American Scandal - Ruby Ridge Standoff | Northern Exposure | 2

Episode Date: July 15, 2025

Randy Weaver is arrested on gun-related charges, but a mix-up over the trial date deepens the Weaver family’s extreme beliefs and sets the scene for a disastrous confrontation with law enforcementBe the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletterListen to American Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting wondery.com/links/american-scandal/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Want to get more from American Scandal? Subscribe to Wondery Plus for early access to new episodes, ad-free listening, and exclusive content you can't find anywhere else. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. It's January 17, 1991, in the mountains of northern Idaho. Randy Weaver helps his wife Vicki off the back of their snowmobile and into their pickup truck which is parked just below their property on Ruby Ridge. Before he climbs into the truck himself, Randy takes a quick look around, scanning the trees for any movement. But the snowy forest is silent.

Six months ago, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives approached Randy with a deal. The ATF wanted him to pass along information about his friends in the Aryan Nations, a white supremacist neo-Nazi group. In return, they promised to drop charges stemming from an illegal sale of sawed-off shotguns. Randy refused to cooperate, though, and a month ago, he was indicted. But so far, he's refused to turn himself in and has instead remained at his family's remote mountain compound. But now the Weavers are running low on supplies and Randy and Vicki have no choice but to head into town. Randy starts up the truck and pulls out onto the highway. Alright Vicki, what do we need from the store?

I figure it needs to last at least another month. Well the best bang for the buck is potatoes. Probably get two of the 50 pound sacks. Milk for the kids, feed for the chickens, I need oil for the chainsaw and a few other things. We've only got 25 bucks though. You think we can make do with just one sack of potatoes? Well I could talk to the store owner, see if he could give us a deal. Maybe he's got a beat up bag no one else wants. We can put the kids to work and cut off the bad parts.

As they continue down the highway, Randy thinks about how dire their financial situation has become. They're talking about buying half-rotten food just to feed their kids. Oh, honey, I don't know how much longer we can go on like this. All the money we saved from back in Iowa is gone. Selling firewood for a few bucks a bundle isn't cutting it. At some point, I might need to get a real job in town. But that's out of the question. The feds would see your name pop up in the system and you'd be arrested in a week. The only safe place for you is up on the mountain. But we gotta eat. God will deliver us a path he always does." As Randy considers

his wife's words, he spots a pickup truck towing a camper broken down on the side of the road. You think those folks need help? Well, I'd be Christian to find out. on the side of the road. You think those folks need help? Well, I'd be Christian to find out. Randy pulls to the side of the road and parks 20 yards in front of the broken down pickup. Its hood is popped open and in the rear view mirror Randy can see a young couple hunched over the engine. Why don't you wait here? Leaving Vicki behind in the truck, Randy hops out and begins walking toward the couple. Hey, you need some help? I used to work on John Deere's. Kind of handy with an engine. But as Randy nears the truck,

the young man by the car suddenly spins around and points a pistol at Randy's head. He screams that he's a federal agent and Randy is under arrest. And he turns back to his truck, but a female officer is already sticking a gun through Vicki's half-open window. Hey, leave her alone. She's got nothing to do with this, Vicki. You don't tell him anything.

A second later, Randy is tackled to the ground. As he lies on his belly with a knee in his back, Randy watches his wife be dragged from their pickup. He thinks about his three children back up on the mountain all alone and he wonders when he'll get to see them again. He starts to think that maybe he should have made that deal with the ATF. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder.

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Please, gamble responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BedMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American Scandal. In the early 1980s, Christian fundamentalists Randy and Vicki Weaver began to have visions of impending Armageddon. So they uprooted their young family from their home in Iowa and moved to a cabin in the remote mountains of northern Idaho.

There they prepared themselves for what they believed would be the final battle with the forces of evil. The apocalypse never came, but Randy and his family stayed in their mountain retreat convinced that the federal government wanted to oppress white Christians like them. So they felt vindicated when they were arrested on the site of the highway. Vicki was quickly released, but Randy was arraigned in court. It was there that a crucial misunderstanding occurred. The part-time magistrate who handled the hearing left Randy confused, and when he was released on bail, he returned home certain that if he lost at trial, he'd be forced to sell his

family home to cover his legal fees. This wasn't true, but it would be just the first in a series of blunders and misconceptions by both Randy Weaver and the federal government. These were errors that would have deadly consequences. This is Episode 2, Northern Exposure. It's January 1991 inside the Weaver's cabin on Ruby Ridge. Vicki Weaver sits at the kitchen table, looking through a pile of letters just dropped off at the cabin by a neighbor. She tosses aside a few pieces of junk mail and past due bills she knows the family will never likely pay.

But then one envelope catches her eye. It's from the federal courthouse in Coeur d'Alene, where Randy appeared before a judge last week. Vicki tears it open. The letter inside confirms the date of Randy's trial. But something's not right. It says the hearing is due to start on March 20th. She could have sworn Randy said the judge gave him a date of February 19th. So Vicki calls across the room to where Randy is kicked back in a recliner cleaning one

of his rifles. Setting the gun aside, Randy joins Vicki at the table. She shows him the letter and Randy is just as confused as she is. Everything about his arrest is seared into his memory and he's certain this date is meant to be February 19th. He lets out a deep sigh. Everything about his arrest is seared into his memory and he's certain this date is meant to be February 19th. He lets out a deep sigh. He's going to have to drive down to Coeur d'Alene and find out what the real date is.

But as Randy goes to pick up his winter coat from the back of the chair, Vicki grabs him by the arm. She tells him he can't go anywhere near that courthouse. The feds are clearly out for him. First they set Randy up on a phony gun charge and now they're playing games with the trial date. This letter isn't a mistake, they're trying to trick Randy so they'll have an excuse to break up the family and take their land away. Vicki reminds Randy that this is exactly why they moved to the mountain, to protect themselves. What he needs to do is stay here, prepare for the worst and most of all keep praying. This seems to convince Randy. He sits back down at the table,

tells Vicki he's lucky to have such a strong-minded woman of faith at his side. Because she's right, he's not going to set foot in a federal building ever again and he's certainly not going to give himself up for trial. Vicki takes her husband's hand. She closes her eyes and they begin to pray, asking God to protect them from all the agents of the devil trying to do them harm. In the weeks leading up to the trial, the Weavers refuse to come down from the mountain. They don't even communicate with their court-appointed lawyer. Instead, Vicki sends a scathing and at times bizarre letter to the U.S. Attorney's office in Idaho.

It's addressed to the servant of the Queen of Babylon and warns the government that war is upon the land and the tyrant's blood will flow. It's soon after that the court date arrives and when Randy fails to show up, he officially becomes a fugitive from the law. The job of bringing him in falls to Deputy US Marshal Dave Hunt. Hunt is a former Marine who started out in law enforcement as a regular cop before transferring to the Marshal Service 15 years ago. And at first, Hunt is not too concerned about the Weaver case. He's dealt with these types of fugitives before, stubborn anti-government survivalists

are not that rare in Idaho. But when Hunt meets with his boss, the Chief Deputy Marshal in Boise, he hears a different point of view. The Chief Deputy has been spooked by Vicki's letter. He worries that the Weavers' extreme religious beliefs will lead them to kill themselves and their children rather than surrender willingly. Taking Randy by force may be the only option. When Hunt pushes back, he wants a chance to negotiate with the Weavers before any tactical

team is sent in. Eventually, he and his boss settle on a compromise. Hunt will be given time to reason with Randy, but he won't be allowed to risk approaching the property directly. Instead, he'll have to use intermediaries to communicate with the Weavers. It'll be safer that way. So in late February 1991, Hunt begins passing letters to the family through the Weaver's neighbor, Bill Grider. But when Hunt receives Randy's replies, they're full of the same defiant, radical language as the letter Vicki sent to the courthouse.

After more than a month of this, Hunt begins to grow impatient with Randy's stubborn refusal to surrender, and so he pays a visit to the neighbor, Bill Grider, to discuss what to do next. Snow still clings to the ground, and their breath fogs the air as Dave Hunt and Bill Greider walk through the quiet woods near Greider's cabin. Hunt nods further up the mountain toward the Weaver's property on Ruby Ridge. Were you able to get that last letter up to Randy? Yeah, I sure did. I even stood up there in the cabin while he read it.

I heard his reply. Oh, what'd he say? Well, I don't want to repeat all the profanity, but safe to say, he's not had a change of heart. Man, I don't get it. I told him he could keep his land, and he'd barely do any time on the charges. Juries around here usually go easy on minor gun charges. He just doesn't trust you.

He thinks it's all some kind of trick. Well, maybe if I go up there and look him in the eye I'll get a better response. Oh I'm not sure that's a good idea. Assuming you want to come back in one piece, that is. You really think he'd shoot me? I'd come along, make sure he knows I'm just there to talk. But like I said, Randy thinks this is all a big conspiracy to take away his land and break up his family. He's convinced that if you ever got his hands on him, he'd be going away for a long time. And I think he'd rather die than let that happen. But what about Vicki? I mean, surely she doesn't want her kids caught up in some sort of shootout.

Maybe she could talk some sense into him. Oh no, she's just the same. Maybe even worse. Hell, one of the kids might even take a shot at you. Who are these people? I mean, in all my years on the job, I've never known a family like this. Well, in all honesty, Marshall, I don't know what you hope to achieve here. He's not coming down off that mountain, no matter how nicely you ask. As Dave Hunt walks back to his car, he feels more frustrated than

ever. He's beginning to doubt if his plan to bring Randy in voluntarily will ever work. Maybe his boss and Boise was right and it's time to start planning a way to bring him in by force. By the summer of 1991, Randy Weaver has been a fugitive for nearly six months. US Deputy Marshal Dave Hunt has come to the conclusion that he's unlikely ever to surrender peacefully. Still, Hunt is wary of storming the cabin. He's concerned that Vicki Weaver or their three children may be caught in the crossfire. And to make the situation even more precarious, he's learned that Vicki is now several months pregnant. So, Hunt decides he has no choice but to continue with his cautious approach.

For the next six months, he turns his focus to other cases while still occasionally trying to communicate with the Weavers through intermediaries. But then in the spring of 1992, the Weaver case suddenly becomes a priority again. The national media starts taking an interest in the story. They are fascinated by the eccentric survivalist family holed up in their ramshackle cabin, thumbing their noses at the feds. Outlets from around the country request interviews with Weaver, but he declines them all. Eventually, TV journalist Geraldo Rivera resorts to flying a helicopter over Ruby Ridge to get footage, but when the crew on board hears popping noises outside, they mistakenly think

they're being shot at by the Weavers. And this story of a chopper under fire only draws more attention to the authorities' failure to bring Randy Weaver in. So the Marshals' service decides something must be done. On March 27, 1992, a meeting is held at the Marshals National Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Art Roderick, a deputy marshal, pulls up a chair inside a large conference room. Looking around the table, he sees more than a dozen of the country's highest-ranking marshals, including the agency's new acting director, Henry Hudson. The meeting kicks off with a briefing from the lead marshal in Idaho.

Roderick listens closely as the agent lays out the long timeline of the case, which by now has dragged on for more than a year with no resolution in sight. Next to speak is the head of the marshal's elite special operations group. His team has conducted some surveillance of the Weaver property, but he warns that even with all the resources and expertise at his disposal, any attempt to storm the cabin would carry an enormous risk. Finally, acting director Hudson takes the floor. He confesses that he's so concerned about the case that he plans to take the extraordinary step of calling the U.S. attorney for Idaho with a proposal.

He thinks the attorney should publicly drop the charges against Weaver, wait for him to let his guard down, then secretly indict him again. When Weaver thinks he's safe and ventures out from the property on his own, then they can make the arrest without endangering his family. But unfortunately, there's a good chance that the idea is a non-starter, as a U.S. attorney might deem it unethical. So Hudson is open to any other proposals from around the table. At first, no one speaks. Then Roderick raises his hand.

He explains that he's been studying the case and has put together a three-part plan to bring Weaver in. It goes like this. First, he and a few hand-picked colleagues will travel to Idaho to scout the area, talk to Weaver's friends and neighbors, and take one last shot at negotiating through an intermediary. Then, assuming Weaver rebuffs them once again, the team will spend several weeks surveilling the property with state-of-the-art long lens video cameras. This will allow the team to find patterns in the Weaver's daily routine.

And finally, in phase three, they will use that information to anticipate a moment when Weaver ventures away from his family and then they make the arrest. When Roderick is finished, the room is silent. He looks at the faces of his colleagues, trying to gauge their response. He knows his proposal will take plenty of manpower, money, and most of all, patience, and with the agency's ballooning PR crisis, that is running thin among the bosses.

But then Director Hudson speaks up. He says that Roderick's put forth the best idea so far, so he tells him to submit a list of marshals for his team and start executing phase one of the plan as soon as possible. With that, Roderick quickly gathers his briefcase and heads toward the exit. He's got a flight to Idaho to catch, and he just hopes the weeks or months away from home that lie ahead will pay off, that they'll be able to bring Randy Weaver down from the mountain without anyone getting hurt. Keep people and pets safer.

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In March of 1992, US Marshal Art Roderick and his team begin implementing his three-part plan to study, observe, and ultimately arrest Randy Weaver. The operation is given the code name Northern Exposure. After arriving in Idaho, Roderick starts by speaking with Weaver's friends and neighbors. He wants to gain some insight into the unusual family's thinking. The Marshals then make one last-ditch effort to negotiate with Weaver through intermediaries. But by mid-April, it's clear to Roderick that Weaver still has no intention of surrendering to the authorities. So Roderick orders his team of Marshals to move on to phase two of the operation. They

spend several weeks quietly setting up motion-det motion detecting video cameras in the woods surrounding the Weaver property on Ruby Ridge. By mid-May, Roderick and his men have almost completed their surveillance and are ready to move on to the next stage when their colleague in the Marshall service, Dave Hunt, pays a visit to their makeshift base camp. The Marshall's headquarters has been set up in a barn on a property near the weavers. Dave Hunt slides back a door and steps inside. In a corner of the barn is a table equipped with the latest surveillance technology, and there Hunt finds Art Roderick standing over a bank of video monitors. Hey Deputy Marshall, tell me you have good news.

Hey Dave, good to see you. Why don't you take a look for yourself? Roderick types into his desktop computer, bringing up still images of each member of the Weaver family on the monitors. You're familiar with most of our players here? Randy, Vicki, the kids? Oh, look there, and the three dogs. Yeah, they could actually be a problem.

Especially the Labrador. He seems to roam free, barking at anything that moves. Hunt taps on the screen. And who's this? That's Kevin Harris. 25 years old, long-time family friend. More like an adopted son, I guess. He's living at the cabin full-time now. Oh god, just what we need. One more guy who might shoot at us. Yeah, and we've run the numbers. Randy is seen carrying a weapon in about 70% of the footage. Vicki is armed half the time, and that's even when she've run the numbers. Randy is seen carrying a weapon in about 70% of the footage. Vicki is armed half the time, and that's even when she's holding the baby. Kevin Harris is, I don't know, something like two-thirds of the time.

What about the kids? Sarah's 16, and she's packing around 30% of the time. The same goes for 10-year-old Rachel. The one that worries me the most is the 14-year-old boy, Samuel, or Sammy, they call him. He's armed in 80% of our footage. That's even more than his dad. Haunt shakes his head. Remember what it was like at that age? 14 years old? Jesus. Bundle of hormones and a head full of dumb ideas. When this all started I was worried that the

kids would be caught in the crossfire. But now I'm getting scared they might be the ones doing the shooting. And they know we're coming for them too. We've been working at night and hiding our equipment as best we can, but Samuel and Kevin they found one of our cameras in the woods. They destroyed it. Another time, someone let out the air of my tires. Alright, so they know we're here. Does that give us any chance we're going to get up to the cabin without being seen?

That's going to be tough. Roderick brings up a collection of photos displaying various sections of the property. They've started daily patrols and rarely stray more than a few hundred feet from the cabin. They've obviously got the advantage of the high ground and they're using these boulders here as natural bunkers as well, stashing guns and the ammunition behind them. Well, Randy has special forces training. I can't say I'm shocked by these tactics. They've also set up a barricade of rocks and logs near the entrance. Whenever they hear a vehicle nearby, one of them grabs a weapon and then heads down to the driveway, while another sits up at this boulder here, ready to provide cover fire. Jesus, it's like a

mountain fortress. Is there any hope of resolving this without bloodshed? Well, maybe. One thing we've noticed is that the family does occasionally open the barricade to let neighbors drive through on the old logging road. So we know they are at least cordial with some of the people living around there. The idea we've come up with is for one of my guys to go undercover and pose as a new neighbor building his own cabin. Over time he'll befriend Randy and then he'll find a moment to get him alone. Then we'll arrest him and bring him in.

You make it sound easy. Oh, no, I know it's not. But I figure it's the best shot we've got at ending this with cuffs and not coffins. Dave Hunt looks over the computer monitors, trying to imagine how this arrest might go down. He wishes he shared Roderick's optimism. Making an arrest anywhere near the property sounds incredibly risky, but Hunt understands it's probably the best possible plan considering the circumstances. He just hopes Roderick knows what he's doing.

In May of 1992, the surveillance phase of Marshall Art Roderick's operation is complete and he's eager to get to work on the final stage, the surveillance phase of Marshal Art Roderick's operation is complete and he's eager to get to work on the final stage, making the arrest of Randy Weaver. But at this point, Roderick faces yet another lengthy delay in the case. His superiors in the Marshal's service decided to hold off on the arrest until the agency's acting director, Henry Hudson, is officially confirmed in the role by Congress. This takes three months, so it's August before Roderick is finally given the green light. Roderick selects his colleague Mark Juergensen to go undercover as the friendly new neighbor

who will lure Weaver away from his family for the arrest. But before Roderick sets that part of the plan in motion, he decides to take one more trip up the mountain. He wants to find the ideal spot to build Juergensensen's phony cabin and he hopes to scout out possible locations to make the arrest. So Roderick selects a team of five other marshals including Dave Hunt. The men gather at base camp hours before dawn on the morning of August 21st. They dress in camouflage and put on night vision goggles before grabbing their rifles.

Then the marshals split into two teams of three and begin quietly making their way up the steep and heavily forested hill. Hunt's team heads to an observation post a safe distance from the cabin to keep watch over the weavers. Meanwhile on the other team, Roderick is joined by Larry Cooper and Bill Deegan, both experienced members of the Marshal's elite special operations group. Their destination is closer to the cabin itself. The man moves stealthily through the darkness. The mile-long journey uphill takes several hours. Cooper and Deegan have never been on Ruby Ridge

before, so Roderick deliberately takes it slowly. He stops off along the way to point out key landmarks, including the barricade and the boulder where the family stands look out when they hear cars approaching. Then as the sun begins to come up, Roderick slides off his night vision goggles and leaves them dangling from his neck. By now the three marshals are nearing their destination. About 150 yards from the cabin, Roderick and Cooper take up a position hidden among the dense fir trees, while Deegan crouches by a boulder just behind them. Roderick whispers into his headset, checking in on Dave

Hunt's team at the observation post. He's pleased to hear that the others have already been able to spot and photograph the various Weaver family members, so Roderick has a good idea of who might be where this morning. Turning back to his own team, Roderick then points out potential spots where snipers could be positioned for Randy Weaver's arrest. Then Cooper makes a suggestion of his own. They already know from their surveillance that the Weaver's Labrador striker responds aggressively to the sound of cars, but now Cooper wants to see if the dog will react to other noises near the cabin as well. Roderick likes this idea. So he rummages through a pile of rocks near his feet and finds a round one about the size of a baseball. He lobs the rock

into a small dry creek bed between their position and the cabin. It lands with a clattering thud. The marshals wait for a moment, listening carefully. But there are no barks. The dog doesn't seem to have noticed. So Roderick tosses another rock, and again there's no response from Stryker. That seems like a good sign to Roderick. It means the marshals may have more freedom to walk near the cabin than he had thought. So soon Roderick is satisfied that they've seen everything they need to. He, Cooper, and Deegan move away from the weaver's cabin and begin heading back down the hill to rendezvous with the other team. And once again they move slowly, making sure to keep out of sight and not make a sound.

As the men approach a clearing along the old logging road, several hundred yards beneath the cabin, Roderick starts to relax. The final surveillance mission has gone off without a hitch and they're ready to start planning the arrest. But then one of the Weaver's neighbors starts their car somewhere nearby. The sound of the engine echoes across a quiet mountain. In a moment later, from further up the hill, Roderick hears Stryker begin to bark manically. He freezes, just listening for a second. Barking grows louder, and Roderick suddenly realizes that the dog is fast approaching

their position. Roderick grabs Cooper and Deegan by their shoulders and pushes them off the road into the woods. He tells them to spread out and take cover. Roderick then hits the ground himself, lying flat on his belly with his rifle ready. As the barking comes nearer and nearer, he stares silently out into the clearing from his hiding place and just prays

that the dog doesn't find them. and just praise that the dog doesn't find them. Behind the closed doors of government offices and military compounds, there are hidden stories and buried secrets from the darkest corners of history. From covert experiments pushing the boundaries of science, to operations so secretive they were barely whispered about. Each week, on redacted, declassified mysteries, we pull back the curtain on these hidden histories, 100% true and verifiable stories

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The stories are real. The secrets are shocking. Follow redacted, declassified mysteries on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to redacted early and ad free right now on Wondery Plus. In the summer of 1925, a small Tennessee town became the battleground for the fight between science and faith in America's public schools. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham,

host of Wondery's podcast, American History Tellers. We take you to the events, times, and people that shaped America and Americans, our values, our struggles, and our dreams. In our latest series, when a young science teacher agrees to participate in a test case orchestrated by the ACLU to challenge Tennessee's ban on teaching evolution, he lands in the center of a raucous spectacle, the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial. Legendary attorneys Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan face off

in a sweltering Tennessee courtroom as the world watches fundamentalist Christianity clash with modern science, setting the stage for battles over education and religious freedom for decades to come. Follow American history tellers on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season only on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial today.

On the morning of August 21, 1992, Randy Weaver, his family, and his friend Kevin Harris are all up on Ruby Ridge going through their daily routines. They work on shores inside the cabin or in the nearby garden, while periodically monitoring the area for federal agents. At around 10.45 a.m., Randy is inside reading the Bible with his 10-year-old daughter Rachel when he's jolted to attention by his dog, Striker, barking angrily outside. Randy grabs a shotgun off the wall, slides a handgun into his waistband, and walks out onto the porch to take a look. He finds his 14-year-old son Samuel and their friend Harris are already in the front yard with the dog. Randy surveys the area but can't see

anything suspicious. He figures Striker must have smelled an animal nearby. An elk, maybe even a bear. Then a moment later the dog takes off down the hill. Randy tells Samuel and Harris they should follow. It might be time to go hunting. Randy has his pair of weapons, Kevin is armed with a rifle, and Samuel has a lightweight assault weapon along with a handgun tucked into his waistband, just like his father. They all head off after the dog.

But after about a minute of walking downhill, Stryker's bark has grown more faint and it's hard to tell exactly where it's coming from. So Randy suggests that they split up. Randy sticks to the logging road while Samuel and Harris cut down through the grassy meadow. Randy moves quickly down the road, turning his head from side to side, trying to track Stryker's barking. But then suddenly, a camouflaged man bursts out from the woods in front of him with his rifle drawn. Men begin screaming at Randy, warning him to back off. A second later, Randy hears another man yelling at him from somewhere else in the woods nearby. Adrenaline surges through

Randy's body. He yells at the two men to stay away from his property, to leave his family alone. Then he turns and begins running back up the hill toward the cabin. He feels it in his bones that this is it, the ambush by the feds he's been preparing for. He's got to warn the others. But Randy hasn't gone far when he hears the loud crack of a rifle back down the road. Immediately he thinks of his son Samuel and his friend Harris. He shouts out to them to run back to the safety of the cabin.

He doesn't hear a reply, so he raises his shotgun and booms a shot into the air to get their attention. But there's no response. He grabs a fresh shell from his pocket and loads it into the shotgun. But the adrenaline gets the best of him and the gun jams when he goes to fire it. He pulls his other weapon from his waistband and fires several bullets into the air, but still he hears nothing in response. Randy is starting to worry that the Feds must already have captured them when he hears his

son's voice echo through the trees. Samuel yells that he's on his way, but then a dozen or more shots ring out in rapid succession. It sounds like a full-on firefight and Randy is out of bullets. He turns and sprints back toward the cabin to get more weapons and ammunition. His lungs burn in the thin mountain air as he dashes up the hill. Reaching the compound, Randy finds his wife and two daughters on the porch, all standing ready with guns in hand. Seconds later he sees Harris come sprinting out of the woods, but Samuel isn't with him. Randy screams at Harris, desperate to know where

his son is, but Harris is so winded he can barely speak for the moment. Finally, through gasping breaths, Harris explains what happened. Randy's mind and body go numb. He can barely hear what Harris is saying, but one thing is clear, Samuel is dead. The exact sequence of events on Ruby Ridge that morning will be debated for years to come, but some things are not disputed. The camouflaged men Randy Weaver encountered on the trail were US Marshals Larry Cooper and Art Roderick. Fellow Marshal Bill Deegan was also hiding nearby. About a minute after Randy began running back toward the cabin, his dog Striker approached the Marshal's position. Fearing that Striker was about to reveal their location to the Weavers,

Roderick shot and killed the dog. But it was already too late because at the exact moment Roderick fired his gun, Samuel Weaver and Kevin Harris appeared. Seeing that his dog had just been killed, Samuel instinctively shot at Roderick in retaliation. He missed, but his shot kicked off a chaotic firefight between the two sides. Cooper and Deegan began firing, and so did Samuel and Harris. Taking refuge behind a tree stump, Harris took aim at Bill Deacon, striking the marshal in the chest. Then as Samuel began to run back up the hill toward the cabin, Cooper shot the boy in the back, killing him. In the confusion, Cooper was left with a mistaken belief that he had shot Harris,

and now as the marshal struggled to get their team off the mountain, he is still unsure if the person he shot is dead or alive. Meanwhile, in the Weaver compound, Randy, Harris Harris and the rest of the family are all back at the cabin struggling to process the death of 14 year old Samuel. Randy and Vicki know the battle with the feds is far from over. But before the family can bunker down they need to retrieve the body of their son. So Randy, Vicki and Harris make their way back down the hill. They find Samuel laying face back down the hill. They find

Samuel laying face down on the trail. Examining the body, Randy sees that his son has been shot once in the elbow and once in the back. Randy and Vicki fight through tears as they lift their son up from the ground and carry him home. Harris follows behind, cradling the body of their dead Labrador striker. When they reach their property, Randy and Vicki carry Samuel's body into Vicki's birthing shed to prepare him for burial. They lay the boy on his back and strip off his bloody clothes and begin washing him with cloths dipped into a bucket of soapy water. Then they turn the body over to continue their cleaning.

The entry wound in Samuel's back is little bigger than the width of a pencil. Vicki gently lays her hand beside it. Our Sammy, our only son. They just ended the weaver name. Randy just stares, his emotions overwhelming him. A boy trying to defend his dog. I'm not gonna let the stand here and take this.

An eye for an eye, that's God's law. Randy storms out of the shed, walks quickly toward the nearby cabin as Vicky follows behind. Randy, Randy stop, where are you going? But Randy won't be stopped. He's headed into the cabin to prepare for battle. Inside he pushes a handgun into his waistband again and stuffs clips of ammunition into the pockets of his jeans. Then he grabs a handgun into his waistband again and stuffs clips of ammunition into the pockets of his jeans. Then he grabs a rifle off the wall.

Tell me you're not going down that hill. Don't stop me. He'll just kill you too. Randy pushes past his wife, but she grabs him firmly by the arm. Who's going to protect me and the girls? We'll all die here. Our children will die here. Is that what you want?

Vicki, this is my duty. Surely you understand. But Vicki doesn't release you want? Vicki, this is my duty. Surely you understand. But Vicki doesn't release her grip. Vicki, let me go! No, you'll have to shoot me first. If you want me to die, Randy, then just go ahead and do it now. Randy looks into his wife's eyes and knows this look. She's not going to give in.

But the rage he's feeling is too much to bear. Vicki, they murdered our boy. They murdered him! I know they did. I know. Vicki cradles Randall's face in her hands. Randy screams, raising his rifle high above his head, and begins firing wildly into the sky. Randy goes on like this, reloading over and over until he's emptied every clip from his pockets. And he grabs the handgun from his waist and empties that too. When he's finally out of bullets, Randy lets the weapon fall from his hand. He collapses to his knees and begins to weep. Vicki wraps her arms around him,

and a moment later, Randy feels his daughter Sarah's hand on his back. They all cry together. Randy knows that Vicki is right. What's most important now is protecting the rest of the family. The government has already taken his son from him, so he must do whatever it takes to stop them from taking anyone else. From Wondery, this is episode two of Stand Off at Ruby Ridge from American Scandal. In our next episode, the government responds to the shootout in the woods by sending a small army of federal agents to Idaho, leading to a protracted standoff and yet another fatality.

If you're enjoying American Scandal, you can unlock exclusive seasons on Wondery+. Binge new seasons first and listen completely ad-free when you join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a survey at Wondery.com slash survey. If you'd like to learn more about the events at Ruby Ridge, we recommend the books Every Knee Shall Bow by Jess Walter, Police State by Jerry Spence, and the PBS American Experience documentary Ruby Ridge. This episode contains reenactments and dramatized details, and while

in most cases we can't know exactly what was said, all our dramatizations are based on historical research. American Scandal is hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham, for Airship. Audio editing by Mohamed Shazim. Sound design by Gabriel Gould. Supervising sound designer, Matthew Filler. Music by Thrum. This episode is written and researched by Corey Metcalf.

Fact checking by Alyssa Jung Perry. Managing producer, Emily Burke. Development by Stephanie Jens. Senior producers are Andy Beckerman and Andy Herman. Executive producers are William Simpson for Airship and Jenny Lauer Beckman, Marshall Louie and Erin O'Flaherty for Wondering. Today is the worst day of Abby's life. The 17-year-old cradles her newborn son in her arms. They all saw much I loved him. They didn't have to take him from me.

Between 1945 and the early 1970s, families ship their pregnant teenage daughters to maternity homes and force them to secretly place their babies for adoption. In hidden corners across America, it's still happening. My parents had me locked up in the godparent home against my will. They worked with them to manipulate me and to steal my son away from me. The godparent home is the brainchild of controversial preacher Jerry Falwell, the father of the modern evangelical right and the founder of Liberty University.

Where powerful men, emboldened by their faith, determine who gets to be a parent and who must give their child away. Follow Liberty Lost on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.