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On February 28 1993, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) raided the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel, a property located 9 miles east-northeast of Waco, Texas. The raid resulted in the deaths of four agents and five Davidians. The subsequent 51-day siege by the FBI ended on April 19 when fire completely consumed the complex, killing 76 people, including 27 children and Davidian leader David Koresh. Autopsy records indicate that on April 19 at least 20 Davidians were shot, including 5 children under the age of 14*.

The Raid

Agents approached the site on Sunday morning, February 28 1993, in cattle trailers pulled by pickup trucks owned by individual ATF agents. The advantage of surprise was gone, due to reporters asking for directions from one of the Branch Davidians, and because the assault team assembled within view of the upper stories of the Mt Carmel main building.

Helicopters had been obtained from the Texas National Guard on the false pretext that there was a drug lab at Mt. Carmel. During the telephone calls between the FBI and David Koresh throughout the siege, the government admitted armed agents shot at Davidians from at least one helicopter.

TV news footage shot during the initial assault show ATF agents shooting their semi-automatic pistols blindly into the building, but there is no sign of any shooting by the Branch Davidians for many minutes. While the ATF claimed to have been "ambushed" by a "hail of gunfire from the building," this would be obvious from the damage to the cars which the agents were using as cover. The videotape shows no windows breaking, no holes in sheet metal, no dust being kicked up and no sudden ducking by the agents, all of which would have been taking place if gunfire erupted from the building.

The first shots during the raid are reported to have occurred at the double front entry doors; ATF agents claimed to hear the first shots come from within the building, while Branch Davidian survivors claimed that the first shots came from the ATF agents outside. 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." 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 only the intact left-hand entry door at the trial, claiming that the right-hand entry door had been lost. 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. 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[http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2000-08-18/pols_feature9.html.

During the raid, a Davidian called 911 pleading for them to stop shooting. The resident asked for a cease-fire, and audiotapes clearly caught him saying "Here they come again!" in reference to the helicopters, and "That's them shooting, that's not us!" The sheriff, in audiotapes broadcast after the incident, said he was not apprised of the raid and did not know how to contact the ATF agents involved. They shouted to television news crews to use their cellular phones to call for ambulances.

The raid itself ended when the ATF ran out of ammunition and called off their attack. The Branch Davidians, who still had ample ammunition, allowed the dead and wounded to be removed and held their fire during the ATF retreat.

The Siege

Government officials established contact with Koresh and others inside the building at some point after they failed to rapidly secure the scene and retreated. The FBI took command of the scene soon after the initial raid, placing FBI SAC of San Antonio Jeff Jamar in charge of the siege, and the tactical team was headed by Richard Rogers, whose actions at the Ruby Ridge incident had been criticized earlier. For the next fifty-one days, communication with those inside included telephone contacts with various FBI negotiators who reportedly were not always in touch with front-line tactical units surrounding the building and also pressing those inside to come out. Outside the building, tracked vehicles pushed aside vehicles from parking areas and began circling the building. Loudspeakers were used to broadcast sounds (including those of rabbits being slaughtered) at the building in a psychological warfare tactic intended to tire those inside. The Davidians hung banners from high places in the building seeking outside help.

As the standoff continued, Koresh negotiated delays, allegedly so he could write religious documents he said he needed to complete before he surrendered. He made and broke numerous promises to send people out and to end the stand-off. His conversations, dense with biblical imagery, alienated the federal negotiators who treated the situation as a hostage crisis. The Davidians released videotapes to agents during the siege in which children sat by Koresh, asking among other things if the agents were going to come kill them.

The children's willingness to stay by Koresh disturbed the negotiators who were unprepared to work around the Davidians' religious zeal.

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; and likely increase the chances of a violent and deadly outcome. (In a subsequent standoff with the Freeman in Montana, the Justice Department incorporated this advice to end the confrontation peacefully). Many Koresh 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, in which government officials are feared to be possible agents of the Satanic Antichrist by some Christians (Ammerman; Stone; Anthony and Robbins).

The Davidian video tape was made at the request of negotiators and was supposed to be released to the families of Davidians who were naturally worried. Yet the tapes were not released and several years later the survivors had to go to court to obtain the tape that they had made and of which they held the legal copyright. In the tape, several mothers sent their children out of the complex, following promises by the FBI that they would be placed with family members. Initially these children were taken into state custody and placed in a religious children's home, and the senior citizens who had gone with the children to take care of them were arrested. These mothers voiced concern about their children and the treatment they were receiving. In reply they received a video sent into the complex by the negotiators. The mothers were disturbed that their children were being fed things forbidden by their religious diet (similar to and less strict than the Kosher rules of Judaism) and (in their view harmfully) were being allowed to run wild with minimal supervision while watching television all day. In addition, the violation of the promises destroyed any possibility of further trust of the FBI, making the negotiators' job all but impossible.

The Assault

Newly appointed U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno approved the recommendations of veteran FBI officials to proceed with the final assault after being told that conditions were deteriorating and children were continuing to be abused inside the besieged complex. Because the Davidians were heavily armed, their arsenal included .50 caliber guns and armored vehicles retrofitted with CS gas. Some of the gas was inserted via booms on CEVs. The booms punched holes in the outer walls of the building, but the FBI claimed that these penetrations did not damage the interior wall, stairways, or other structural elements of the building. Branch Davidian survivors disagree, and note that the 32-foot-long CEVs drove all the way into the wooden structure, while the stairways were close to the outside walls. After more than four hours no Davidians had left the building, so one of the CEVs attempted to drive through the gymnasium to clear a pathway to the central part of the building, and the gymnasium collapsed. No one was injured in the collapse, as the gym was used for storage. Some additional structural damage also was caused when a CEV used its blade to open up the front doors, which the Davidians had blocked with a piano. Since the Davidians had blocked the exits, the CEV dragged debris out of the building and opened up an exit for Davidians who wanted to leave. At around noon, three fires started almost simultaneously in different parts of the building. Few people came out, even as fire consumed the building. One woman jumped from a window, her back on fire, and was rescued by FBI agents. Another came out, then went back into the building. An FBI agent ran into the burning building and dragged her out. She refused to tell him where the children were. Most of the Davidians remained inside as fire engulfed the building. All this was broadcast worldwide from gyro-stabilized lenses set up at the nearest point FBI officials allowed press observers.

The causes of the fatal fire were disputed, but experts who reviewed the evidence, a Congressional committee, the Special Counsel, and a jury all concluded that the fires were likely started by some of the Davidians. Claims that the fire was caused by the FBI's use of combustible CS gas grenades injected into the wooden buildings were disputed, even after "Flite-Rite" pyrotechnic devices were found by independent investigators. Flite-Rite rounds are intended for outdoor riot control, and disperse irritant gas by burning. Law enforcement officers familiar with the Flite-Rite have a saying, "If you want to burn something down, use them."

Audio and infrared visual recordings made just before the fire broke show that the fires were started intentionally . The Davidians are heard saying, for example, "spread the fuel," and "don't light it yet." A surviving Davidian witnessed others pouring fuel inside the building and heard them talking about starting the fire. Critics suggest that CS gas was injected into the building by armored vehicles in an unsafe manner immediately before the fire broke out. However, at least two of the fires started well inside the building, away from any recent insertions of tear gas. Government spokesmen denied the use of pyrotechnic grenades for six years, though Flite-Rite pyrotechnics had been found immediately following the fire. In 1999, the FBI released video and audio tapes admitting that they had used pyrotechnic devices, but that these devices, which dispense tear gas through an internal burning process, were used in an early-morning attempt to penetrate a covered, water-filled construction pit, and were not fired into the building itself. The fires were started approximately four hours after the pyrotechnic devices were used, according to FBI claims, but critics note that the agents gave sworn testimony that no pyrotechnics whatsoever were used or even present, thus claims of the timing are suspect. The aerial infrared videotape shot by the FBI shows heat signatures consistent with the launching of Flite-Rite rounds within moments before the first heat plume from the fire. The FBI has also admitted to using incendiary flares during the standoff to illuminate areas at night, but claims not to have used illumination flares during the assault, all of which took place in daylight.

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

Jeff Jamar prohibited fire crews' access to the burning buildings until after the blaze had burned itself out. This has led to questions about the motivations of the FBI site chief. The FBI states that fire crews were not allowed near the site due to the danger of explosives within the fire and possible weapons fire from surviving inhabitants. As the fire appeared to have completely engulfed the building, two agents located about 300 yards (270 m) from the back of the building stood up from behind their protective sandbags and claim to have been shot at by someone inside the burning building. However, the FBI infrared tape clearly shows Federal agents leaving their armored vehicles and walking around near the building shortly before and during the fire.

One early assertion was made that the FBI had used a tank-mounted flamethrower to start the fire. The subject of a short videotape clip which was frozen in one particular frame which seemed to show a blast of fire coming from the CEV, this claim was disproven by Mike McNulty and other investigators with McNulty's Citizens' Organization for Public Safety, who obtained the complete clip from which the short one had been excerpted. The full news clip shows that the tank had torn out a section of foil-backed insulation, which reflected sunlight as it backed out of the building. The promoter of the flamthrower-tank falsehood, an attorney named Linda Thompson, made numerous public appearances to make her claim and peddle copies of her videotape. Independent investigators looking into the Waco Siege have suggested that Thompson was spreading easily-disproven disinformation to discredit anyone questioning the Clinton Administration's actions or statements regarding the events at Mt Carmel. This suggestion is bolstered by statements made by Thompson before the siege that she had been under consideration for the job which Janet Reno later was given.

Shootings

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 infrared recordings known as forward looking infrared or FLIR. Edward Allard, a former government specialist on infrared imagery submitted an affidavit in which he declared that the video, recorded by the government during the gas assault, revealed bursts of automatic gunfire coming from government agents. Another independent FLIR expert, Carlos Ghigliotti, also confirms gunfire, when shown the cleaner video kept by government officials. International experts hired by the Office of Special Counsel established 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 off 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. Maurice 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. For more analysis on this controversy, see the external links below.

Secondary proof was a summary of a statement made by FBI sniper Charles Riley several weeks after the incident to an FBI investigator that he had heard shots fired from sniper position Sierra 1. The Blue sniper team had been headed by Lon Horiuchi. Lon Horiuchi was the same sniper involved at Ruby Ridge. * In 1995, when attorneys submitted that FBI report 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 the FBI vehicles by the Davidians. Given the conflict between the summary and Riley's clarification, the latter could not be used to have the claims dismissed early in the lawsuit.

The .308 shell casings found at Sierra 1 were examined by ballistics experts hired by the Branch Davidians, who agreed with Government experts that the casings matched guns used by the ATF on February 28, and the Davidians dropped that claim in their lawsuit against the Government.

Autopsies revealed some of the women and children found beneath the remains of a concrete wall of a storage room died of skull injuries. However, photographs taken after the fire show that the CEV that penetrated the structure while injecting CS gas did not come close enough to cause the collapse -- the collapse was more likely the result of the fire and the thousands of rounds of ammunition that "cooked off" in that room during the fire. 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 can also be attributed to the classic post-mortem "boxer pose" all bodies caught in fires eventually assume, created as ligaments connecting bones together shorten as the fire dries them.

Allegations about a cover-up

The following allegations have been made:

  • "The FBI released a statement saying there were no drug connections. Later when they were asked about the legality of using tanks (under the Posse Comitatus Act), that story changed."

By the government's interpretation, because the tanks used to protect the agents on the scene were operated by FBI agents and not military personnel, the Posse Comitatus Act did not apply.{fact}

  • "No incendiary devices were used."

This was repeatedly told to Congress and the Courts, but the use of pyrotechnic tear gas some four hours before the fire at an area outside the building and the use of illumination flares during the standoff but not on the day of the fire was disclosed in 1999. The civil jury, Congress, the Court, and the Special Counsel all concluded in 2000 that neither type of munition caused the fire. The Special Counsel and Congress also found that the agents that fired the munitions never attempted to hide the facts from any inquiry. Richard Rogers, the FBI commander who authorized the use of pyrotechnics, sat behind Ms. Reno as she testified that they were not used, but claimed that he did not correct her because he wasn't paying attention, although exploded flash-bang devices were found in the vicinity where the fire was first witnessed on television broadcasts.

Documentary films

The Branch Davidian 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 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 flamethrower 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. 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. 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. 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. It is known that he was an innocent bystander at the siege.

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 filmmakers Dan Gifford and Amy Sommer produced their Emmy award winning documentary, Waco: The Rules of Engagement *. 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 infrared 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.

"America Wake Up (Or Waco)" (2000): Alex Jones documents the 1993 Waco incident with the Branch Davidians.

Legal aftermath and lingering questions

  • Judge Walter J. Smith (who was under investigation during the first half of the trial by the Justice Department for not telling the truth under oath) presided over the trial in which a jury found some of the surviving Branch Davidians guilty. Over Government objections, Judge Smith empaneled 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. 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.
  • 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 ATF agents acted within the law in returning fire on February 28, 1993, and that the fires were neither caused nor contributed to by the FBI. However, the primary piece of evidence which 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 ATF were "returing fire," though videotape shot by news crews indicates that there was no gunfire from the building during the first few minutes of the assault.
  • Federal prosecutor Bill Johnston pled guilty to charges of obstructing an investigation for withholding evidence of the use of pyrotechnic devices.

Cultural references

Bibliography

  • Anthony, D. and T. Robbins. 1997. "Religious totalism, exemplary dualism and the Waco tragedy." In Robbins and Palmer 1997, 261–284.
  • 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 0815627513
  • Heymann, Philip B. (U.S. Department of Justice). Lessons of Waco: Proposed Changes in Federal Law Enforcement (Washington: USDOJ, 1993). ISBN 0160429773
  • 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 1573921254
  • Lewis, James R. (ed.). From the Ashes: Making Sense of Waco (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 1994). ISBN 0847679152 (cloth) ISBN 0847679144 (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 0312952260
  • Lynch, Timothy. No Confidence: An Unofficial Account of the Waco Incident (Washington: Cato Institute, 2001).
  • Reavis, Dick J. The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995). ISBN 0684811324
  • 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 0520201868
  • Thibodeau, David and Leon Whiteson. A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story (New York: PublicAffairs, 1999). ISBN 1891620428
  • 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 0160429749
  • 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 0160552117 Available online here.

See also

External links

1993 | Cults | Gun politics | Law enforcement in the United States | McLennan County, Texas | New religious movements | Texas | Clinton administration controversies | Davidianer | Davidianos | Dovydo šaka | Branch Davidians | Branch Davidian | Daavidin oksa | Davidianerna

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Waco Siege".

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