On April 19, 1993, a stand-off between a Christian group called the Branch Davidians and federal agents ended in an extremely deadly and tragic disaster. The federal government’s tactics during the stand-off have been heavily criticized since and have inspired further violence and militia building.
The Branch Davidians were an off-shoot of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. They had a had a settlement just east of Waco, Texas called Mt. Carmel. There, approximately 100 adults and 50 children lived under the cult leadership of David Koresh, who believed himself to be a messiah. As such, Koresh claimed that God had commanded him to assemble an army and prepare for the end of times. The group began to stockpile weapons and ammunition. In May 1992, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), started an investigation into Koresh, who they believed was illegally manufacturing machineguns, bombs, and grenades. ATF agents prepared to enter the compound to serve warrants on February 28, 1993.
Unfortunately, the Branch Davidians had been warned of the raid. As ATF agents approached the compound, they were met with gunfire. The two groups battled for about two hours. Four ATF agents and six Branch Davidians were killed in the process. After a ceasefire was called, approximately 900 federal agents arrived and surrounded the compound. They remained there for 49 days.
As those 49 days played out on televisions all over the country, two separate FBI teams seemed to be working at odds with one another. FBI negotiators attempted to approach Koresh peacefully, offering food and drink, even a national radio address in exchange for the surrender of children from the compound. The FBI Hostage Rescue Team was not willing to be so patient. According to a New Yorker article written on the subject, “The two FBI factions were working at cross-purposes: a negotiator would make headway with the Davidians only to learn that the tactical team had just run over one of Koresh’s beloved vintage cars with a tank.” Frustrated with the lack of progress, the FBI sought the approval of US Attorney General Janet Reno to raid the compound. She gave it.
On April 19, the FBI used explosives to make holes in the side of the compound. They then pumped in about 400 canisters of tear gas, hoping the action would make the Branch Davidians flee the building. Instead, the federal officers watched as the building burst into flames at several points. Because of the gas, the firefighters could not enter immediately. The delay allowed the flames to engulf the entire building. Seventy people, including about 24 children perished in the compound. Many were killed when the building collapsed on them, but several others, including Koresh, were shot by others or themselves.
The federal government was heavily criticized for their handling of the situation. It was suggested that the ATF rushed their confrontation to complete the raid before a congressional budget meeting, in hopes of touting a successful mission. FBI groups fought about ideal negotiation tactics. A report from Alan A. Stone, M.D., a Professor of Psychiatry and Law at Harvard University, suggested that the FBI acted without fully considering the effect the tear gas would have on the children and infants inside and that the FBI should have made better use of their behavioral science resources. The Waco Siege, as it came to be known, as seen around the country as a complete bungle on the part of the federal agencies involved. It encouraged fringe groups to hoard even more weapons and create local militias. It was the inspiration for the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history: the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City exactly two years after the Waco Siege.
Learn more here:
- https://www.atf.gov/our-history/remembering-waco
- https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/waco/stonerpt.html#ivb
- https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-southwest/what-really-happened-at-waco
- https://wacohistory.org/items/show/177
- https://www.britannica.com/event/Waco-siege
- https://www.history.com/topics/1990s/waco-siege
