Day 13 of the Waco Standoff

March 12,1993
Janet Reno was sworn in as Attorney General of the United States in a ceremony at the White House.
Nothing of significance occurred at the compound until Kathy Schroeder left the compound at 10:41 a.m. At 11:50 a.m., Schroeder was interviewed and stated that there was no plan inside the compound for suicide. She assured the FBI that suicide would not occur.
In a conversation with Steve Schneider at 11:30 a.m., he indicated that, if lawyers or the press were allowed to enter the compound and speak to the individuals inside, matters might be expedited.
Between 12:00 p.m. and 12:30 p.m., there were attempts to call into the compound to allow Kathy Schroeder to assure those inside that she was being fairly treated. There was no answer to these calls. Schroeder also told the FBI that there were people inside who wanted to come out; however, Koresh had a "hold" on them. She stated that many people would leave if Koresh told them to; however, he refused to do so.
The negotiators made over two dozen attempts to call into the compound between noon and 5:00 p.m., but there was no answer. Schneider called at 5:04 p.m. and suggested that there was a technical problem with the telephones. The negotiators agreed to work on any problems with the telephones; however, they discovered no technical problems whatsoever.
At 6:00 p.m., Oliver Gyarfas exited the compound.
At 7:25 p.m., the negotiators called into the compound with Dr. John Hagman standing by. Dr. Hagman was brought in to give advice to the wounded individuals inside the compound. First, he spoke to Scott Sonobe about the wounds to his wrist and thigh. Dr. Hagman strongly suggested that Sonobe come out for medical treatment; however, he refused. At 7:40 p.m., the doctor spoke to Judy Schneider about her wounds. He gave her the same advice, and she also refused.
At 8:44 p.m., Schneider advised the negotiators that no one else would come out that day; however, he promised that Brad Branch, Kevin Whitecliff, and Rita Riddle would come out the next day.
At 9:20 p.m., a videotape was sent into the compound showing Kathy Schroeder's emotional reunion with her three-year old son, Bryan. The FBI hoped that the video might induce others to reunite with their children.
[Material redacted as required by statute]. At 11:07 p.m., SAC Jamar ordered that the electrical power be shut off once again in an attempt to demonstrate that the FBI controlled their "earthly" lives rather than Koresh. The power was never turned back on for the duration of the standoff. Schneider and Koresh immediately became outraged and complained that the termination of electrical power was an act of bad faith. They threatened to terminate all contact with the negotiators if power were not restored.
Some members of the FBI negotiation team disagreed with SAC Jamar's actions. They believed that certain tactical decisions, such as cutting the electricity, were counter-productive and undercut their credibility with those in the compound. However, in interviews with all the negotiators subsequent to the events of April 19, none believed, in hindsight, that this action had any effect on the ultimate outcome.
The evening ended with Koresh and Schneider still angry and complaining.

(The Myth: ‘Butch’ Reno was in charge of that whole thing from Day One and always intended to burn the kids alive in that church.)

[The Truth: The standoff had been going on for almost two weeks before Reno was even sworn in as AG. The Gun Nuts and Goofy Bastards with Guns and Bibles always seem to forget that fact, rather hinting instead that Reno is a lesbian. For somebody anxious to burn the kids alive in the Mt. Carmel compound, Reno sure wasted a lot of time trying to coax their parents and them out of there. The siege went on for more than five additional weeks. What didn’t make sense to us was: if you’re so anxious to burn people to death in a building, why spend more than a month try to talk them out of the building you’re planning to burn down?]

S. Olson