Man Thought He Was ‘Indiana Jones’, Booby-Trapped House For FBI

It’s one of the most iconic scenes in the history of cinema. Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones is about to take a piece of treasure. He waits for a second, then grabs his loot. But just at that moment, he hears something loud coming his way. Indiana Jones begins to run as an enormous boulder comes chasing after him. Our star is safe and gets away with the treasure.

It is, admittedly, a great scene. But it would lose a little something if it weren’t a boulder chasing after Indiana Jones but a circular hot tub instead. Wait…what? Yup, that’s precisely what happened when the FBI raided a home in Oregon.

Gregory Lee Rodvelt was found guilty of assaulting a federal officer after an FBI bomb technician was injured in a raid on his Oregon home in 2018. Rodvelt was about to lose his home after he was charged with unlawful possession of explosives. When the FBI and Oregon State Police Bomb technicians arrived, they realized the house was booby-trapped like an Indiana Jones movie.

The Oregon man’s most elaborate trap was a circular hot tub that had been turned on its side and set to trigger whenever someone opened the fence door. The hot tub would roll after the FBI agents, similar to the famous scene in  Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). 

There were also several other traps set up, including a wheelchair that was rigged with explosives that injured an FBI bomb technician. The agent had a small bullet lodged in his knee from the incident and was treated at a local hospital. Rodvelt is facing up to 20 years in prison for his conviction on the assault charge. He is also facing charges of discharging and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which, if convicted, carries a life sentence in federal prison.

Gregory Rodvelt also set up a number of improvised devices that were set to explode when federal agents arrived. He put a minivan in front of the property gate as well as several other booby traps for law enforcement agents.

Disney will release the fifth and final installment, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), later this month. Harrison Ford has already said this will be the last time he will take on the iconic role. But never fear; plenty of imitators are out there to step into his leather jacket.