Rise of the Freemen

It was the longest armed standoff in FBI history, but many Americans have never heard of it.  For 81 days, the heavily armed Montana Freemen and hundreds of FBI agents eyed each other across a desolate Eastern Montana prairie.  Many predicted the standoff would end in violence, but ultimately, the Freemen surrendered peacefully.  The real story however, occurred years before the tense standoff.  "The Rise of the Freemen" investigates the roots of the anti-government group in the 90's.  The documentary explores the desperation and ideology that laid the foundations for the Freemen.  Using archival footage and never before-seen-FBI images and documents, it follows the rapid escalation of threats and violence against elected officials and the media, the sprawling bank fraud case, and the dramatic undercover arrest of Freemen Leaders that sparked the standoff.