FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                       DAG
TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 1995                         (202) 616-2777
                                            TDD  (202) 514-1888


              CIVIL SUITS SETTLED IN RUBY RIDGE CASE


     The Department of Justice announced today that it has
resolved all claims by the Randy Weaver family against the United
States and its employees.  

     Under the settlement, each of the three children of Vicki
Weaver will receive $1 million and her husband Randy will receive
$100,000 to resolve $200 million in claims filed by the family
after the deaths of Mrs. Weaver and her 14-year-old son, Samuel,
at Ruby Ridge, Idaho in August, 1992.  

     The settlement reflects the loss to the Weaver children of
their mother and brother.  By entering into a settlement, the
United States hopes to take a substantial step toward healing the
wounds the incident inflicted.

     Samuel Weaver was killed on August 21, 1992 in a firefight
with U.S. Marshals that left Samuel and Deputy U.S. Marshal
William Degan dead.  Marshals were surveilling the property in
preparation for serving an arrest warrant on Randy Weaver.

     Mrs. Weaver was accidentally killed the next day when a
bullet fired by an FBI agent struck her as she stood out of sight
behind a cabin door.  

     The United States does not admit wrongdoing or legal
liability to the plaintiffs.  

     At the instance of the government, the settlement agreement
explicitly provides that nothing in its language is intended to
interfere with or reduce the availability of information or
evidence in connection with the incident.


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