Today marks the 24th anniversary of Day One of the United States federal government’s raid on the Mount Carmel Center and church owned by David Koresh and the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas. On February 28, 1993, the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms stormed the Branch Davidian ranch attempting to serve a warrant to David Koresh on suspicion of stockpiling illegal weapons. A gunfight ensued, which resulted in the deaths of four four ATF agents and six Branch Davidians.
On the ATF’s failure to serve the warrant to Koresh, the FBI took the lead, initiating a 51-day siege which ended on April 19, 1993 after the FBI and ATF, aided by British and U.S. Military Intelligence, INTERPOL, DELTA Force, and other agencies and entities used tanks, machine guns, CS gas, and other military tactics against the Davidians, attempting to drive them out of Mount Carmel. A huge fire erupted which consumed Mount Carmel, and, the next day, the center was completely destroyed. 76 men, women, and children perished that day, dead from flame, CS gas, and automatic weapons fire. Some of the bodies were severely mutilated and their injuries were consistent with having been run over by an armored vehicle.
The ATF and FBI maintain to this day that they never fired a shot.
The Still Man
