The Weavers lived in Ruby Ridge, an area in Northern Idaho which featured a prominent “militia culture.” Randy, a military veteran, had connections with militias and extremist groups in the area which brought the attention of federal authorities. In 1989, at the prompting of an undercover Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent, Randy began selling shotguns with illegally shortened barrels, a felony. Randy was summoned to appear in court the following year on February 19, but having been told the incorrect date, never showed up. Now with the added charge of failure to appear in court, U.S. Marshals prepared to arrest Randy Weaver on his property.             Randy, his wife Vicki, and their 3 children were deeply religious. They believed in certain survivalist and doomsday principles taught by right-wing Christian extremist groups. They lived alone on their rural Idaho property, paranoid of outsiders and liable to engage in any means of self defense. Believing Randy to be dangerous and working off an exaggerated file they had built on him, U.S. Marshals began surveillance on his property to ascertain how to arrest him. Having found hidden cameras placed by the Marshals, the Weavers grew increasingly paranoid and carried guns with them at all times leading up to August 21, 1992. A team of Marshals was conducting surveillance when the Weavers’ dog, Striker, ran out barking.  Randy followed with his son Samuel and family friend Kevin Harris. One Marshal shot Striker and Kevin returned fire, killing Deputy U.S. Marshal W. F. Degan. As the Weavers retreated, the Marshals returned fire, injuring Kevin and killing Samuel. The death of a federal official meant the FBI would take over the Weaver case. The most controversial aspect of this takeover was the rules of engagement of the FBI. Using its Hostage Rescue Team, the agents were instructed that any armed male standing outside of the family’s cabin “could and should” be shot. On August 22, FBI sniper Lori Horiuchi followed these rules of engagement and fired at Randy as he walked outside. Randy retreated into the cabin as Horiuchi took a second shot. Unknown to federal authorities, this bullet flew through the open door and killed Vicki Weaver inside. Thereafter the Weavers dared not go outside of the house and crawled on their hands and knees inside to avoid walking past windows. Government protestors formed outside of the property as the FBI sought to de-escalate. On August 30, military veteran and celebrity Bo Gritz walked up to the surrounded cabin and convinced Randy to surrender quietly. The FBI did not know that Vicki and Samuel had died and protestors outside were enraged at the announcement of the deaths. Randy and Kevin were apprehended and received medical care, and the surviving children went to their grandparents as the standoff ended. The FBI and ATF were heavily scrutinized once details of the standoff were released. The Department of Justice created the “Ruby Ridge Taskforce” to investigate federal agents in the standoff. The FBI dropped their rules of engagement and expanded the capabilities and training of SWAT and hostage-retrieval units. Randy and Kevin were awarded for damages and cleared of all charges, except one. Randy was still sentenced for his failure to appear in court for the charge of illegally selling short-barreled shotguns. Further, the public support for the Weavers and anti-government sentiment propped up a country-wide “militia culture”. The perpetrator of the Oklahoma City bombing listed Ruby Ridge and the massacre of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas as reasons for carrying out his atrocity. Militias cited “Waco and Ruby Ridge-style Government attacks on Christian Americans” as grievances which warranted their existence. Extremist groups like the local Aryan Nations of Northern Idaho were galvanized in anti-government sentiment. The Weavers were endorsed by white supremacists who had previous run-ins with federal authorities. The intensity of militia culture would dwindle following the OKC bombing, but this era of American vigilante culture would see its roots based on the events of Ruby Ridge.

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Following the organization of an armed expedition by the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, the “Invaders” rode for 68 miles to K.C., the home of small-time rancher Nate Champion. Reaching the ranch, the Invaders planned to capture Champion and get a confession of rustling out of him before hanging him. It wasn’t until after the cabin was surrounded that the Invaders discovered that two trappers and Champion’s brother Nick Ray were also at the cabin. Taking the two trappers captive, the Invaders shot down Ray when he stepped out of the cabin.  While the shooting between Champion and the Invaders continued from noon to 3 o’clock, two people passing by witnessed the shootout and fled while being fired upon by some of the Invaders. In their escape, the people left their hay-filled wagon behind which the Invaders then used to burn down the cabin with Champion inside. Knowing his flaming fate was at hand, Champion chose his own way out and ran out of the cabin with a rifle in one hand and revolver in the other, firing on the Invaders as he was shot down beside the burning cabin. After disposing of Champion’s body, the Invaders found that their plan for assassinating the officials of Johnson County was spoiled by people alerting Sheriff Red Angus of Buffalo. Hearing that armed Johnson County citizens were attempting to head them off, the Invaders decided to reach the T.A. Ranch where they fortified against the posse. After reaching the T.A. Ranch, the Invaders took apart many of the wagons they brought with them and reinforced the barn and other structures to protect them against gunfire. As Sherriff Red Angus organized his deputies to confront the Invaders, he deputized any able-bodied men who they came across on their way to the T.A. ranch. With his posse now totaling over 200 men, Angus surrounded the T.A. ranch and the two sides hunkered down for a two day standoff with near constant gunfire from both sides. During those two days the posse built a mobile bunker to approach the Invader’s defenses and burn them down while being protected from gunfire. While the posse was constructing the “go-devil” from the Invader’s salvaged wagons, allies of the Invaders in Cheyenne alerted the acting governor of Wyoming Amos Barber of their besiegement by the residents of Johnson County. Governor Barber, being associated with the WSGA, immediately telegraphed a request for the federal troops stationed near Buffalo in Fort McKinney to put a peaceful end to the insurrection and put the Invaders safely into their custody. When the troops arrived, the shootout ended with no fatalities. The Invaders were apprehended by federal troops and returned to Cheyenne, where they faced a series of inconclusive trials.

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In 1892, after years of economic and political competition between smaller ranches and the larger mostly foreign-owned cattle companies, a series of vigilante lynchings took place across Wyoming, particularly in the Northeastern portion of the state where Johnson County is located. The Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA), representing the large cattle companies, accused many smaller cattle operations of stock theft, but local juries refused to convict because of lack of evidence or sympathy for the smaller operators. With seemingly no quick legal action able to stop any alleged rustlers, the WSGA devised a plan for an expedition to northeastern Wyoming to capture, coerce, or kill the rustlers and their associates. The network of stock growers and their associates was deeply entrenched in both state politics and economics. Judges, politicians, and bankers worked with ranchers to plan this expedition into rustler territory to root out the suspected rustlers. The scale of the operation was astonishing with the amount of sourcing of supplies, transportation, weapons & ammunition, and number of men involved. The crew of the expedition to Johnson County included multiple WSGA members, stock inspectors, and around twenty gunslingers brought by train from Texas. Using Cheyenne as their base of operations and calling themselves the Invaders, this 50-man group confidently had their photograph taken before at Fort D.A. Russell in Cheyenne before they left for Johnson County. Meanwhile in Cheyenne, the inner circles of the stock growers worked to establish their legal justifications for their violent actions against the suspected rustlers and their associates. Dozens of the expedition members, including the Texas gunmen, partied throughout both the day and night at many of the wealthier association members’ estates. When the Invaders regrouped in the morning, they boarded a privately booked train to Casper further north. While riding the train, some stops included a photo shoot of the train passing through Platte Canyon on its way to Casper. The expedition rode onward to the K.C. Ranch where they planned to kill one of their primary rustler targets, Nate Champion. Once again taking the opportunity to document their actions, the Invaders had the mounted expedition photographed before leaving to kill Nate Champion and move on to the town of Buffalo.

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