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Bo Gritz

James Gordon "Bo" Gritz (born 18 January 1939) was an American political activist and conspiracy theorist who was famous for his Vietnam War service and POW/MIA activism; he also played a key role in negotiating an end to the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff.

Biography[]

James Gordon Gritz was born in Enid, Oklahoma in 1939, and he was raised by his maternal grandparents after his father was killed in action while serving in the US Air Force during World War II. Gritz himself joined the US Army in 1957 and became a captain in 1963 and a major in 1967, serving as a Green Berets Lieutenant-Colonel during the Vietnam War. During the 1980s, he undertook several trips to Southeast Asia in heavily publicized hunts for POWs in Laos and Vietnam, and, while they were unsuccessful, he received much publicity. Gritz went on to become a conspiracy theorist, attempting to bridge theorists from the left and right. During the 1990s, however, he became associate with the far-right, and he launched a failed 1992 presidential bid as the "Populist Party" candidate, winning 3.84% of the vote in Utah and 2.13% in Idaho. In 1992, he succeeded in negotiating Randy Weaver's surrender to end the Ruby Ridge standoff.

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