Waco siege

File:Waco4.jpg

The Mount Carmel compound in flames during the final assault

On February 28 1993, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) raided the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel, a property located nine miles (14 km) east-northeast of Waco, Texas. The initial raid resulted in the deaths of four agents and six Davidians. The subsequent 51-day siege by the FBI ended on April 19 when fire completely consumed the complex, killing 79 people, including 21 children and Davidian leader David Koresh, that has come to be known as the Waco Siege.

History

Main article: Branch Davidian

The Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventist Church was formed in Los Angeles, California during the 1930s, breaking away from the Seventh-day Adventist Church. As the group gained members, the leadership moved the church to a hilltop several miles west of Waco, which they named Mount Carmel, after a mountain in Israel mentioned in the Bible. A few years later, they moved again to a much larger site east of the city.

The new Mount Carmel Center consisted of a main church building (constructed primarily of thin plywood, taking advantage of a lack of building codes at the time), administrative and storage buildings, and homes for the leadership and important visitors.

The church announced at some point that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ was about to take place, and members were told to gather at the center to await this event. Many built houses, others stayed in tents, trucks or buses, and most sold their possessions.

By 1992, most of the land belonging to the group had been sold, and most of the buildings had been removed, or were being salvaged for construction materials to convert much of the main chapel and a tall water tank into apartments for the resident members of the group.

Accusations

Interviews with surviving Davidians state that David Koresh was intimately versed in the Bible and "knew it like he wrote it". Koresh taught that the US government was the enemy of the Davidians, and that they would have to defend themselves. He also professed that the apocalypse foretold in the Book of Revelation was upon them.

In a video made by the Davidians and released during the siege, Koresh stated that he had been told by God to procreate with the women in the groups to establish a "House of David", his "Special People". This involved married couples in the group dissolving their marriages and agreeing that only Koresh could have sexual relations with the wives. On the tape, Koresh is also shown with several minors who claimed to have had babies fathered by Koresh. In total, Koresh had fourteen young children, who stayed with him in the compound.

A video clip of an interview between Koresh and an Australian television station notes that he was accused of impregnating the aged widow of the founder of Branch Davidianism. He sarcastically said that if the charges were true, if he had "made an 82 year-old woman pregnant... I do miracles, I'm God!" Frequently, only the last two words were seen in news coverage.

On February 27, 1993 the Waco Tribune-Herald began what it called the “Sinful Messiah” series of articles.[2] It alleged that Koresh had physically abused children in the compound and had taken underage brides, even raping one of them. Koresh was also said to advocate polygamy for himself, and declared himself married to several female residents of the small community.

According to the paper, Koresh declared that he was entitled to at least 140 wives, that he was entitled to claim any of the females in the group as his, that he had fathered at least a dozen children by the harem and that some of these mothers became brides as young as twelve or thirteen years old.

Reports from Joyce Sparks, an investigator from the Texas agency responsible for protective services, stated that she had found no evidence that the allegations were true in any of several visits to the Mount Carmel site over a period of months, but said that she was not permitted to speak with the children alone, nor was she permitted to inspect all areas of the site. She noted that safety concerns over construction sites at Mount Carmel were immediately addressed and corrected. Carol Moore, author of the 1994 "The Massacre Of The Branch Davidians—A Study Of Government Violations Of Rights, Excessive Force And Cover Up",[3] published by The Committee For Waco Justice, writes:

Rick Ross told the Houston Chronicle that Koresh is "your stock cult leader". They're all the same. Meet one and you've met them all. They're deeply disturbed, have a borderline personality [disorder] and lack any type of conscience. No one willingly enters into a relationship like this. So you're talking about deception and manipulation (by the leader), people being coached in ever so slight increments, pulled in deeper and deeper without knowing where it's going or seeing the total picture.

Prelude

In 1992 the ATF became concerned over reports of automatic gunfire coming from the Carmel compound. Subsequent investigations, including sending in one agent undercover, revealed that there were over 150 weapons and 8,000 rounds of ammunition in the complex. Most of the weapons were legal semi-automatics but there were also a number of assault rifles that had been modified to fire fully automatically.

The ATF began surveillance from a house across the road from the compound, but their cover was noticeably poor (the "college students" were in their 30s, not registered at the local schools, and they did not keep a schedule which would have fit any legitimate employment or classes).

Holding evidence that the Davidians had violated federal law, the ATF obtained search and arrest warrants for Koresh and specific followers on weapons charges due to the many firearms they had accumulated, and they planned their raid for March 1, 1993. However, they moved it up a day in response to the Waco Tribune-Herald "Sinful Messiah" article (which the ATF had tried to prevent from being published).

The initial assault

File:Waco2.jpg

ATF Agents firing upon the Mount Carmel compound during the initial raid

The ATF mounted the raid on a Sunday morning, February 28 1993. Any advantage of surprise was lost as a reporter, who had been tipped off on the raid, asked for directions from a USPS mail carrier who was Koresh's brother-in-law, and the assault team assembled within view of the upper stories of the Mount Carmel main building. Koresh then confronted the ATF agent who had infiltrated the Branch Davidians and told him that they knew a raid was coming. Koresh and his followers then began arming and taking up defensive positions, while the women and children were told to take cover in their rooms.

Despite being informed that the Davidians knew the raid was coming, the ATF commander ordered that the raid go ahead, even though their plan had depended on reaching the compound without the Davidians having armed.

Agents approached the site in cattle trailers pulled by pickup trucks owned by individual ATF agents. It is not known who fired the first shots. It is reported that the first firing occurred at the double front entry doors; ATF agents stated that they heard shots coming from within the building, while Branch Davidian survivors claimed that the first shots came from the ATF agents outside.

Within a minute of the raid starting, a Davidian, Wayne Martin, called 911 pleading for them to stop shooting. The resident asked for a ceasefire, and audiotapes clearly caught him saying "Here they come again!" and "That's them shooting, that's not us!", though these claims are unsubstantiated.

The local sheriff then attempted to contact the ATF force, but initially could not get through as the ATF communications officer had turned his radio off. Eventually the sheriff got through and negotiated a ceasefire.

After the ceasefire, the Davidians, who still had ample ammunition, allowed the dead and wounded to be removed and held their fire during the ATF retreat. Steve Willis, Robert Williams, Todd McKeehan and Conway LeBleu were the ATF agents killed during the raid, with another 16 having been injured. The Davidians killed were Winston Blake, Peter Gent, Peter Hipsman, Perry Jones and Jaydean Wendel. Michael Schroeder was shot dead by ATF agents when he fired a Glock 19 pistol at agents as he attempted to reenter the compound around 5 PM with Woodrow Kendrick and Norman Allison.

The local sheriff, in audiotapes broadcast after the incident, said he was not apprised of the raid.

Timeline of events 28 February

Time	Event
0500	76 agents assemble at Fort Hood for the drive to the staging area at the Bellmead Civic Center. According to a later Treasury Department Review, the agents drove in an 80-vehicle convoy that stretched for a mile with a cattle trailer at either end
0945	ATF agents move in on the compound. A gun battle begins.
0948	Branch Davidian Wayne Martin, a Waco attorney, calls 911
1130	Cease fire reached
1600	The first message from Koresh is relayed over KRLD Radio In Dallas
1655	Mike Schroeder is shot dead returning to the compound
1700	ATF spokesman Ted Royster says gunfire has continued sporadically through the afternoon
1930	David Koresh is interviewed by CNN. The FBI instructs CNN not to conduct further interviews
2015	ATF spokesperson Sharon Wheeler says negotiations continue with Davidians and gunfire has ended
2200	By now 4 children have exited (2 Sonobe children, 2 Fagan children)
2205	Koresh talks for about 20 minutes on KRLD, describing his beliefs and saying he is the most seriously wounded of the Davidians

The siege

ATF agents established contact with Koresh and others inside the building after they withdrew. The FBI took command soon after as a result of the deaths of Federal agents. They placed the FBI Special Agent in Command of San Antonio, Jeff Jamar, in charge of the siege. The tactical team was headed by Richard Rogers, who had previously been criticized for his actions at the Ruby Ridge incident.

For the next fifty-one days, communication with those inside was by telephone by a group of 25 FBI negotiators (who reportedly were not always in touch with the tactical units surrounding the building).

In the first few days the FBI believed they had made a breakthrough when they negotiated with Koresh an agreement that the Davidians would peaceably leave the compound in return for a message, recorded by Koresh, being broadcast on national radio. The broadcast was made, but Koresh then told negotiators that God had told him to remain in the building and "wait".

Despite this, soon afterwards negotiators managed to facilitate the release of 19 children, but without their parents. Ninety-eight people remained in the compound.

On day nine the Davidians released a video tape to show the FBI that there were no hostages, but in fact everyone was staying inside on their own free will. This video also included a message from Koresh.

As the stand-off continued, Koresh negotiated more time, allegedly so he could write religious documents he said he needed to complete before he surrendered. His conversations, dense with biblical imagery, alienated the federal negotiators who treated the situation as a hostage crisis.

As the siege wore on two factions developed within the FBI, one believing negotiation to be the answer, the other force. Increasingly aggressive techniques were used to try to make the Davidians leave. Outside the building nine tanks and five combat engineering vehicles (CEVs) obtained from the US Army began patrolling. The tanks were used to destroy outbuildings and crush cars belonging to Koresh. Loud music (heavily distorted) and disturbing sounds were played at high volume. Eventually all power and water was cut off to the complex, forcing those inside to survive on rain water and stockpiled army Meal, Ready-to-Eat rations.

Criticism was later leveled at the tactic of loud noises against Koresh by Schneider's attorney, Jack Zimmerman:

The point was this - they were trying to have sleep disturbance and they were trying to take someone that they viewed as unstable to start with, and they were trying to drive him crazy. And then they got mad 'cos he does something that they think is irrational!

Despite the increasingly aggressive tactics, Koresh ordered a group of followers to leave. Eleven people left and were arrested as material witnesses, with one person charged with conspiracy to murder.

The children's willingness to stay with Koresh disturbed the negotiators who were unprepared to work around the Davidians' religious zeal. However, as the siege went on, the children were aware that an earlier group of children who had left with some women were immediately separated, and the women arrested.

During the siege a number of scholars who study apocalypticism in religious groups attempted to persuade the Justice Department that the siege tactics being used by government agents would only create the impression within the Davidians that they were part of a Biblical End Times confrontation that had cosmic significance. This would likely increase the chances of a violent and deadly outcome (in a subsequent stand-off with the Montana Freemen, the Justice Department incorporated this advice to end the confrontation peacefully).

Koresh's discussions with the negotiating team became increasingly difficult. He proclaimed that he was the second coming of Christ and had been commanded by his father in heaven to remain in the compound.

Many of Koresh's statements about religion that baffled government negotiators were understood by religious scholars as references to his idiosyncratic interpretations of the Book of Revelation, and his claimed role in the End Times battle between good and evil.

The final assault

The FBI became increasingly concerned that the Davidians were going to commit mass suicide, as had happened at Jonestown when 900 people killed themselves at their leader's behest. The then-newly appointed U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno approved the recommendations of the FBI to mount an assault after being told that conditions were deteriorating and children were being abused inside the compound. Because the Davidians were heavily armed, the FBI's arms included .50 caliber guns and armored vehicles known as combat engineer vehicles (CEVs). A plan was formed which would see the CEVs use booms to punch holes in the walls of buildings and then pump in CS gas ("tear gas") to try to flush out the Davidians without harming them. The plan called for increasing amounts of gas to be pumped in over two days to increase pressure. No armed assault was to be made, and loudspeakers were used to tell the Davidians that there was no armed assault and to ask them not to fire on the vehicles. Despite this, several Davidians opened fire. Instead of returning fire, the FBI increased the amount of gas being used. After more than six hours no Davidians had left the building instead sheltering in an underground bunker or using gas masks. The CEVs were used to punch several large holes in the building to provide exits for those inside. However several of these were blocked when the floor above collapsed, and Davidians were scared that they would be shot if they left. At around noon, three fires started almost simultaneously in different parts of the building. Even then, as the fire spread, only nine people left the building. The remaining Davidians remained inside as fire engulfed the building, with footage being broadcast worldwide by television. In all, 74 died. Jeff Jamar prohibited fire crews access to the burning buildings until after the blaze had burned itself out, due to the danger of explosives within the fire and possible weapons fire from surviving Davidians. Nothing remains of the compound today. Only a small chapel stands on the site, used by a small number of Branch Davidians.

Chronology of events 19 April

Time	Event
0550	Agents call Davidian compound to warn they are going to begin tank activity and advise residents "to take cover". Agents say the Davidian who answered the phone doesn't reply, but instead throws the phone and phone line out of the front door
0600	Surveillance tapes record a man inside the compound saying "Everybody wake up, let's start to pray," then, "Pablo have you poured it yet" ..."Huh" ... "Have you poured it yet"... "in the hallway"... "things are poured, right?"
0604	Armored vehicle with ram and delivery device to pump tear gas into compound with pressurized air rips into front wall just left of front door leaving a hole 8 feet high and 10 feet wide. Agents claimed the holes not only allowed insertion of the gas, but also provided a means of escape. Agents allege that 75 rounds are fired from inside compound at this time
0610	Surveillance tapes record "don't pour it all out, we might need some later"... "throw the tear gas back out" FBI negotiator Byron Sage is recorded saying "It's time for people to come out." Surveillance tape records a man saying "what?" then, "no way."
0612	Surveillance tapes record Davidians saying "They're gonna kill us," then "They don't want to kill us."
0723	Surveillance tapes record a male Davidian saying, "The fuel has to go all around to get started." Then a second male says, "Well, there are two cans here, if that's poured soon."
0800	Armored vehicle with battering ram rips into second floor of compound and then minutes later another hole is punched into the backside of the compound. The vehicles then withdraw
0900	The Davidians unfurl a banner which reads "We want our phone fixed."
0913	Armored vehicle powers through front door to deliver more gas
0916	Surveillance tapes record conversation between two males identified as David Koresh and Steve Schneider. Koresh: "They got two cans of Coleman fuel down there? Huh?" Schneider: "Empty" Koresh: "All of it?" Schneider: "Nothing left."
1000	A man is seen waving a white flag on the southeast side of the compound. He is advised over loudspeakers that if he is surrendering he should come out. He doesn't. At the same time a man believed to be Schneider comes out to retrieve the phone and phone line
1130	More gas inserted through front, punching another big hole
1140	Surveillance tapes record a man saying "I want a fire around the back," then later, "Let's keep that fire going."
1143	Another gas insertion takes place, with the armored vehicle moving well into the building to reach the concrete interior room where the FBI believe Davidians are trying to avoid gas
1203	Armored vehicle turret knocks away first floor corner on right side
1208	First visible flames appear in two spots in the front of the building, first on the left of the front door on the second floor (a wisp of smoke then a small flicker of flame) then a short time later on the far right side of the front of the building, and at a third spot on the back side. Agents say Branch Davidian members ignited the fires, alleging that observers saw a man dressed in black bend over with cupped hands and then saw flames as he lifted his hands
1209	Ruth Riddle exits with computer disk in her jacket containing Koresh's Manuscript on the Seven Seals.
1210	Flames spread quickly, fanned by high winds. The building is not well constructed and burns very quickly
1212	911 call placed for fire department. Two Waco FD trucks are dispatched. Shortly after, Bellmead FD dispatches two trucks
1222	Waco fire trucks arrive at checkpoint, Bellmead follows shortly after
1225	There is a large explosion on the left side. One object hurtles into air, bounces off the top of white bus and lands on grass
1230	Part of the roof collapses. Around this time there are several further explosions and witnesses report the sound of gunfire, attributed by the FBI to live ammunition cooking off throughout the compound because of fire
1243	Fire trucks arrive in compound according to fire department logs
1255	Fire begins to burn out, compound leveled
1545	Law enforcement source says David Koresh is dead

Aftermath

The events at the Branch Davidian property at Waco, Texas have engendered strong reactions among those following the case. Many people view the events at Waco as egregious violations of the civil rights of the Branch Davidians—an entirely inappropriate, illegal use of executive and judicial federal power. The opposing view is that the events constituted an appropriate take down of a child-molesting, radical cult that ran a drug laboratory and threatened local people with automatic weapons. Some facts validate each point of view, but many of the facts are disputed, and some evidence has been lost or destroyed.

Various gun-control groups, such as Handgun Control Incorporated and the Violence Policy Center have claimed that the Branch Davidans had (and used) .50 caliber rifles and that therefore these types of firearms should be banned.. However, the US Treasury Department, in a memorandum to the press dated July 13, 1995 titled "Weapons Possessed by the Branch Davidians", provided an inventory of all the firearms and firearm-related items that were recovered from the Branch Davidian's compound. The inventory shows no .50 rifles or machine guns, only 4 .50 magazines, 3 .50 magazine springs and .50 belt links. Several years later, the the General Accounting Office in response to a request from Henry Waxman released a briefing paper titled, "Criminal Activity Associated with .50 Caliber Semiautomatic Rifles" which claims that the Branch Davidians did have access to and use .50 rifles. The GAO's claim is based on an unsourced BATF claim that the Branch Davidians fired on the BATF with a .50 rifle. There has not been a reconciliation between the Treasury Department's account and the GAO's.

Trial

• Judge Walter J. Smith (who was under investigation during the first half of the trial by the Justice Department for perjury) presided over the trial in which a jury found some of the surviving Branch Davidians guilty. Over government objections, Judge Smith empanelled an advisory jury in the civil case. That jury ruled in favor of the United States and against the Davidians (see below).
• Congressional Inquiry—The House Committee on Government Reform concluded that the Davidians started the fires.
• Danforth Report—The Special Counsel appointed to look into the "darker questions" concluded with "100% certainty" that the Davidians started the fires. However, evidence of pyrotechnic "Flite-Rite" rounds was discounted due to sworn testimony by federal agents that no such devices were used, present or even available to the FBI. Since the FBI now admits that this testimony was false, many deem the Danforth Report conclusions to be less than reliable.
• Federal prosecutor Bill Johnston pled guilty to charges of obstructing an investigation for withholding evidence of the use of pyrotechnic devices.
• The advisory jury that heard the civil case against the government in the summer of 2000 found in favor of the government on all claims, and found specifically that the BATF agents acted within the law in returning fire on February 28, 1993, and that the FBI neither caused, nor contributed to, the fire. However, the primary piece of evidence that would prove who had fired first, the steel front door, still has not been found by the FBI, whose investigators removed it from the site hours after the fire. Without this door, it is not proven that the BATF agents were "returning fire," though videotape shot by news crews indicates that there was no gunfire from the building during the first few minutes of the assault.
• The eleven surviving Davidians accused of murder in the deaths of the four ATF agents who were killed in the initial assault were acquitted on grounds of self-defense.
• Some critics claim that the initial assault on the Davidians was an attempt to divert media attention away from the recent Ruby Ridge incident.

The Davidians' motives for arming are unclear. An op-ed in the Washington Post,[4] written by former ATF Director Steve Higgins, posits that the Davidians' taking up of arms and fortifying their building conflicts with their claims of being law-abiding citizens. The federal trial and appellate courts all agreed that the affidavit contained ample proof of probable cause for the issuance of the search and arrest warrants for the firearms and explosives charges.

Convicted Davidians

• Kevin A. Whitecliff—convicted of voluntary manslaughter and using a firearm during a crime.
• Jaime Castillo—convicted of voluntary manslaughter and using a firearm during a crime.
• Paul Gordon Fatta—convicted of conspiracy to possess machine guns and aiding Davidian leader David Koresh in possessing machine guns.
• Renos Lenny Avraam—convicted of voluntary manslaughter and using a firearm during a crime.
• Graeme Leonard Craddock—convicted of possessing a grenade and using or possessing a firearm during a crime.
• Brad Eugene Branch—convicted of voluntary manslaughter and using a firearm during a crime.
• Livingstone Fagan—convicted of voluntary manslaughter and using a firearm during a crime.
• Ruth Riddle—convicted of using or carrying a weapon during a crime.
• Kathryn Schroeder—sentenced to three years after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of forcibly resisting arrest. She was the only Davidian to testify against the others.

Controversies

In the aftermath of the initial raid, the ATF drew heavy criticism for proceeding, despite being aware that the Davidians knew of the offensive and of the months-long surveillance of Mount Carmel. Some critics also continue to ask why the ATF agents turned down a direct invitation given months before the initial assault, in which Koresh spoke with the agents by phone and asked that they come talk with him about their concerns. There is also controversy over what the exact content of the original search warrants were.

ATF documentation from their observations of Mount Carmel proved that they knew that Koresh left the property every day for a run. The ATF has so far not responded to questions about why they did not wait for Koresh to leave his property on the day of the raid and then arrest him instead of staging a raid.

This was marked for the first, and so far only, use of tanks against civilians by the U.S. government.

Who fired first?

Helicopters had been obtained from the Texas National Guard on the pretext that there was a drug laboratory at Mount Carmel. There were, however, no drug related charges on the arrest warrant served on the morning of February 28 1993. While the official version of events has always stated that the helicopters were merely used as a diversion, and that the Davidians were not targeted by sharpshooters within them, in transcripts of the negotiations, as a negotiating tactic, one negotiator admitted that the occupants were armed, and may have opened fire:

Koresh: "No! Let me tell you something. That may be what you want the media to believe, but there's other people that saw too! Now, tell me Jim, again - you're honestly going to say those helicopters didn't fire on any of us?"
Jim Cavanaugh: "What I'm saying is the helicopters didn't have mounted guns. Ok? I'm not disputing the fact that there might have been fire from the helicopters."

An Austin Chronicle article noted, "Long before the fire, the Davidians were discussing the evidence contained in the doors. During the siege, in a phone conversation with the FBI, Steve Schneider, one of Koresh's main confidantes, told FBI agents that "the evidence from the front door will clearly show how many bullets and what happened."[5] Houston attorney Dick DeGuerin, who went inside Mount Carmel during the siege, testified at the trial that protruding metal on the inside of the right-hand entry door made it clear that the bullet holes were made by incoming rounds. DeGuerin also testified that only the right-hand entry door had bullet holes, while the left-hand entry door was intact. The government presented the left-hand entry door at the trial, claiming that the right-hand entry door had been lost. The left-hand door contained numerous bullet holes made by both outgoing and incoming rounds. Texas Trooper Sgt. David Keys testified that he witnessed two men loading what could have been the missing door into a U-Haul van shortly after the siege had ended, but he did not see the object itself. And Michael Caddell, the lead attorney for the Davidians' wrongful death lawsuit explained, "The fact that the left-hand door is in the condition it's in tells you that the right-hand door was not consumed by the fire. It was lost on purpose by somebody." Caddell offered no evidence to support this allegation, which has never been proved. [6]

The fire

Critics suggest that during the final raid the CS gas was injected into the building by armored vehicles in an unsafe manner, which could have started a fire. However, two of the three fires were started well inside the building, away from where the CS gas was pumped in.

Between 1993 and 1999, FBI spokesmen denied (even under oath) the use of any sort of pyrotechnic devices during the assault, even though Flite-Rite CS gas grenades had been found in the rubble immediately following the fire. In 1999, FBI spokesmen were forced to admit that they had used the grenades, however they claimed that these devices, which dispense CS gas through an internal burning process, had been used during an early morning attempt to penetrate a covered, water-filled construction pit, and were not fired into the building itself. According to FBI claims, the fires started approximately four hours after the grenades had been fired.

FBI-released video and audio tapes, and aerial infra-red videotape shot by the FBI, shows heat signatures consistent with the launching of CS gas grenades moments before the first heat plume of fire appears.

The FBI has also admitted to using incendiary flares during the stand-off to illuminate areas at night, but claims not to have used illumination flares during the assault, all of which took place during daylight hours.

The Branch Davidians had given ominous warnings involving fire on several occasions.[7] This may or may not be indicative of the Davidians' future actions, but could be construed as evidence that the fire was started by the Davidians.

On May 12, less than a month after the incident, the ATF bulldozed the site, rendering further gathering of forensic evidence impossible.

Gunfire

Several documentaries suggest that the FBI fired weapons into the building, which the FBI denies. The main evidence for gunfire is bright flashes in aerial infra-red recordings from Forward looking infrared (FLIR) cameras on government aircraft flying overhead. Edward Allard, a former government specialist on infra-red imagery, submitted an affidavit in which he declared that the video revealed bursts of automatic gunfire coming from government agents. Another independent FLIR expert, Carlos Ghigliotti, also confirms gunfire, when shown the original video kept by government officials.

International experts hired by the Office of Special Counsel claimed that the flashes were not gunfire because (1) they lasted too long, (2) there were no guns or people on the tapes anywhere near the flashes; and (3) the flashes were consistent with reflections of debris and other materials near the building. Edward Allard commented on the reflection theory, saying that it was impossible for the flashes on the FLIR film to be reflections, because FLIR does not record light, it records heat, and reflections do not produce enough heat to be noticeable on tape. Maurice Cox, a former analyst from the US intelligence community, tested the reflection theory using the principles of solar geometry. Cox's Sun Reflection Report concluded that the flashes seen on the FLIR footage could only be from gunfire.

In January, 1999 Mr Cox challenged FBI director Louis Freeh and FBI scientists to dispute his findings. There was no response.

Secondary proof was a summary of a statement made by FBI sniper Charles Riley several weeks after the incident to an FBI investigator. Riley stated that he had heard shots fired from a nearby sniper position Sierra 1. The sniper team had included Lon Horiuchi and Christopher Curran who had been involved in the Ruby Ridge incident, with the former having fired the fatal shots.

In 1995, when attorneys submitted the summary of Riley's statement as evidence to Judge Smith, the FBI produced an additional interview in which Riley clarified that he had heard the statement "shots fired" from Sierra 1, which meant that agents at Sierra 1 had observed shots being fired at FBI vehicles by the Davidians.

Finally, .308 cartridge cases found at Sierra 1 were examined by ballistics experts hired by the Branch Davidians. They agreed with government experts that the casings matched guns used by the ATF during the first raid on February 28, and the Davidians dropped the Sierra 1 shooting claim from their lawsuit against the government.

Autopsies

Autopsies of the dead revealed that some women and children found beneath a fallen concrete wall of a storage room died of skull injuries. Photographs taken after the fire show that the M728 CEV that penetrated the building while injecting CS gas did not come close enough to cause the collapse - the collapse was more likely the result of the fire (photographs show signs of heat spalling on the concrete). Some claim that the cooking off of some of the ammunition stored in the bank vault damaged the walls, but so little energy is released by rounds which cook off that this is highly unlikely.

Autopsy photographs depicting bodies of other children locked in what appear to be spasmic death poses have been attributed by some to cyanide poisoning produced by burning CS gas. However, these poses are more likely the post-mortem "boxer pose" all bodies caught in fires eventually assume, created as ligaments connecting bones together shorten as the fire dries them.

Autopsy records indicate that at least 20 Davidians, including five children under the age of 14, were shot, and three-year-old Dayland Gent was stabbed in the chest. The expert retained by the Office of Special Counsel concluded that many of the gunshot wounds "support self-destruction either by overt suicide, consensual execution (suicide by proxy), or less likely, forced execution."[8]

Documentary films

The Waco siege has been the subject of a number of documentary films. The first of these was a made for television film, In the Line of Duty: Ambush at Waco, which was made before the final assault on the church and essentially promoted the government's view of the initial ambush.

The first film that was critical of the official reports was Waco: The Big Lie,[9] produced by Linda Thompson followed by Waco II: The Big Lie Continues. The Linda Thompson videos were controversial and made a number of allegations, the most famous of which was footage of a tank with what appears to be light reflected from it; Thompson's narration claimed this was a flame-thrower attached to the tank. Thompson's subsequent activities, such as declaring an armed march on Washington, D.C. and her denunciation of many other researchers into the Waco siege as part of a cover-up, limited her credibility in most circles. Other researchers released footage showing the "flame" to have been a reflection on aluminized insulation that was torn from the wall and snagged on the M728 CEV, which is a vehicle that does not come equipped with a flamethrower. In fact, no flamethrowers were in service in the US military at the time or even today.

Thompson's "creative editing" was exposed by the film Waco: An Apparent Deviation (produced by a group led by Michael McNulty, as the result of a comprehensive investigation by people associated with the Citizens' Organization for Public Safety.)

The next film was Day 51: The True Story of Waco, which featured Ron Cole, a self-proclaimed militia member from Colorado who was later prosecuted for weapons violations.[10] The Linda Thompson and Ron Cole films, along with extensive coverage given to the Branch Davidian siege on some talk radio shows, galvanized support for the Branch Davidians among some sections of the right including the Nascent Militia Movement, while critics on the left also denounced the government siege on civil liberties grounds.

The New Alliance Party produced a report blaming the siege on the influence of the Cult Awareness Network.[11]

Timothy McVeigh cited the Waco Siege as a primary motivation for the Oklahoma City bombing and was known to be a fan of both the Linda Thompson and Ron Cole videos. In March 1993, McVeigh drove from Arizona to Waco in order to observe firsthand the federal siege. Along with other protesters, he was photographed by the F.B.I.

Perhaps because most of the critical views were seen as coming from the political fringes of the right and left, most mainstream media discounted any critical views presented by early documentary films.

This changed when professional film-makers Dan Gifford and Amy Sommer produced their Emmy Award winning documentary, Waco: The Rules of Engagement.[12] This film presents a history of the Branch Davidian movement and most important, a critical examination of the conduct of law enforcement leading up to the raid, and through the aftermath of the fire. The film features footage of the Congressional hearings on Waco, and juxtaposition of official government spokespeople with footage and evidence often directly contradicting them. The documentary also shows infra-red footage demonstrating that the FBI likely used incendiary devices to start the fire which consumed the building and did indeed fire on, and kill, Branch Davidians attempting to flee the fire.

Waco: The Rules of Engagement was nominated for a 1997 Academy Award for best documentary and was followed by another film: Waco: A New Revelation.[13]

America Wake Up (Or Waco) was another film released in 2000 by Alex Jones which documents the 1993 Waco incident with the Branch Davidians.

The Assault on Waco was released on September 16, 2006 on the Discovery channel, and it details the entire attack on Waco.

Inside Waco is an Anglo-American documentary that attempts to show what really happened inside by piecing together accounts from the parties involved. It was produced jointly by Channel 4 and HBO. It aired on More4 in the UK on 1 February 2007 and the 10 February 2007.

See also

• Religious cults
• Ruby Ridge
• Militia Movement

Bibliography

• Anthony, D. and T. Robbins (1997). "Religious totalism, exemplary dualism and the Waco tragedy." In Robbins and Palmer 1997, 261–284.
• Christopher Whitcomb. Cold Zero: Inside the FBI Hostage Rescue Team. ISBN 0-552-14788-5. (Also covers Ruby Ridge.)
• Docherty, Jayne Seminare. Learning Lessons From Waco: When the Parties Bring Their Gods to the Negotiation Table (Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 2001). ISBN 0-8156-2751-3
• Heymann, Philip B. (U.S. Department of Justice). Lessons of Waco: Proposed Changes in Federal Law Enforcement (Washington: USDOJ, 1993). ISBN 0-16-042977-3
• Kerstetter, Todd. "'That's Just the American Way': The Branch Davidian Tragedy and Western Religious History", Western Historical Quarterly, Vol. 35, No. 4, Winter 2004.
• Kopel, David B. and Paul H. Blackman. No More Wacos: What’s Wrong With Federal Law Enforcement and How to Fix It (Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 1997). ISBN 1-57392-125-4
• Lewis, James R. (ed.). From the Ashes: Making Sense of Waco (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 1994). ISBN 0-8476-7915-2 (cloth) ISBN 0-8476-7914-4 (paper)
• Linedecker, Clifford L. Massacre at Waco, Texas: The Shocking Story of Cult Leader David Koresh and the Branch Davidians (New York: St. Martin’s Paperbacks, 1993). ISBN 0-312-95226-0
• Lynch, Timothy. No Confidence: An Unofficial Account of the Waco Incident (Washington: Cato Institute, 2001).
• Moore, Carol. The Davidian Massacre: Disturbing Questions Abut Waco Which Must Be Answered." (Virginia: Gun Owners Foundation, 1995). ISBN 1-880692-22-8
• Reavis, Dick J. The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995). ISBN 0-684-81132-4
• Tabor, James D. and Eugene V. Gallagher. Why Waco?: Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995). ISBN 0-520-20186-8
• Thibodeau, David and Leon Whiteson. A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story (New York: PublicAffairs, 1999). ISBN 1-891620-42-8
• Wright, Stuart A. (ed.). Armageddon in Waco: Critical Perspectives on the Branch Davidian Conflict (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995).

Legal and governmental

• United States v. Branch, W.D. Texas Criminal Case No. 6:93cr46, trial transcript 1/10/94 - 2/26/94; 91 F.3d 699 (5th Cir. 1996)
• United States v. Castillo, 179 F.3d 321 (1999); Castillo v. United States, 120 S.Ct. 2090 (2000); on remand, 220 F.3d 648 (5th Cir. 2000)
• Andrade v. United States, W.D. Texas Civil Action No. W-96-CA-139, trial transcript 6/19/2000 - 7/14/2000; 116 F.Supp.2d 778 (W.D. Tex. 2000)
• Andrade v. Chojnacki, 338 F.3d 448 (5th Cir. 2003)
• United States Department of Justice. Recommendations of Experts for Improvements in Federal Law Enforcement After Waco (Washington: USDOJ, 1993). ISBN 0-16-042974-9

• Ammerman, Nancy T. (1993). "Report to the Justice and Treasury Departments regarding law enforcement interaction with the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas." Submitted September 3, 1993. Recommendations of Experts for Improvements in Federal Law Enforcement After Waco. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of the Treasury. Online
• Stone, Alan A. (1993). "Report and Recommendations Concerning the Handling of Incidents Such As the Branch Davidian Standoff in Waco Texas." Submitted November 10, 1993. Recommendations of Experts for Improvements in Federal Law Enforcement After Waco. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Online.

• Final Report to the Deputy Attorney General concening the 1993 confrontation at the Mt. Carmel Complex, Waco, Texas, John C. Danforth, Special Counsel (November 8, 2000)
• Committee on the Judiciary (in conjunction with the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, House of Representatives, 104th Congress, Second Session. Materials Relating to the Investigation Into the Activities of Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Toward the Branch Davidians (Washington: USGPO, 1997). ISBN 0-16-055211-7 Available online here.

31°35′44.32″N 96°59′17.44″W