Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms were the first to turn their attention on Weaver. In 1989, Kenneth Fadley, A BATF informant, persuaded Weaver to sell him two sawed-off shotguns, carefully pointing put where he wanted the barrels cut--one quarter of an inch below the legal length.

Prior to the sting operation, Weaver had no criminal record. The agents had noticed Weaver and members of his family at a meeting of the Aryan Nation, a white supremacist movement based in the panhandle of Idaho. According to Weaver, the BATF then threatened him, saying that unless he promised to infiltrate the Aryan Nation and turn informer, they would prosecute. He refused; charges were filed in December 1990.

A court date was set, then changed. A probation officer sent a letter to Weaver with yet another date. When Weaver failed to appear, a warrant was issued.

"Wyatt Earp meets Rambo"

Federal agents launched an 18 month surveillance of Weaver's cabin and land. The agency this time was the U.S. Marshal Service (headed by former Meese Commission star Henry Hudson), which is responsible for serving high-risk warrants. The service seems to take its cue not from the Constitution but from Hollywood. David Nevin, a lawyer involved in the subsequent court case, noted: "The marshals called in military aerial reconnaissance and had photos studied by the Defense Mapping Agency. The prowled the woods around Weaver's cabin with night-vision equipment. The had psychological profiles performed and installed $130,000 of long-range solar-powered spy cameras. The intercepted the Weaver's mail. They even knew the menstrual cycle of Weaver's teenage daughter, and planned an arrest scenario around it.

They actually bought a tract of land next to Weaver's where an undercover marshal was to pose as a neighbor and build a cabin in hopes of befriending Weaver and luring him away." All this despite the fact that BATF had initially server Weaver a warrant without encountering violence (agents faked a car breakdown: when he stopped to help, they arrested him). According to several reports, Hudson's special operations group thought it was up against Rambo. Had the government bothered to look carefully at service records, it would have known better. According to Soldier of Fortune, Weaver never completed special forces training. He was an engineer in support personnel for the Green Berets.

"Although the marshals knew Weaver's precise location," reports Nevin, "throughout this elaborate investigation, not a single marshal ever met face-to-face with Weaver. Even so, Weaver offered to surrender if conditions were met to guarantee his safety. The marshals drafted a letter of acceptance, but the U.S. attorney for Idaho abruptly ordered the negotiations to cease."

On August 21st, 1992 six U.S. marshals outfitted in full camouflage and painted faces entered Weaver's property. The carried automatic weapons. They had been told to avoid contact with the Weavers, but had visited a shooting range the night before to sight in their weapons. The group leader was familiar with the terrain: It was deputy marshal Arthur Roderick's 24th visit to the cabin. One of the Weaver family's dogs, Striker, caught sent of the agents and ran barking down the hill. Weaver's 14-year old son, Sammy, and Kevin Harris, a 25-year old family friend who lived with the Weavers in the cabin, followed.

What happened next is a horrible vision of law enforcement agents out of control. Lawyers for the defendants say that Roderick shot the dog, shattering its haunches. Sammy Weaver fired two shots at the man who had just killed his dog. Randy Weaver called out to his son. Sammy yelled "I'm coming, Dad," then turned to run to safety. A bullet from a U.S. marshal nearly tore off his arm; a second bullet entered his back, killing him.

At some point during the exchange deputy marshal William Degan stood up and yelled "Freeze!", Harris fired, killing the marshal. Federal agents testified in court that Degan had been killed by the first shot of the exchange, but were unable to explain how it was that the marshal had fired seven shots from his gun before he was shot.

Who was writing this script?

FBI Mutant Ninjas

The surviving marshals trooped down the mountain and called for help. As Weaver retrieved his son's body, the FBI elite Hostage Rescue Team boarded a plane in Washington D.C. Almost state and federal agents surrounded the site of the standoff. Although no shots came from the cabin, FBI team commander Richard Rogers changed the standard rules of engagement. The HRT sharpshooters were told to shoot any armed adult male on sight, whether he posed an immediate threat or not.

The next day, August 22, Randy Weaver -- with daughter Sara and Kevin Harris -- walked from his cabin to the little shack where his son's body lay. As he lifted the latch on the shack's door, Weaver was shot from behind by FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi. Weaver struggled back to the cabin while his wife Vicky, stood in the doorway, holding their 10-month-old infant in her arms and calling for her husband to hurry.

Horiuchi testified that after shooting Weaver in the back, he followed Kevin Harris through his telescopic sight, leading slightly. He fired as the man rushed through the door of the cabin. According to the New York Times, Horiuchi, who claimed he could hit a target at a distance of 200 meters within a quarter of an inch, said he had decided to neutralize that male and his rifle." Instead he hit Vicky Weaver in the temple, killing her. The bullet that passed through the Vicky Weaver's skull wounded Harris.

The paramilitary team then switched to psychological warfare. As The Washington Times, Jerry Seper reported, "Court records show that while the woman's body lay in the cabin for eight days, the FBI used megaphones to taunt the family. 'Good morning, Mrs Weaver. We had pancakes for breakfast what did you have?'"