In the late summer of 1992 McVeigh was captivated by events unfolding in Ruby Ridge, Idaho. Randy Weaver, a survivalist who lived in an isolated cabin with his wife and four children, had been approached in 1989 by an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) who wanted to buy a sawed-off shotgun. Weaver rebuffed the agent's request numerous times before finally giving in and selling him a shotgun that was just slightly shorter than what was allowed by law. The bureau then tried to recruit Weaver to be an informer against a white supremacist group whose headquarters were nearby in exchange for dropping the gun charge. When Weaver refused, a federal grand jury issued an indictment. When Weaver did not appear in court (the letter informing him of the court date gave the wrong date), a warrant was issued for his...