[1][2] He was a central actor in the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff with federal agents at his cabin near Naples, Idaho, during which his wife and son were killed.

[6][7] The Weavers were deeply religious and had difficulty finding a denomination that matched their views; they often moved around among evangelical, Presbyterian, and Baptist churches.

[8][page needed] After graduating from Jefferson High School in 1966, he attended Iowa Central Community College for two years.

[11] A month after leaving the Army, Randy Weaver and Vicki Jordison married in a ceremony at the First Congregationalist Church in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in November 1971.

After a semester at the University of Northern Iowa, Randy dropped out after finding well-paying work at a local John Deere factory.

[12] Partially as a result of reading the 1978 book The Late Great Planet Earth, the couple began to harbor more Christian fundamentalist beliefs, with Vicki believing that the apocalypse was imminent.

[8][page needed] In 1988, Weaver decided to run for county sheriff by using the slogan "Get out of jail – free" and he was adamant about his decision not to pay taxes.

[18] During the initial encounter with Fadeley, the Weaver family relocated from a rental house to a cabin near Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in the Selkirk Mountains.

[18] After charges were pressed against her husband, Vicki Weaver wrote to U.S. Attorney Maurice O. Ellsworth, addressing him as "Servant of the Queen of Babylon" and writing, "The stink of your lawless government has reached Heaven, the abode of Yahweh our Yashua", and "Whether we live or whether we die, we will not bow to your evil commandments.

It began on August 21, when deputies of the United States Marshals Service (USMS) initiated action to apprehend and arrest Randy Weaver under a bench warrant after his failure to appear on firearms charges.

The siege and standoff were ultimately resolved by civilian negotiator, Bo Gritz, who was instrumental in getting Weaver to allow Harris to get medical attention.

[25] Weaver testified about his racial beliefs before a U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee in 1995: "I'm not a hateful racist as most people understand it.

We wanted to be separated from the rest of the world, to live in a remote area, to give our children a good place to grow up.

"[3] In 1995, Weaver was interviewed by New York Times reporter Ken Fuson and expressed regret about not appearing in court for his 1991 gun charge: "I'm not totally without fault in this.

[27] In 1998, Weaver published The Federal Siege at Ruby Ridge: In Our Own Words, which he partly sold in person at gun shows.

[28] On June 18, 2007, Weaver participated in a press conference with tax protesters Edward and Elaine Brown on the front porch of their home in Plainfield, New Hampshire.