In August 1992, near Ruby Ridge, Idaho, federal law enforcement agents surrounded the secluded mountain home of Randy Weaver, who was wanted for selling illegal arms to an undercover agent. During the shoot-out that followed, Weaver’s fourteen- year-old son and his dog were killed as they ran toward the cabin; his wife, who was holding their infant daughter in her arms, was also shot and killed as she stood in her home’s doorway. Eight months later, in Waco, Texas, officers from the FBI and other agencies invaded the heavily armed compound of a religious sect to arrest the leader on weapons charges. The compound caught fire and eighty-six members of the Branch Davidian cult—including twenty-five children—were killed.

Many people maintain that the events at Ruby Ridge and Waco are indicative of the...