Richard C. Weaver is a
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
n man known by the
nickname
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
Handshake Man. Weaver has earned notoriety for frequently bypassing the US
Secret Service
A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...
and
shaking the hand of the
United States President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
.
Weaver claims his
handshake
A handshake is a globally widespread, brief greeting or parting tradition in which two people grasp one of each other's like hands, in most cases accompanied by a brief up-and-down movement of the grasped hands. Customs surrounding handshakes ...
s are often used as a way of passing "notes from God" to the presidents.
According to his site, Weaver is a
born-again
Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and se ...
Christian who is married to Donna Weaver and has two children, Cindy and David. He also believes that
God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
has directly spoken to him and calls himself a "modern-day prophet". In late 2008, Weaver stated that he would not attempt to shake
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
's hand due to an ongoing ban from Washington D.C. that had yet to expire.
Pre 2001
Richard C. Weaver claims to have shaken the hand of four US Presidents after
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...
. However, with little evidence of such events, it is unknown if these instances actually occurred. The only confirmed event was the 1997 inauguration of
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...
where Weaver managed to shake Clinton's hand.
Despite the incident having led the Secret Service to prepare for his return, Weaver was able to bypass security and meet the then recently inaugurated
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
in 2001. (Weaver's website displays a picture of him meeting President
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...
.)
2001 Presidential Inauguration
On the January 20 inauguration event of 2001, Weaver was able to meet
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
and hand him a coin after he had been sworn in as President. Weaver had a standing-room-only ticket that would only allow him access to the event. Despite having been shown tapes of a similar meeting between Weaver and former president
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...
, the Secret Service were not able to catch him.
Although
Ari Fleischer
Lawrence Ari Fleischer (born October 13, 1960) is an American media consultant and political aide who served as the 23rd White House Press Secretary, for President George W. Bush, from January 2001 to July 2003.
As press secretary in the Bush ...
insisted that the president was in no danger, U.S. Capitol Police took the matter seriously as a breach of security.
Post 2001
On February 6, 2003 Weaver attended the National Prayer Breakfast meeting and was able to hand Bush an eight-page typed letter about
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
"from God". At
George W. Bush's second inauguration in 2005, Weaver was arrested on an outstanding warrant related to his prior presidential photo stunts.
On December 8, 2009, CNN's website discussed an unreleased Secret Service document used for training purposes which discusses various instances where individuals have bypassed the Secret Service and gained access to the president. This document credits Mr. Weaver with four instances of having gained access to a president.
References
External links
Richard Weaver's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weaver, Richard C.
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
American clergy
People from Rocklin, California