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Alan W. Bock

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Ambush at Ruby Ridge : How Government Agents Set Randy Weaver Up and Took His Family Down Hardcover – October 1, 1995

by Alan W. Bock (Author)

4.5 75 ratings

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AUGUST 21, 1992: A SIX-MAN TEAM from the Special Operations Group of the U.S. Marshals Service, dressed in full regalia and armed with silenced automatic weapons, moved onto Randy Weaver's 20-acre property known as Ruby Ridge. In less than 36 hours they had killed his son and an FBI sniper had shot his wife as she stood in the door of the cabin holding her 10-month-old-baby. Almost immediately the agents declared a hostage situation and a massive paramilitary buildup began, which eventually reached more than 400 heavily armed agents, including most of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, and a large array of assault vehicles and weaponry.
Ambush at Ruby Ridge: How Government Agents Set Randy Weaver Up and Took His Family Down chronicles the U.S. Marshals Service elaborate, multi-million-dollar 18-month surveillance of Weaver, an Idaho backwoods resident known as a white separatist, indicted on a minor firearms charge many claim was a government act of hatred and blackmail. The resultant 11-day standoff in Weaver's small family cabin and the paramilitary attack that ensued are described through graphic and closely documented accounts: from the details surrounding the initial siege to the shoot-to-kill orders given by FBI headquarters.
Through court transcripts, private testimonies and interviews with insiders, local residents, and friends of the Weaver Family, jounalist Alan Bock debunks the myth that government agencies are beyond the realm of entrapment, cover-ups, and even the killing of innocent people. He overturns the hypocrisies and contradictions of the FBI, and takes you straight to the scene-first, to the tragedy of Ruby Ridge, then to the colorful neo-Nazi and protester-filled roadblock, and finally to the courtroom, where prosecutors and flamboyant defense attorney Gerry Spence go head to head.
But beyond being a shocking account of bizarre circumstances, Ambush at Ruby Ridge challenges the personal and political implications of the most notorious trial in Idaho history. Maybe if the ambush on David Koresh's Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas, hadn't happened as the Weaver trial was underway. the events of Ruby Ridge might be seen as a regional story of government bungling with tragic results. But Waco did happen, causing many Americans to ask hard and fundamental questions about what the United States Government has become. Unlike with Waco, the government may actually be held accountable for what it did at Ruby Ridge.

Print length

281 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Dickens Pr
Publication date

October 1, 1995
Dimensions

6.25 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
ISBN-10

1880741482
ISBN-13

978-1880741481
See all details

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alan Bock is a syndicated columnist and the senior writer for the editorial page of the Orange County Register. A former radio talk-show host, Bock has contributed articles to Reason, National Review and Harvard Business Review. He lives in Lake Elsinore, California with his family.

Review

" A courageous and important expose." -- Liberty Magazine, February 1996

" Bock has fashioned a straightforward indictment of a federal government out of control." -- The San Francisco Chronicle, November 1995

" This is the most complete account availabe, written in an absorbing and galvanizing style. Dont miss it." -- The Orange County Register, December 1995

"Alan Bock has written a great book on perhaps the most important civil rights case of the 1990's. Americans should read Ambush at Ruby Ridge to learn how dangerous and dishonest the federal government has become." -- Jim Bovard, Author, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, September 1995

"Bock gives you a vivid understanding of the Weavers, Fed bosses, their assassins, the trial, media coverage, everything. Bock doesn't portray Weaver as a hero or the feds as devils. He shows the feds were just doing their job, which makes the story so scary. Bock's path-breaking, blow-by-blow account reads like a thriller." -- Laissez-Faire Books, 1996

"Bock has done a fine job on the trial, offering documents and the lawmen's conflicting testimony. He also produces a provacative final chapter not about Ruby Ridge, but about other Ruby Ridges around the country, cases in which federal law agencies have trampled upon citizens' rights." -- The Grand Rapids Press, January 1996

"If you think government is part of the solution, here is proof that it is often a major part of the problem. Letting the facts speak for themselves, Alan Bock calmly tells the shocking story of the wholly unnecessary deaths meted out by U.S. agents on Ruby Ridge in the Idaho panhandle in August 1992. When a thing like this can hapen in modern-day America, it's time to ask why, and make sure it never happens again." -- William A. Rusher, former publisher, National Review, 1995

"Mr Bock supplies an excellent account of how and why the government's initial investigation grew into a full-fledged paramilitary siege involving 400 armed agents. Ambush at Ruby Ridge is a useful resource, with some thought-provoking commentary." -- The Washington Times, Sept 1995

From Booklist

Before the Waco incident, the cause celebre for those who feel U.S. federal law enforcement agencies have become worse outlaws than their quarries was the case of Randy Weaver, a white separatist (not supremacist) living with his family on Ruby Ridge in remote northern Idaho. According to Bock, after a government stooge baited Weaver into an illegal gun sale, U.S. marshals and the FBI laid siege to his home and shot his 14-year-old son and his wife to death. A marshal died, too, but at trial, the jury acquitted Weaver and family friend David Harris of murder. Meanwhile, defense attorneys had exposed a swamp of arrogant government misconduct. Bock stands squarely with Weaver's defense, but his report is no intemperate partisan rant. It is a thoroughgoing account of the siege, the events that shaped Weaver and led to his running afoul of the government, the government's and major news media's characterizations of the affair, the trial, and the uncertain aftermath of an appalling case of law enforcement overkill. Better, it is unputdownably engrossing. Ray Olson

From the Inside Flap

August 21, 1992: A six-man team from the Special Operations Group of the U.S. Marshals Service, dressed in full camouflage regalia and armed with silenced automatic weapons, moved onto Randy Weaver's 20-acre property known as Ruby Ridge. In less than 36 hours they had killed his son and an FBI sniper had shot his wife as she stood in the door of the cabin holding her 10-month-old baby. Almost immediately the agents declared a hostage situation and a massive paramilitary buildup began, which eventually reached more than 400 heavily armed agents, including most of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, and a large array of assault vehicles and weaponry.

Through court transcripts, private testimonies, and interviews with insiders, local residents, and friends of the Weaver family, journalist Alan Bock debunks the myth that government agencies are beyond the realm of entrapment, cover-ups, and even the killing of innocent people. He overturns the hyprocrisies and contradictions of the FBI, and takes you straight to the scene-first, to the tragedy of Ruby Ridge, then to the colorful neo-nazi- and protester-filled roadblock, and finally to the courtroom, where prosecutors and flamboyant defense attorney Gerry Spence go head to head.

But beyond being a shocking account of bizarre circumstances, Ambush at Ruby Ridge challenges the personal and political implications of the most notorious trial in Idaho history. Maybe if the ambush on David Koresh's Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas, hadn't happened as the Weaver trail was underway, the events of Ruby Ridge might be seen as a regional story of government bungling with tragic results. But Waco did happen, causing many Americans to ask hard and fundamental questions about what the United States government has become. Unlike with Waco, the government may actually be held accountable for what it did at Ruby Ridge.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dickens Pr (October 1, 1995)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 281 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1880741482
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1880741481
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.7 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,402,273 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,031 in Civil Rights & Liberties (Books)
- #4,718 in Criminology (Books)

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4.5 75 ratings

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nmartist

Sobering

Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2014

Verified Purchase

I found the entire Ruby Ridge episode not only educational but frightening. As the author compares the causes and effects of a group of militaristic "LAW ENFORCERS," it was a GIGANTIC wake up call that ALL Americans should read. The Weaver family was so blatantly setup by zealous, deceitful members of the law and legal community, and members of the family legally murdered, that I am appalled.
From Washington, D. C. down to the local level, members of a community of people TRUSTED TO PROTECT our Civil Rights and liberties, lied, cheated, stole, murdered and then attempted to hide the evidence.
Some will say, "Randy Weaver and his family were deserving of the results because they were religious nut-cases," etc. Yet, they asked nothing more than what every American wants and deserves, peace, protection and privacy.
The result was outrageous, no matter how it is viewed. Hundreds of sworn protectors and defenders of our Constitutional Rights, with every imaginable weapon, destroyed the symbols of America-Peace, Justice, Religious freedom and the right to freely speak without fear of governmental reprisal. We and our government should be ashamed.

15 people found this helpful

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Raylee

Important Reading

Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2013

Verified Purchase

Most of us have forgotten about this event which captured media attention so long ago. Like most other events the inital drama of the seige and the shootings was at the forefront of the news yet the aftermath is duly ignored by the media. If you want to see an example of govermental tyranny then read this book. If you dont believe the US government can be tyrannical then read this book. Open your eyes.

7 people found this helpful

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Stephen O. Sprout

BATF Overreach

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2015

Verified Purchase

This book tells how the Bureau of Tobacco & Firearms entrapped Randy Weaver into selling two illegally sawed off shot guns in an effort to recruit him into BATF operations and later laid siege to Mr. Weaver's home, ostensibly to serve a warrant relating to the illegal weapons and his failure to show up in court. His failure to show up in court was a result of the fact that he was misinformed about the date he was to appear by the legal system. Mr. Weaver's wife was killed in the siege, which represented a vast overreaction to the situation. The weaver home was surrounded by a small, heavy armed army with swat teams, hum vees, and a helicopter. This situation was comparable to Waco, which occurred later. My impression is that the author has tried to be objective and provide an accurate account of what happened. I think the book is well written.

11 people found this helpful

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Gram

government repulsive

Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2018

Verified Purchase

So happy to get this book. It was a hard read due to the topic.

2 people found this helpful

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Nancy Crisss

... more going on in the government that is not good. Just like the assassination of JFK

Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2016

Verified Purchase

This book just confirms my belief that there is more going on in the government that is not good. Just like the assassination of JFK. It's a cover up in both cases.

6 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Adequate but incomplete

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2012

Verified Purchase

For those who know few details of the Ruby Ridge debacle this made for TV movie is not too bad. Ms. Dern's portrayal of Mrs. Weaver was spot on, and Randy Quaid did a pretty good job with Randy Weaver, but his body type was all wrong for the type (and, yes, that matters in this case). The movie does a poor job with the aftermath, dealing with the cover-up, etc. Read the book upon which it is based, or one of the others.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Tamii

Provocative Inside Look At Government At Its Worst

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2014

Verified Purchase

This is a well researched and thorough look at The Ruby Ridge tragedy. I highly recommend reading it. A family with distrust of a corrupt judicial system, only to recognize their worst fear becoming reality.

One person found this helpful

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Richard

Great read.

Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2016

Verified Purchase

This book is well balanced and informative. The author did his homework and presented the facts from start to finish.

One person found this helpful

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