Ambush At Ruby Ridge

Examines the case of white supremacist Randy Weaver, who became involved in a deadly shootout with federal agents in Idaho, and charges the government with entrapment and murder.

“The most comprehensive, even-handed and best written account of Ruby Ridge currently in print.” — Washington Times From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jess Walter, here is the story of what happened on Ruby Ridge: the tragic and unlikely series of events that destroyed a family, brought down the number-two man in the FBI, and left in its wake a nation increasingly attuned to the dangers of unchecked federal power. On the last hot day of summer in 1992, gunfire cracked over a rocky knob in northern Idaho, just south of the Canadian border. By the next day three people were dead, and a small war was joined, pitting the full might of federal law enforcement against one well-armed family. Drawing on extensive interviews with Randy Weaver's family, government insiders, and others, Walter traces the paths that led the Weavers to their confrontation with federal agents and led the government to treat a family like a gang of criminals.

We expect the police to stop armed robbers, to arrest drug dealers, to keep the peace at demonstrations and to protect us from crime. Many of us believe that police officers need to carry guns to protect themselves as well as us. But do we want our police forces to become armies? Most of us are shocked when suspects are shot dead by police before they can be tried, and disturbed to see police wearing riot gear and using baton charges at peaceful demonstrations. When police begin using paramilitary tactics, the essential nature of their role is redefined, switching from protection and peacekeeping to active aggression. Some units within our police forces, such as the Special Operations Group, train with the military and use military weapons and tactics. In looking behind the extraordinary number of police shootings in Victoria, Blue Army examines how the Special Operations Group and their tactics-which are passed on to ordinary police-have contributed to the toll. Jude McCulloch's involvement as a lawyer in cases of police shootings led her to detailed investigation of changes to policing in Australia. Blue Army arises from her research into the paramilitarisation of the police. It exposes the risks of allowing Australia's police forces to move away from the key principle of keeping the peace with the use of minimum force. Blue Army is a very disturbing book, and one of great importance.

James Bovard is no fan of Big Government in the US and under the Clinton-Gore administration. In his new book, Bovard looks at Clinton and Gore's record on such abuses and absurdities as taxes, gun control, the Waco fiasco, AmeriCorps, and federal funding of every program from those dealing with disaster relief to those that put on puppet shows in Northern California. He looks at Hillary Clinton's informal role in the government, as well as Newt Gingrich's poor stewardship of the Republican party in its quest for a leaner federal government. In the style that made Lost Rights a classic, Bovard takes us on a sentimental journey through the last eight years. It's a trip no one will want to miss.

"Over the last thirty years, conservative evangelicals have been moving to the north-west of the United States in an effort to survive and resist the impact of secular modernity. Their activity coincides with the promotion by prominent survivalist authors of a programme of migration to the "American Redoubt," a region encompassing Idaho, Montana, eastern parts of Washington and Oregon, and Wyoming, as a location within which to endure hostile social change or natural disaster. These migration movements have independent origins, but they overlap in their influences and aspirations, working in tandem and sometimes in mutual dependence to offer a vision of the present in which Christian values must be defended, if necessary, by force, and a vision of the future in which American society will be rebuilt according to biblical law. Drawing on Calvinist theology, the social theory of Christian Reconstruction, and libertarian politics, these believers are projecting significant soft power, with their books being promoted by leading secular publishers and being listed as New York Times bestsellers. The strategy is gaining momentum, making an impact in local political and economic life, while being repackaged for a wider audience in publications by a broader coalition of conservative commentators and in American mass culture. These believers recognise that they have lost the culture war - but another kind of conflict is beginning. This book examines the origins, evolution, and cultural reach of the migration that might tell us most about the future of American evangelicalism"--

This provocative volume explores how and why the word "patriot" has been appropriated by those who fight against the U.S. government—sometimes advocating violence in support of their goals. Today, as in the past, some "patriot" groups in America long for a return to traditional values and believe it is their duty to stop an intrusive government from whittling away at the freedoms that define the United States. This book looks at the origins and current activities of such groups through an exploration of the dual nature of the patriot in American mythos—the unquestioning lover of the country and its policies versus the man or woman who places the founding principle of limited government above all else. Focusing on contemporary patriot groups and their impact on U.S. society, the work offers insights into factors that have contributed to the rise of such groups in the past that are again manifesting themselves. It explores the groups' motivations and justifications and shows how these groups use the emotionally powerful sentiment of patriotism to agitate for change and promote political violence. Perhaps most significant for readers is a discussion of the beliefs that divide the American public today as reflected in the ideologies of patriot groups—and what this means for the future.

Highlighting a breadth of American individuals and groups that engaged in extremist behavior across history, this book provides a succinct, concise overview of extremist behavior in the past and examines today's increasingly common incidences of hate and extremism. Since the election of Barack Obama in 2008, extremist and hate groups have seen a resurgence on the American political landscape. Members of these subgroups within the American population have become concerned that the America that they have always known is fading into oblivion, with a majority of individuals in these groups holding fiercely anti-immigration views and adhering to the belief that the United States should not admit large numbers of any group that is not white, Christian, or predominantly European. Others believe that the principles and precepts of the U.S. Constitution have gone by the wayside and that drastic measures are required to protect the underlying tenets that were the essential elements of the Constitution and many of "their" nation's founding principles. How did these individuals come to feel this way, is it possible to bring these impassioned extremists back into the fold, and if so, how? This book provides comprehensive, illuminating, and sometimes disturbing insights into the individuals, groups, and events that have illustrated "extremist" behavior in post-World War II America. Ranging from the anti-communist rhetoric and activities of the John Birch Society, to the radical socialist ideals of the Black Panthers, to the goals of a "pure" America articulated by white nationalists, this book documents the various extremist elements that shaped the second half of the 20th century as well as the first two decades of the 21st century. Readers will grasp how events in the histories of individuals and groups as well as perceived injustices have lead to the incidences of hate and extremism in American society. The encyclopedic entries of the book are specifically written to accessible to readers without specific knowledge of extremism, political science, or sociology.

After reading this text, the reader will have a fuller understanding of the nature of domestic terrorism and a clearer understanding of the basics. These basics include a review of the complex history that spans thousands of years, an explanation of definitions, a review of contemporary domestic terrorism, and the examination of intelligence gathering, threat analysis, and emergency responses to terrorism-incident management. It is hoped that such knowledge as presented here will enhance the public's understanding of domestic terrorism and law enforcement's ability to prevent and respond to its acts. It focuses almost exclusively on right-wing domestic terrorism because of its strong presence in the last twenty years and the projection of experts that right-wing terrorism will prevail well into the twenty-first century. The book is divided into three parts. The first part deals with definitional problems associated with policymaker's and law enforcement's handling of terrorism, an historical overview of terrorism and terrorist incidents in the global community, and an historical examination of terrorism from below in the United States. Part Two addresses the American Hate Movement and patriot-militia activities. It also discusses the emergence of special-interest extremist and terrorism groups that advocate violence based on an ideology or belief, which may include the desire for political and social change. They include ecological resistance groups, antienvironmental movements, animal rights and antiabortion activists. Part Three focuses on effective criminal intelligence-gathering techniques and the implementation of terrorism-incident management strategies.