In August of 1992 Americans tensely watched as events began to
unfold on a remote ridge in Northern Idaho, involving a white
separatist family and the FBI. Eleven days after it had begun,
a 14-year-old boy, a 42-year-old mother, a federal marshal, and one
yellow Labrador retriever had all been shot dead.
The incident ultimately led to one of the most intensive and
controversial investigations in recent history. The FBI faced
widespread resentment and Attorney General Janet Reno established a
Justice Department task force to investigate what had happened.
National debates on the case were said to have fueled
anti-government sentiments, which eventually played a role in the
Waco, Oklahoma City, and the Freemen conflict. Timothy
McVeigh’s bombing of the government building in Oklahoma City is
said to be at least partially motivated by revenge for what happened
at Ruby Ridge.
Prior to the incident, the Weaver family had moved to the remote
mountaintop to escape what they viewed as a sinful world.
Randy Weaver lived with his wife and four children in a cabin he
himself built on Ruby Ridge, just 40 miles south of the Canadian
border. The cabin had no electricity or running water.
According to friends, the Weavers simply wanted to be left alone as
they awaited Armageddon. While many may have viewed their
intent as unusual, it appeared to be quite harmless to most who knew
them.
Almost a decade later many questions remain: What went wrong at
Ruby Ridge? Why did over 400 members of the FBI, military and
local law enforcement converge on the mountain? Why did so
many have to die? These and similar such questions are not
easily answered, however; some answers may lay hidden within the
details provided.
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