More than 80 people were killed, including 25 children, when the compound was consumed in flames as a result of an assault led by the FBI. In response to growing pressure and widening calls for a new investigation, including announced plans for hearings in Congress, Attorney General Janet Reno announced September 9 the appointment of John Danforth, a former senator from Missouri, to head an "independent investigation" into the assault on the Branch Davidians.
The deadly fire, and the action of the varying police agencies on the scene in allowing the fire to burn unimpeded for at least half an hour, was seen unfold by tens of millions of people, and it evoked immediate outrage and horror. The few survivors of the conflagration who did not require hospitalization were immediately jailed.
At the time, the Militant reported that the assault on the compound was the culmination of a police investigation based on U.S. cop officials' allegations that the Branch Davidians might be illegally refashioning guns into automatic weapons. An attempt by 100 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) cops to raid the compound and arrest the Davidians' leader, David Koresh on Feb. 28, 1993, was a fiasco. Several members of the Branch Davidians were killed, others wounded, and the ATF's actions resulted in the shooting deaths of four of its own agents. Branch Davidian members stated that the ATF agents started shooting first and that they returned fire.
Following this gunfight, more than 400 federal agents laid siege to the compound and Clinton sent in the FBI to control the operation. The cops cut off electricity and phone services, and people in the compound were subjected to loud broadcasts of dentist drills and animals being slaughtered. In March about 30 adults and children left the grounds, leaving almost 100 inside. The adults were promptly arrested. The cops' irritation at the length of the siege and the negative media coverage was highlighted when they flattened a reporter's car with an armored fighting vehicle.
On the morning of the assault, armored vehicles equipped with battering rams began plowing into the wooden walls of the Branch Davidians' complex. People inside shot at the tanks with little effect. As the attack continued, whole sections of the exterior walls of the living quarters were demolished and the roof began to collapse.
Six hours into the assault, a fire started that killed most of those remaining in the compound. Some survivors contended that any exit was made difficult by the cops surrounding and shooting into the compound, cutting off any route of escape.
Remos Avrram, a survivor, disputed police claims that the fire was deliberately set by those inside. He said the blaze began when gas lanterns being used inside — because the electricity was cut off — were overturned as the armored vehicles battered down the walls.
In the aftermath of the government-organized killings, the Clinton administration swung into high gear to justify their actions, a stance that remains to this day.
No agents involved in the assault were ever charged with any crime. President William Clinton stated at the time, "We did everything we could to avoid the loss of life. They made the decision to immolate themselves and I feel awful about the children."
William Sessions, then head of the FBI, said he would not have done anything differently. The plan "was well thought out, well executed," he declared.
Reno, who gave the order to assault the compound, stated she took responsibility for the events, but alleged that action was needed immediately because children were being abused by the members of the religious sect. This charge had to be dropped after no evidence was produced to back such claims.
A torrent of lurid stories was unleashed about the beliefs of those inside the compound, especially focusing on Koresh. He was accused of hatching a mad suicide plan that included setting the deadly fires.
As a result of a lawsuit filed on behalf of families and survivors of the Branch Davidians, the FBI was forced to acknowledge in August what they, along with Reno, had denied for six years — that devices capable of causing a fire had been used the day of the assault. Federal officials used flares during the siege as well.
It has also been confirmed — through heavily censored documents just made public — that members of the U.S. Army's special Delta Force were on hand the day of the raid, supposedly as observers. They also visited the siege site earlier, and Clinton initially acknowledged that the military had been consulted regarding the plans for the final assault. A massive amount of military hardware, including assault vehicles, helicopters, and weaponry was handed over to the FBI for the operation.
Much of the recent discussion has focused on whether or not incendiary devices were used. But it is undisputed that a massive amount of CS gas had been lobbed into the compound to make the area unbearable. Medical examiners consulted for a TV program stated the coroner's reports revealed many died of asphyxiation, or debris that fell on top of them as the buildings collapsed. They said that while CS gas did not directly kill those inside, it could have incapacitated children, making escape even more difficult.
In the wake of the new evidence, different cop agencies, from the FBI to the Texas Rangers, have been shown to have had a hand in obscuring the facts. A judge recently ordered all evidence turned over to him so it could be made available in the pending suit. Largely in anticipation of this, these different agencies are now trying to posture as the guardians of truth.
Michael McNulty and David Hardy, two of the key players in uncovering evidence buried by the cop agencies involved in the Waco siege, are pushing theories of government conspiracy common to rightist groups. McNulty has made two documentaries, one recently released, on the assault. The idea that the whole affair was a conspiracy is popular among right-wing opponents of the government. This also plays into the idea pushed by some rightists that gun ownership is a special target of the government, and action to protect this right will be needed.
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