An American Siege | Waco, 1993

Song: Nancy Sinatra - These Boots Are Made For Walkin’

The Waco Siege was a 51 day siege between American federal agents and the Branch Davidians inside the Mount Carmel compound in Waco, Texas. It started when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms attempted to raid the compound on February 28th, 1993. The plan for the raid was to have the agents arrive in two large cattle trailers then disembark and enter the compound, however this was largely dependent on the Davidians being unprepared for the attack. A news reporter tipped off to the incoming raid by the ATF got lost trying to find the compound, and asked a mailman for help. After giving the reporter directions, the mailman, who was in fact the brother-in-law of the Davidian’s leader David Koresh, warned them of the raid, losing the ATFs element of surprise. Despite this, the raid went ahead. The agents arrived and exited the cattle trailers, taking up positions behind the Davidian’s personal vehicles in front of the compound and placing ladders against the side of the compound to reach the second floor. David Koresh and another Davidian opened the front door of the compound to attempt to communicate with the agents, however following a gunshot the two sides started exchanging fire, wounding David and killing the other man with him. It is still unclear who shot first, as no footage exists of the first shots being fired and the right side door of the compound, which allegedly showed evidence of the agents shooting first, mysteriously disappeared. It is also theorised, however, that the ATF Dog Killer squad shot first, killing the Davidians dogs, prompting both sides to start shooting.

The ensuing gun fight lasted two and a half hours and ended with four ATF agents dead and five Davidians, alongside several wounded on both sides. Following the end of the attempted raid, the FBI took over and the 51 day siege began. In this time 19 children were released from the compound, secured by the FBI negotiators. Efforts by FBI negotiators to reach an end to the siege were undermined by actions on the ground, as the FBI Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) and other federal agents surrounding the compound cut all utilities to the compound and used psychological warfare against the Davidians (examples of which are described at the start of this video) such as blasting music, shining lights on the compound and playing animal sounds through the night. Later on, they also brought in US National Guard armoured vehicles, including between seven and ten Bradley IFVs and two M1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks, as well as four M728 Combat Engineering Vehicles (CEVs). These were used to crush the Davidian’s cars and often ran over the graves of those killed in the initial shootout. There were also many helicopters circling the compound, including both commercial news crew helicopters and military ones such as UH-60 Blackhawks, UH-1 Hueys, and CH-47 Chinooks. Some of these allegedly carried federal agents who fired shots into the compound from them during the initial raid and the final attack.

Eventually, the HRT, growing tired of waiting around, contacted US Attorney General Janet Reno, who approved an assault on the compound. On the morning of April 19th, the four CEVs began punching holes into the walls of the compound and collapsing structures on the exterior of the building. The majority of the Davidians were still inside the compound at the time, including a large number of young children and babies. The CEVs then began pumping CS gas into the compound through these holes, with the intention of increasing the amount of gas pumped in until the Davidians came out peacefully. CS gas can be fatal to babies and young children, and there were no gas masks for the children in the compound. Then, shortly after the gas started being pumped in, a spark ignited it, quickly engulfing the compound in flames. Only nine of the Davidians managed to escape the compound.

The testimony at the start of this video is from the US Senate hearings on the siege and is given by Jack Zimmerman, one of the Davidian’s defence attorneys.

I know this is a very controversial and tragic topic, so please don’t argue in the comments. This video was pretty quick to edit, but finding good footage took a long time, so I hope you enjoy it.

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