This commentary is reminiscent of the radical right’s reactions to the Ruby Ridge incident of 1992, an 11-day standoff in Idaho between federal agents and the family of Randy Weaver, a Christian fundamentalist affiliated with the far-right white separatist movement. The standoff resulted in the deaths of Weaver’s wife, son, and a federal marshal.
Dude... Ruby Ridge was a big deal because the FBI shot Randy Weaver in the back while he was lifting the latch to his shed to see his son's body, and then kept shooting at him as he and his family was running back to his cabin, hitting and killing his wife while she was holding their baby. It was a huge deal for a lot of people, Randy Weaver was found not guilty of any "siege-related charges" and awarded $3 million in damages, and the DOJ extensively revised their policies as a result.
Craig Deleeuw threatened to kill the president, and then according to the FBI and I see no reason to doubt them, was pointing his weapon at the FBI when they shot him. Whatever Randy Weaver did to create the Ruby Ridge confrontation, I don't think it's fair to compare the reaction to that to the reaction to this.
The guy that said federal agents wouldn't dare arrest him "because they'd get a .45 in the face"? He pointed a gun at the FBI?
Say it ain't so
Still, the Ruby Ridge and Waco comparisons are frightening. This is where the radical right really started to emerge. There was a great podcast series that I listened to about it. Here it is: Long Shadow (Apple) or Spotify link
Dude... Ruby Ridge was a big deal because the FBI shot Randy Weaver in the back while he was lifting the latch to his shed to see his son's body, and then kept shooting at him as he and his family was running back to his cabin, hitting and killing his wife while she was holding their baby. It was a huge deal for a lot of people, Randy Weaver was found not guilty of any "siege-related charges" and awarded $3 million in damages, and the DOJ extensively revised their policies as a result.
Craig Deleeuw threatened to kill the president, and then according to the FBI and I see no reason to doubt them, was pointing his weapon at the FBI when they shot him. Whatever Randy Weaver did to create the Ruby Ridge confrontation, I don't think it's fair to compare the reaction to that to the reaction to this.
The guy that said federal agents wouldn't dare arrest him "because they'd get a .45 in the face"? He pointed a gun at the FBI?
Say it ain't so
Still, the Ruby Ridge and Waco comparisons are frightening. This is where the radical right really started to emerge. There was a great podcast series that I listened to about it. Here it is: Long Shadow (Apple) or Spotify link