FBI raids home of former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter

The FBI on Wednesday raided the upstate New York home of a former United Nations weapons inspector in connection to a federal investigation.

Agency spokeswoman Sarah Ruane confirmed to WNYT that the agency was searching the home of Scott Ritter, but did not provide details regarding the investigation per policy. Agents were seen searching and photographing both cars at Ritter’s property. 

According to the Times Union, the raid began shortly after noon, with both unmarked and marked police vehicles being seen outside the Bethlehem home. There were no signs that Ritter was home at the time.

The US State Department earlier in 2024 revoked Ritter’s passport, with Customs and Border Protection officers stopping Ritter at John F Kennedy Airport as he was preparing to board a flight to Russia. His passport was seized and sent to the State Department. 

Ritter was the chief weapons inspector in Iraq, and resigned in 1998. He said he felt both the Clinton administration and the United Nations were not pursuing vigorous enough weapons inspections in Iraq. 

In 2011, Ritter was convicted of six charges in a child sex sting operation. A jury found him guilty of a misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure, and felony charges that included unlawful conduct with a minor, criminal attempt to corrupt a minor and criminal use of a communications device, according to Reuters.

At the trial, video was shown to the jury depicting a nude Ritter performing a sexual act for a young girl named "Emily," who was actually a detective posing as a 15-year-old girl. Ritter was sentenced to five and a half years in prison and was released on parole in December 2014, the Times Union reported.