In 1992, federal agents surrounded a remote cabin in the mountains of Idaho. It belonged to Randy Weaver, a Christian survivalist with links to the far right. Weaver was wanted on a minor weapons charge, but a series of blunders and misunderstandings turned the situation into an armed and deadly standoff.

American scandal brings to life some of the biggest controversies in U.S. history.

Presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud, and in the latest series,

a family of religious fanatics moves to Ruby Ridge in northern Idaho

to wait out the apocalypse. But their paranoia and suspicion of authority lead to a confrontation

with federal law enforcement and their own personal Armageddon. I'm about to play a clip from

American Scandals Ruby Ridge Standoff. Follow American

Scandal on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts.

In 1992, a deadly standoff at Ruby Ridge in Idaho shocked the nation and forever altered the way many Americans view law enforcement.

This 11-day confrontation in the mountains left a legacy of animosity and distrust between the federal government and the most radical elements of the American right wing.

It led directly to a surge in militia membership

across the United States. And when Timothy McVeigh was apprehended for the Oklahoma City bombing,

three years later, he cited revenge for Ruby Ridge as a primary motive behind his atrocities.

But the man at the center of it all, Randy Weaver, never intended to inspire such violence.

He really just wanted to be left alone.

In the mid-1980s, Randy and his wife Vicky Weaver had been driven by their obsessive religious faith

to move their young family to northern Idaho.

There, the Weavers fortified a ramshackle compound to prepare for the apocalypse

in what they believed would be a final battle against their enemies.

But in the end, their preparations for the end times became a tragic, self-fulfilling prophecy.

In 1991, Weaver failed to show up for trial on gun-related charges, and the U.S.

Marshals were dispatched to bring him in.

...