28 years ago today in 1993, the Federal Bureau of Investigation begins their final assault during the Waco Siege in Texas.
28 years ago today in 1993, the Federal Bureau of Investigation begins their final assault during the Waco Siege in Texas.
Months previous to this, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) was investigating David Koresh and the Branch Davidians for making a steady income at gun shows. The Mount Carmel Center hosted religious scholars from all over the world and dozens of Branch Davidians chose to live there. Some of them even let Koresh marry their teenage daughters. The ATF felt that Koresh’s unusual religious beliefs and sex life would give them credibility to also be protecting children with their investigation.
Rather than try and arrest Koresh uneventfully when he left the compound for his daily exercise and errands, the ATF wanted a publicity opportunity and coordinated with a local news station to get video recording of their armed officers surrounding the compound. In full body armor and automatic weapons, 76 ATF agents in a long vehicle column approached Mount Carmel to begin the operation. The ATF was made aware that the Branch Davidians knew they were coming and were preparing themselves for a standoff, but the ATF chose to continue their operation anyway.
As they were surrounding the compound, David Koresh was heading towards the door to talk with the agents and deescalate the situation when ATF agents shot through the door seriously wounding him. Both sides’ dispute who fired first, but ATF agents did shoot two of the Branch Davidian’s large dogs outside the compound that likely sparked the deadly firefight.
Caught on video, ATF agents attempted to storm the compound with ladders while receiving gunfire from the occupants. Several agents made it inside, but were forced to retreat after sustaining causalities. The firefight lasted for over an hour as the ATF poured thousands of rounds of ammunition into the compound that had ~40 children in it. The shooting stopped only after the Branch Davidians managed to call their sheriff and had him facilitate a ceasefire with the Federals. 4 ATF agents were killed and another 16 were wounded in one of the worst disasters in the agency’s history. Six Branch Davidians were also killed. The FBI arrived on scene to take over the situation while CNN and local news media interviewed Koresh. The FBI prohibited further interviews with the media and completely cut the Branch Davidian’s communication to the outside world as they started negotiations.
Towards the end of the siege, the FBI began to psychologically torture the inhabitants with sleep deprivation by means of lighting up the entire compound and all-night loud audio broadcasts. They also deployed heavy armor and patrolled them close to the compound to intimidate the Davidians. Despite these tactics, all the inhabitants remained in the compound on their own will and were not coerced to remain. Many of them believed the siege was a test from god, although 35 of them did voluntarily leave the compound throughout the siege, including letting the FBI take some of their children. The children surrendered to the FBI were examined by experts and were said to be well treated and showed no signs of abuse.
However the FBI was tired of waiting on David to finish writing his scrolls and decided to bring an immediate end to standoff. On the early morning of April 19, modified tanks moved up on the compound and began breaking it down and spraying tear gas inside to get the occupants to flee the building. During this process a fire broke out that quickly destroyed the entire building where only 9 Branch Davidians escaped alive, the remaining 76, including most of the women and all of the children, were dead.
The FBI claimed for years in court that the Branch Davidians intentionally set the fire in a ritual of mass suicide, however survivors dispute that there was never a plan to commit suicide as the plan was to go to prison as martyrs after Koresh finished his writing. The event brought the Federal Government under scrutiny which led to it reforming its policies. The siege was also a catalyst in spawning the anti-government Militia Movement.
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