the feds had enough resources in the 90s to kill some dude in the woods who bought a sawed off shotgun. I think they can get a few people to post on kiwifarms.
it was more than that. they entrapped Randy Weaver by cutting an inch or so off the buttstock so when he shortened the barrels it was underneath the minimum federal overall length statute. by just measuring barrel length (Which is all a normal person would do) Mr. Weaver did not make and SBR.
Only because the ATF shortened the stock did he break the law, and the shortening was professionally done and minor enough that any normal person would not have noticed.
They did all this because he associated with Neo-Nazis/KKK members, not because he held members ship in these organizations but because they were his only neighbors in ultra-rural Idaho.
The siege was orchestrated because Mr. Weaver failed to appear for a court summons because they never notified him. They ambushed and killed his son Samuel and his dog striker. Samuel was shot in the back as he fled. later, ATF snipers would shoot Mr. weaver and wound him when he left the cabin to view his son's dead body. Snipers would shoot and seriously wound family friend Kevin Harris and kill Vicky weaver who was standing in the doorway of the cabin holding a 10 month old baby.
The federal government would settle out of court after intense public backlash.
Due to negative press the Clinton administration looked to shutdown the ATF and roll the agencies duties into the FBI. In an attempt to justify their existence the ATF would manufacture pretext to lay siege to the Branch Davidian compound in Waco Texas. They would conspire with the Media televise the raid live, which went badly leading to 4 dead ATF agents. the government then laid siege to the compound for 51 days. in an attempt to end the siege (Which the public was beginning to sour on) the Clinton administration ordered the FBI to take over and end it by force. Using flammable tear gas, fire, APCs and tanks the FBI obliterated the compound killing 86 people (28 of which were kids). The FBI then posed for Photos with the bodies. The clintons embarked on a massive cover up because of their involvment.
in an act of revenge Timothy McVeigh would bomb the oklahoma city federal building killing 168 people. after that the Feds new ROE all but banned laying siege in situations like Ruby Ridge or Waco instead preffering to apphrehend suspects in public while they are alone, or by ambush on roads.
The late 1990s saw embryonic stages of an arms race between the Fed. Government and the right. the Militia movment and the now common concepts of civilian firearms/combat training started in responce to Ruby Ridge and Waco. The Feds got really scared and walked back for the most part, and after 9/11 went after muslims instead. The media was in on it too, if you go back and watch 90s cop shows and similar they all have recurring plots about Militias and right wing extrememists.
only now, almost 40 years later is the media and deep state pivoting back to really focusing on the right.