End of Days: Ruby Ridge, the Apocalypse, and the Unmaking of America

On August 21, 1992, federal agents conducting surveillance on a cabin in Boundary County, Idaho, opened fire during an operation to arrest Randy Weaver, a survivalist wanted for failure to appear in court on a gun charge. After an eleven-day standoff, Weaver surrendered. His wife, son, and dog were killed, as was a US Marshal. The siege at Ruby Ridge has remained a subject of national scrutiny and debate. In End of Days, Chris Jennings connects the Ruby Ridge siege to the broader history of apocalyptic Christianity in the United States. He traces the strain of doomsday Christianity that influenced the Weaver family to biblical prophecy interpretations dating to the 1870s, through twentieth-century Christian fundamentalism, and into contemporary right-wing conspiracism. Jennings argues that the events at Ruby Ridge accelerated the spread of this worldview and are central to understanding current crises in American society and politics.