February 28, 1993: WACO SIEGE

In 1993, a cult referred to as the “Branch Davidian” was residing in a compound in rural Waco, Texas. The cult leader, David Koresh, claimed to be a messianic prophet of God and had numerous “spiritual wives”, some reportedly as young as 10 years old.
Koresh convinced his followers that according to the Bible, the apocalypse was soon approaching in which the “Armies of Babylon” would attack them. In response they felt they needed to weaponize themselves in order to fight off these spiritual forces, creating a large arsenal of weapons in their Texan compound.
After numerous reports that the Branch Davidians were violating federal firearms regulations, government officials began to investigate. They found that the group had acquired 136 firearms, over 200,000 rounds of ammunition, hundreds of grenade parts and explosive chemicals

Government agents went to raid the compound on February 28, 1993 but a local postman that was a cult member alerted the Davidians, resulting in a 2.5 hour gunfight in which 4 agents were killed and 20 agents were injured. Koresh released 24 members (mostly children, but none of his own) from the compound.
The siege ended on April 19, 1993, with FBI agents firing a form of tear gas at the compound. Several fires broke out and gunshots were heard as the building went up in flames. The incident left 75 people dead including 25 children.
Some of the bodies, including Koresh’s, had fatal gunshot wounds, suggesting suicide or murder-suicide. The government’s handling of the Waco siege was heavily criticized as there was no prior evidence of the child abuse that had initially led them to justify the use of tear gas and they had other opportunities to arrest Koresh.

Though the FBI and ATF felt they were saving the children, the children reported being fearful of leaving, not staying.. They were being told to leave by their parents and taken away by strangers, who the children were always taught were the bad guys.
More than 68% of the children that survived the siege met criteria for PTSD.
David Thibodeau, a resident of the Branch Davidian compound and follower of David Koresh, reported that it was chaotic inside the house as the siege and standoff ensued. Thibodeau said that food and water were rationed and everything was different, it was a completely different lifestyle than they were used to. Thibodeau said what was frustrating was no being able to respond to the things that were being said about them. Thibodeau also stated that the disconnection of communication between Koresh and the negotiators as well as the number of negotiators that the FBI rotated in (23) was very frustrating for Koresh.
A Gallup poll by CNN found that 73% of Americans thought that it was the Branch Davidians that started the gunfire and the fire and the ATF and FBI acted responsibly. A small majority, however, felt that the government acted rashly and used unnecessary force. This became an example of government overreach for many and was seen as the government’s growing aggression towards its own citizens.