The Climax of the Waco Standoff, 17 Years Later

April 19, 1993
At 5:59 a.m., SSRA Sage called into the compound and told the person answering the telephone that it was very important that he speak with Schneider or Koresh. Another individual came to the telephone and Sage informed him that gas was about to be introduced; that it was not an assault; that no FBI agents would enter the compound; and that no one should fire weapons. The individual hung up the phone. Two CEVs, or Combat Engineering Vehicles, approached the compound to begin methodically injecting tear gas through spray nozzles attached to their booms.

(The Myth: Those Tanks had flamethrowers mounted on them. They were using them to set the place on fire!)

[The Truth: This myth comes from a film produced by arch-Waco Wacko Linda Thompson. Thompson claimed to be the ‘Adjutant General of all the Militias’ in the 90s. She called at one point for a march on Washington; a call that was roundly ignored.

[Thompson produced a film called ‘Waco: The Big Lie,’ which a lot of Waco Wackos think is the absolute truth as to what went on there 17 years ago. WTBL popped up two years after the Waco Siege. In it, Thompson made the flamethrower claim based on a split-second piece of film footage that showed a piece of flaming wallboard falling on one of the Combat Infantry Vehicles used to inject the tear gas. Reflection off the wallboard made it look like the CEV was pumping fire into the building. Thompson re-ran this clip twice and claimed that the CEV backed up and injected fire into the building more than once. Hundreds of rednecks believed it as the gospel truth.]

At this point, SSRA Sage began reading a message over the loudspeaker system to those inside the compound, advising them to come out immediately and that they were now under arrest.
The plan to insert the gas was initiated at 6:02 a.m. At 6:04 a.m., the Davidians began shooting at, and hitting, the CEVs. Once the Davidians opened fire, the FBI was authorized to insert gas into the entire compound. The FBI began deploying "ferret" rounds (canisters containing gas) through the windows.

(The Myth: The FBI was using artillery to fire 40mm tear gas shells into the church as well as tanks!)

[The Truth: No it wasn’t. The Waco Wackos seem to think if they use the most incendiary language possible, they’ll get people whipped up over the entire case. If you braced these people over the subject of gun control, one of their bitches would be you knew nothing about firearms cause your language wasn’t precise enough. But when it comes to Waco, that concern goes straight out the window.

[First the FBI did NOt use artillery to gas the Davidians. The ferret rounds the Waco Wackos are so incensed over were fired out of hand-held grenade launchers and are not artillery.

[Second, the FBI did not use a single tank at Waco. They used CEVs or Combat Infantry Vehicles. They look like tanks, but CEV’s have no guns. You tell a tanker that he has to go into battle against another tank with a CEV and he will tell you that you are crazy. It would be like siccing a chicken on a weasel.

[Third. Mt. Carmel was not a ‘church.’ It was a compound covering 77 acres that included a dormitory, a watch tower, more than 100 firearms, may of them illegally-modified, fully automatic rifles, along with over 400,000 rounds of ammo. There was so much spent ammunition that the Texas Rangers, which processed the crime scene, had to remove it all with grain scoops. What ‘church’ has that kind of firepower?]

SSRA Sage continued broadcasting his announcement over the loudspeaker system while the armored vehicles continued to insert CS gas at intervals. The intervals occurred during the approximate one hour period that it took to reload the gas canisters in the vehicles. During these intervals Sage urged the people to come out before more gas was inserted. The Davidians continuing firing at the FBI vehicles.

(The Myth: The FBI never checked to see if that tear gas was toxic or it would harm little babies or old people!)

[The Truth: Actually, it did. The tear gas plan was reviewed and reviewed by AG Reno to make sure it was safe. You can find the particulars in the Scruggs Report, Appendix J.

At 6:41 a.m., someone threw the telephone outside the front door of the compound.
[Material redacted as required by statute.) At 9:47 a.m., an individual exited the compound and retrieved the telephone. However, the telephone lines had been cut, and contact was never re-established, despite the efforts of FBI technical personnel.
[Material redacted as required by statute.] At approximately 12:07 p.m., the Davidians started fires at three separate locations within the compound. At approximately the same time, an HRT observer saw a male starting a fire in the front side of the building. By 12:12 p.m., the compound was on fire in several locations.

(The Myth: That’s a lie! The FBI started the fire!)

[The Truth: Surviving Davidians admit they started the fire. Furthermore, several Davidians can be heard on tape talking about spreading fuel for the fire. The Danforth Report, spent $17 million looking at kooky claims just like this one.]


At 12:12 p.m., SSRA Sage broadcasted an urgent message to Koresh not to put the people through this (the fire), and to lead them out to safety.

(The Myth: The FBI blocked possible escape routes for the Davidians and even pinned them down in the burning building so they had a choice of burning to death or shot!)

[The Truth: The FBI punched three escape routes into the building for the Davidians to leave before driving into it multiple time to inject more tear gas.

[The ‘pinned them down with gunfire’ argument has probably been the longest-lived accusation at Waco. When you hear it, you should know the speaker is acting like the loudmouthed uncle at the Thanksgiving table that insists on talking about things of which he or she is ignorant. Subsequent investigation did not find that a single FBI agent fired his gun. None of the spent casings were of the caliber the FBI was using that day. No eyewitnesses reported FBI agents fired their weapons.]

At 12:13 p.m., the FBI requested assistance from the fire department.

(The Myth: The FBI kept the fire engines back on purpose!)

[The Truth: Yep. But before you get all outraged it wasn’t for the reason the Waco Wackos want you to believe. Intercepts from the tiny bugs smuggled into the compound via the milk cartons, showed the Davidians were planning to shoot at the fire fighters.]

At 12:16 p.m., a male left the compound from the second floor roof. At first, he refused assistance from the FBI.
Two minutes later he jumped off the roof and surrendered. Between 12:20 and 12:30, seven additional individuals came out of the compound and were arrested. At approximately 3:10 p.m., the last survivor emerged from the compound. A total of nine Davidians survived the fire.
One woman left the compound, saw the FBI vehicles, then ran back into the blazing compound. An HRT agent risked his life by leaving his armored vehicle, running into the flames, and saving the reluctant woman. She fought the agent the entire time he was rescuing her.
At approximately 12:25 p.m., numerous agents heard what they described as "systematic" gunfire in the compound. The gunfire was described as "systematic," as opposed to rounds "cooking off" from the intense heat of the fire. Several agents believed at the time that the Davidians were either killing themselves or each other.
At 12:34 p.m., the fire trucks arrived; however, because of the danger of gunfire, firefighting efforts did not begin until 12:41 p.m.
While the fire was still burning and ammunition was exploding, another group of HRT agents risked their lives by entering the tunnels in the compound to search for survivors, especially children. Although the agents discovered the tunnels, and a buried school bus connected to the tunnels, to be cool and undamaged by the fire, no survivors were located.
Following the fire, the FBI and Texas Rangers searched the remains of the compound. The search uncovered the remains of most of the Davidians who perished. The search also uncovered over 100 firearms, including .50 caliber weapons and fully automatic assault rifles, and approximately 400,000 rounds of ammunition. In addition, the ATF assembled an arson team consisting of experts from around the country. The arson team concluded that the Davidians had started the fire at three separate places inside the compound, and that the FBI's actions did not cause the fire. The arson team also concluded that the Davidians could have escaped the fire if they had wanted.

There are a bunch of other myths that the Waco Wackos like to claim are true such as:
1.The FBI illegally used the armed forces at Waco
2.The Warrants were defective
3.The FBI never gave Koresh a copy of the warrant
4.The Davidians were never offered legal counsel
5.The government (President Clinton) covered up all their wrongdoing.
6.The FBI altered the FLIR video that originally showed FBI agents shooting at the building.

But all of these have been shown to be utter nonsense.

So why spend a month and a half doing a day-by-day reconstruction of something that happened almost two decades ago? It’s ancient history.

Yeah, it should be, but the fact of the matter is that the Waco Siege has now entered American mythdom. The Militia Movement, dormant ever since the Oklahoma City Bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in 1998 (which was sparked over Waco) and the absolute flop of their warnings about Y2K, is again on the rise. The ‘Hutaree’ sect in Michigan is the latest example. Hutaree was an offshoot of the Michigan Militia. Hutaree planned to murder police officers and then the people who came to their funerals. The Hutaree members had copies of Thompson’s tape and other Waco nonsense in their possession when they were busted.

As thinking beings, it is our responsibility to croak the myths that bozos like Hutaree spread about Waco whenever they get the chance. When we can say more than just “Huh?” it is almost our duty to stand up and say as loudly and forcefully as we can: “Oh, that is bullshit.” It’s either thant or let them bully us into silence.

[UPDATE: The Fat Junkie and one of his Buttboys, Mark Steyn, have been screaming that instead of the right-wing media egging on Timothy McVeigh to violence, it was the actions of the FBI, led by President Clinton and then-AG Reno that led him to do it. Never mind that when he was busted and his place searched, McVeigh had a whole cache of Waco conspiracy materials on hand from the right wing.]

S. Olson