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The Second Shootout
Federal officials staked out the house on June 2, 1983. It was conveniently at the end of a long dirt road, but partially constructed underground and made of concrete. Further, the federal officials knew the Ginters had an enormous amount of ammunition, guns, and explosives.
The team organized a raid, and on June 3, the federal agents circled the bunker. It was around 3 p.m. and they had state troopers, sheriff’s deputies, fire trucks, and ambulances ready as a backup.
Leonard Ginter tried to leave his house about three hours later. The federal agents stopped him, but he was equipped with not only a loaded and cocked gun right on his lap but also a loaded rifle with a scope in his backseat. As officials took him into custody, he said his wife was alone in the house. Sheriff Gene Matthews, a state police investigator, accompanied two federal agents through the one and only door of the Ginter’s house. The moment they entered, Norma Ginter immediately ran outside.
Hiding behind a refrigerator, Kahl shot Sheriff Gene Matthews with a high-powered rifle. Critically wounded, the police officer fired back at Kahl as he crawled outside. Likewise, the other troopers and agents shot at Kahl as they left the house.
From the yard, officers released a hail of bullets onto the house. Aside from firing at the home with automatic gunfire, they also used smoke bombs throw the windows. However, one of the canisters fell into an air vent, which instantly caught on fire. A thousand rounds of ammunition ignited simultaneously, and Kahl was trapped in the crossfire. The dynamite-like explosion went on for nearly two hours.
Even after the final explosion around 8:10 p.m., the house continued to burn. State Trooper Charles Harper was at the scene, and he recalled, “We just pulled back and waited three and a half hours until it cooled down. It was raining hard, and lightning was striking all around. We didn’t know which would get us first, the lightning or the bullets.”
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Officers were finally able to enter at 10:00 p.m. They claim to have found Kahl’s corpse lying face down near an automatic weapon. Sheriff Matthews also died of his gunshot wounds around the same time.
The Aftermath and Conspiracies
Leonard and Norma Ginter were both convicted of harboring and concealing a fugitive and conspiracy. Although Norma’s sentence was later suspended, Leonard was in from prison until 1987. Several people believe a different side of this story. Gordon Kahl was a respected man who had a persuasive influence on his community and fellow farmers.
The FBI agents and police officers, according to the conspiracy theory, are the ones who committed terrorism against Kahl. They also only torched the house to cover up the dismembering of Kahl’s body.
Kahl’s story has been the topic of documentaries, movies, and books, because many Americans feel taxes are illegal and Gordon Kahl was a political prisoner.