CBS – ABC Radio – FBI Press Conference + Michael Jackson: KABC – April 20, 1993 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection
It’s been 30 years since the drama unfolded in Waco Texas. At the time it monopolized the news and became a source of much controversy over the government’s handling of the situation – and eventually set the stage of a retaliation in the form of the Oklahoma City Bombing exactly two years later. Below is some background via Wikipedia in case you missed it the first time around or wanted to refresh your memory:
The Waco siege, was a raid by U.S. federal government and Texas state law enforcement officials of a compound belonging to the religious cult known as the Branch Davidians between February 28 and April 19, 1993. The Branch Davidians, led by David Koresh, were headquartered at Mount Carmel Center ranch in the community of Axtell, Texas,13 miles (21 kilometers) northeast of Waco. Suspecting the group of stockpiling illegal weapons, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) obtained a search warrant for the compound and arrest warrants for Koresh and several of the group’s members.
Newly appointed U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno approved recommendations by the FBI Hostage Rescue Team to mount an assault, after being told that conditions were deteriorating and that children were being abused inside the compound. Reno made the FBI’s case to President Clinton.
The assault took place on April 19, 1993. Because the Branch Davidians were heavily armed, the FBI Hostage Rescue Team’s arms included .50 caliber (12.7 mm) rifles and armored Combat Engineering Vehicles (CEV). The CEVs used explosives to punch holes in the walls of buildings of the compound so they could pump in CS gas (“tear gas”) and try to force the Branch Davidians out without harming them. The stated plan called for increasing amounts of gas to be pumped in over two days to increase pressure. Officially, no armed assault was to be made. Loudspeakers were to be used to tell the Branch Davidians that there would be no armed assault and to ask them not to fire on the vehicles. According to the FBI, the Hostage Rescue Team agents had been permitted to return any incoming fire, but no shots were fired by federal agents on April 19. When several Branch Davidians opened fire, the FBI Hostage Rescue Team’s response was only to increase the amount of gas being used.
Only nine people left the building during the fire. The remaining Branch Davidians, including the children, were either buried alive by rubble, suffocated, or shot. Many were killed by smoke or carbon monoxide inhalation and other causes as fire engulfed the building. According to the FBI, Steve Schneider—Koresh’s top aide—shot and killed Koresh and then himself. In all, 76 people died. A large concentration of bodies, weapons, and ammunition was found in “the bunker” storage room. The Texas Rangers’ arson investigator report assumes that many of the occupants were either denied escape from within or refused to leave until escape was not an option. It also mentions that the structural debris from the breaching operations on the west end of the building could have blocked a possible escape route through the tunnel system. An independent investigation by two experts from the University of Maryland’s Department of Fire Protection Engineering concluded that the compound residents had sufficient time to escape the fire, if they had so desired.
Here is the FBI Press conference, held the day after, on April 20, 1993, along with a portion of the Michael Jackson program on KABC where callers chime in with opinions of the event – again, historic background and how people were feeling about it at the time.
