In August 1992, in a remote part of northern Idaho, the Ruby Ridge incident took place. It is still one of the most contentious and closely examined incidents in recent American history. At first, it was a conflict between the federal law enforcement agencies and the white nationalist and strongly anti-government Weaver family.

The event began when former U.S. Army Green Beret Randy Weaver and his family engaged in a year-long standoff with the federal authorities over Weaver’s reluctance to appear in court for charges involving firearms. When American Marshals tried to apprehend Weaver, the standoff became more heated and resulted in a gunfight that claimed the lives of both Weaver’s son and a Marshal.

When the FBI HRT (Hostage Rescue Team) was called in, the situation only got worse. The surviving members of the family were forced to surrender after an eleven-day confrontation. Federal law enforcement processes were changed as a result of the incident, which raised serious concerns about the use of excessive force and government overreach.

Ruby Ridge has shaped the conversation around federal law enforcement operations and is a representative of the precarious balance that exists in the United States between individual liberties and governmental authority.