ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
Heavily armed militia members and white nationalists listing the crimes of the federal government on camera. That's what happened in Charlottesville, Va., last weekend. And it's also what happened 25 years ago at Ruby Ridge.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: A standoff between a man who is wanted by the FBI and a large number of federal agents. It's entered its sixth day. The man has been holed up in a cabin in a remote section of Idaho.
KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:
August 21st, 1992, was the first day of what turned into an 11-day standoff between the federal government and the Weaver family. Randy Weaver was wanted on weapons charges. He and his wife were white separatists who flirted with joining the Aryan Nations. Weaver's wife and son and a federal agent would be dead by the end of the standoff. We wanted to take a look at what happened 25 years ago and to talk about how it still matters today. In a minute, we'll hear from people who use Ruby Ridge as a rallying cry.
But first, writer and journalist Jess Walter wrote what's considered the definitive account of what happened at Ruby Ridge, and he's with us now. Welcome.
