief.

10:01As she begins walking to the door, she feels Sarah slide something into her hand. And looking down, Brown sees it's a sanitary pad. Folded inside is a six-page letter, laying out what Sarah thinks is the truth of everything that's happened. Randy speaks up in a whisper, asking Brown to smuggle that letter out of the cabin, make copies, and give them to reporters she can trust. It could be the family's only chance to tell their side of the story before the feds silence them forever. Brown nods and lifts her skirt, hiding the pad in her underwear. As Brown then exits the cabin and heads back down the porch steps, she hopes what Randy fears won't come true, that the letter isn't the final word from the family.

10:42But if it is, she'll do whatever it takes to keep her promise and let the world know what really happened in the final days of the Weaver family.

10:53For the FBI, Jackie Brown's visit to the Weaver's cabin is a positive step forward. For the first time, the family seemed willing to open the door and let someone inside. And looking to build on this momentum, the government decides to send former Green Beret Bo Greitz up to the cabin again the following day. This time he's joined by Jack McClam, a friend of Greitz. McClam is a retired police officer and a right-wing author and conspiracy theorist. He has a newsletter that Randy subscribes to, and the FBI hopes that together he and Greitz can convince the Weavers to surrender.

11:30When they arrive at the cabin, Bo Grites and Jack McClam walk slowly up the steps. Then they stop at the locked door. Randy, it's Bo, and I got Jack McClam with me. We're hoping to come inside. A moment later, Randy Weaver speaks out from behind the door. Hey, fellas. Jackie brought enough food to last for a few days, so we're all set for now. Well, Randy, we're not here with supplies. We'd like to take Kevin down the hill to get medical attention. Sounds like he's hurt pretty bad. You don't need to worry about that. Kevin's been sucking down that apple juice Jackie brought, and he's feeling a lot better.

12:04The color's back in his face. Well, that's good, but here's the thing. You know I saw more than a few men take a bullet in Vietnam. And sometimes with young guys like Kevin, they start to look good, but then things take a real bad turn all of a sudden. One minute you're talking to them like normal, and the next they're in septic shock. Well, I ain't throwing Kevin out of my house. If he wants to leave, that's up to him. Okay, but look, Randy, I'll be straight with you. His life is in your hands now. If you don't get him some help, you're no better than that sniper. Ah, hold on. Grites waits on the porch for what feels like an eternity as he strains to hear the faint sound of voices inside.

12:42Then Weaver returns to the door. All right, I talked it over with everyone, and the girls want Kevin to stay. Sarah says the feds are going to kill him. He's the only living witness to the shootout with the marshals. Oh, damn it, Randy, you're the man of the house. You need to make this decision. And Kevin being the only witness is half the reason you ought to let me take him. Nobody's going to know what the feds did to Sammy if Kevin doesn't make it out of here alive. As Greitz waits for Weaver's response, he wonders if he's gone too far. Greitz is the only negotiator trusted by both sides. And if Weaver objects to his tone now, the negotiations could be done for good.

13:18But then Greitz hears the bolt on the door slide open. Okay, door's unlocked, Bo. Come on in, lock it behind you. Bo Grites breathes a sigh of relief as he pushes open the door. Finally, it seems that Randy Weaver is softening and listening to reason. And if Grites can get Kevin Harris out of the cabin, then maybe he has a shot at getting the rest of the family out too.

13:46Once they're inside the cabin, Bo Greitz and Jack McClain are able to convince Kevin Harris to leave with them. They safely walk the injured young man down the hill and enter the arms of FBI physicians on site. Soon after, Harris is flown to a nearby hospital. It's a major breakthrough, but the standoff is not over yet. So that same day, Greitz, McClain, and family friend Jackie Brown return to the cabin. This time, they bring a body bag. Weaver weeps as he helps Greitz pull his wife's body from underneath the kitchen table. The two men slide Vicki into the bag while Jackie scrubs her dried blood from the floor.

14:22But as Greitz goes to close the bag, though, Weaver stops him. He wants to take one last look at his wife. He remarks how beautiful Vicki was and looks away and nods at Greitz, who then zips up the bag. Greitz hoists Vicki's body gently over his shoulder and then carries it from the cabin. He lays it on a cot and then walks back inside, hoping he can finally persuade the family to surrender. But when Weaver peeks out the window, he lays eyes on the FBI surveillance robot in the front yard for the first time. This robot has been a frequent visitor to the cabin, but Weaver has never dared take a look at it before.

14:58Now he's horrified to see that the device has a remote-controlled shotgun on it, aimed directly at the cabin. Weaver becomes agitated, convinced that the robot will open fire the moment he steps outside. Grites tries to reason with Weaver, but it's no use. So eventually, he, McClam, and Brown head back down to base camp and hope to try again later. As the sun sets, the optimism Grites had just hours before begins to fade. The professional FBI negotiators are losing hope as well. And with the crowd of protesters at the site growing larger and more unruly by the hour, some members of the hostage rescue team are itching to take over the operation and make a final assault on the cabin.

15:39This knowledge hangs over Greitz and McClam as they head up the hill again the following morning, because this could be their last chance. Both men are wearing wires, and as they approach the cabin, Greitz goes over the plan one more time. They know they're running out of time, so they may have to be forceful with Weaver, which means things could get heated. If the negotiation breaks down, and it looks like there may be violence, they'll need to be prepared. McLam will grab the kids and rush them out the door to safety, while Grites will tackle Randy to the floor and yell the code word Alaska into his wire, signaling the FBI to rush the cabin.

16:15But as the men reach the door, Sarah yells to them from inside, telling them to stay back. She explains the family won't be surrendering today. They've decided to wait until September 9th, the day of the Feast of Trumpets. It's a sacred date for the family, one that appeared in Vicki's prophetic visions. Greitz does the math. That's nine days from now. He shouts back to Sarah that there's no way the FBI assault team will hold off that long. So Greitz removes a folded piece of notebook paper from his jeans pocket and slides it through the crack in the door. He explains to Randy that this is a letter from a pair of skinheads at the protest site Randy met previously at a meeting of the Aryan Nations.

16:55A moment later, Randy opens the door, eager to discuss the letter. Greitz and McLamb quickly step inside and shut the door behind them. Greitz takes the opportunity to lay it all out for Randy. He explains that the government is spending a million dollars a day on this standoff, and they're desperate to get it over with. But if the Weavers surrender now, Randy's got a good chance of avoiding prison. Greitz says he's been talking with Gary Spence, the best defense lawyer in the country, and he's agreed to represent Randy at trial. Randy thinks it over for a moment, then concedes it's probably best to leave now, before the FBI moves in and the children get hurt.

17:30Greitz smiles in relief, but then Sarah steps between the men. She announces that the family won't be leaving, being convinced that they'll be shot the moment they step outside, just like her mother and brother. Trying to hide his frustration, Greitz promises Sarah that the children can return to the cabin for the Feast of the Trumpets if they want, though he knows the FBI will never actually allow that. And then he assures Sarah that he and McClam will personally shield the family with their own bodies as they walk out the cabin. He'll even handcuff himself to Randy until they make it down the hill.

18:01But still, Sarah shakes her head no. So Grites turns back to Randy and gives him a look. It's time for Randy to be a man, to be a father and make a decision. A moment later, Randy rests his hand on Sarah's shoulder. He tells his daughter to take the pistol out of her holster and start gathering their things because it's time for all of them to leave.

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19:37Shortly after noon on August 31st, 1992, the 11-day standoff at Ruby Ridge finally comes to an end. Randy Weaver leads his family down the hill, cradling his baby in one arm and holding on to Bo Grides with the other. Reaching the meadow at the bottom, the Weavers are bewildered by the scene that greets them. Several hundred federal agents, many of them heavily armed, are camped out, stationed here just for them. Then Randy is handcuffed, placed onto a stretcher, and taken to a medical tent. Soon after, he says goodbye to his daughters, Sarah and Rachel. And then he's loaded onto a helicopter and transported to jail.

20:13Hours later, the girls are flown to Iowa to be cared for by their grandparents. That night, attorney Gary Spence hops on a jet to Boise to meet with Randy Weaver for the first time. Spence is one of the most famous lawyers in the country. His clients have included nuclear power whistleblower Karen Silkwood, the first lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos, and he's never lost a criminal trial. In the days leading up to Randy's surrender, Spence was contacted by Beau Grites, and in an effort to help end the standoff peacefully, Spence agreed to meet with Weaver following his eventual arrest. But now Spence has learned that Greitz exaggerated the promise, telling Weaver that the attorney had already agreed to represent him at a trial.

20:54In reality, Spence is wary of representing a man he's never met, especially one who's apparently some kind of Nazi sympathizer. So before Spence makes any promises of his own, he decides he needs to look Weaver in the eye. Spence travels to the Ada County Jail in Boise. He's dressed in the signature Western style he's famous for, with a tan buckskin coat and gray cowboy hat. And as he steps into the cell, Weaver rises from his jailhouse bed. Based on the cable news reports, Spence expected to find a wild-eyed extremist. But the man standing before him looks frail and broken. So Spence begins by telling Weaver that he has only agreed to this single meeting so far.

21:33If he's to act as Weaver's lawyer, Weaver will need to accept some ground rules. Spence bluntly informs Weaver that he disagrees with all of his political and racial beliefs. Spence has Jewish and black relatives and won't tolerate disrespect for them in his presence, nor will he spend a minute defending those beliefs in court. If he chooses to represent Weaver, Spence's only job will be to ensure he gets a fair trial based on the evidence, just like any other American citizen. To Spence's surprise, Weaver agrees to the terms without hesitation. But Spence is still not sure he wants to represent him.

22:07He needs to know that this is a winnable case, so Spence has Weaver take a seat on the bed and tell him the whole story of the standoff, starting from the very beginning. As Spence listens, he finds Weaver to be earnest and truthful. Through tears, Weaver gives a very different account than what's been in the media. And while Weaver's decisions throughout the ordeal were often foolish and stubborn, the heart of the story isn't about a white supremacist looking for a shootout with the feds. To Spence, it sounds more like a case of a man being entrapped by the ATF for a low-level crime and an overzealous government killing his wife and child for no good reason.