Editing Branch Davidians (section)

== Federal siege ==
{{Main| Waco siege}}

[[File:Mt Carmel Center ATF memorial, 2022.jpg|thumb|right|A memorial to the four ATF agents killed in the February 28 raid on the Mount Carmel Center]]
On February 28, 1993, at 4:20 am, the [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms]] attempted to execute a [[search warrant]] relating to alleged [[sexual abuse]] charges and illegal weapons violations.<ref>Affidavit of Davy Aguilera, Special Agent with the U.S Treasury Department, BATF, Austin, Texas, sworn before Dennis G. Green, United States Magistrate Judge Western District of Texas – Waco on the February 25, 1993. Aguilera affirmed: "On January 13, 1993, I interviewed Larry Gilbreath in Waco, Texas, and confirmed the information which had previously been related to me by Lt. Barber. Mr. Gilbreath told me that although he had been making deliveries at the "Mag-Bag" and the Mt. Carmel Center for quite some time, his suspicion about the packages being delivered to those places was never aroused until about February 1992. At that time the invoices accompanying a number of packages reflected that they contained firearm parts and accessories as well as various chemicals. He stated that in May 1992, a package which was addressed to the "Mag-Bag" accidentally broke open while it was being loaded on his delivery truck. He saw that it contained three other boxes, the contents of which were "pineapple" type hand grenades which he believed to be inert. He stated that there were about 50 of the grenades and that he later delivered them to the Mt. Carmel Center."</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_n26_v9/ai_14021102/|title=ATF's basis for the assault on Waco is shot full of holes - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms fatal attack on the Branch Davidian complex in Waco, Texas|last1=Fiddleman|first1=Theodore|date=June 28, 1993|work=Insight on the News|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710211706/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_n26_v9/ai_14021102/|archive-date=July 10, 2012|url-status=bot: unknown|last2=Kopel|first2=David}}</ref> The ATF attempted to breach the compound for approximately two hours until their ammunition ran low.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url= https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120472/ |title= Waco: The Rules of Engagement (1997) |author1= Gazecki, William |author2= Gifford, Dan |author3= McNulty, Michael |work= Film Documentary |publisher= [[IMDb]] – Internet Movie Database |access-date= November 25, 2012}}</ref> Four ATF agents (Steve Willis, Robert Williams, Todd McKeehan, and Conway Charles LeBleu) were killed and another sixteen  agents were wounded during the raid. The five Branch Davidians killed in the 9:45&nbsp;a.m. raid were Winston Blake (British), Peter Gent (Australian), Peter Hipsman, Perry Jones, and Jaydean Wendell; two were killed by the Branch Davidians.<ref>{{Cite book|title=No Heroes : Inside the FBI's Secret Counter-Terror Force|last=Elaine.|first=Shannon|author-link=Elaine Shannon|date=2001|publisher=Pocket Books|isbn=0671020625|oclc=46772515}}</ref> Almost six hours after the ceasefire, Michael Schroeder was shot dead by ATF agents who alleged he fired a pistol at agents as he attempted to re-enter the compound with Woodrow Kendrick and Norman Allison.<ref name=":1">Neil Rawles (February 2, 2007). ''Inside Waco'' (Television documentary). Channel 4/HBO.</ref> His wife said he was merely returning from work and had not participated in the day's earlier altercation.<ref name=":0" />

After the raid, ATF agents established contact with Koresh and others inside of the compound. The [[FBI]] took command after the deaths of federal agents, and managed to facilitate the release of nineteen children (without their parents) relatively early into the negotiations. The children were then interviewed by the FBI and the [[Texas Ranger Division|Texas Rangers]].<ref>''Psychotherapy Networker'' (2007). "Stairway to Heaven; Treating children in the crosshairs of trauma." Excerpt from the book ''The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog'' by Bruce Perry and Maia Szalavitz.</ref>
[[File:Mountcarmelfire04-19-93-n.jpg|thumb|FBI photo of the [[Mount Carmel Center]] engulfed in flames]]
On April 19, 1993, the FBI moved for a final siege of the compound using large weaponry such as [[.50 caliber]] (12.7&nbsp;mm) rifles and armored [[Military engineering vehicle|combat engineering vehicles]] (CEV) to combat the heavily armed Branch Davidians. The FBI attempted to use [[tear gas]] to flush out the Branch Davidians. Officially, FBI agents were only permitted to return any incoming fire, not to actively assault the Branch Davidians. When several Branch Davidians opened fire, the FBI's response was to increase the amount of gas being used.<ref name=":1" /> Around noon, three fires broke out simultaneously in different parts of the building. The government maintains that the fires were deliberately started by Branch Davidians.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/publications/waco/report-deputy-attorney-general-events-waco-texas-aftermath-april-19-fire|title=Report to the Deputy Attorney General on the Events at Waco, Texas: The Aftermath of the April 19 Fire|last=US Department of Justice|date=1993|website=The U.S. Department of Justice|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511015809/https://www.justice.gov/publications/waco/report-deputy-attorney-general-events-waco-texas-aftermath-april-19-fire|archive-date=May 11, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some Branch Davidian survivors maintain that the fires were started either accidentally or deliberately by the assault.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Thibodeau |first1=David |url=https://archive.org/details/placecalledwacos00davi |title=A Place Called Waco : A Survivor's Story |last2=Whiteson |first2=Leon |date=1999 |publisher=PublicAffairs |isbn=1891620428 |oclc=41368317 |author-link=David Thibodeau |url-access=registration}}</ref> Of the eighty-five Branch Davidians in the compound when the final siege began, seventy-six died on April 19 in various ways, from falling rubble to [[smoke inhalation|suffocating effects]] of the fire, or by [[friendly fire|gunshot]] from fellow Branch Davidians.<ref name=":3" /> The siege had lasted fifty-one days.

=== Aftermath ===
In all, four ATF agents were killed, sixteen were wounded, and six Branch Davidians died in the initial raid on February 28. Seventy-six more died in the final assault on April 19.<ref name=":3" /> The events at Waco spurred criminal prosecution and civil litigation. A federal grand jury indicted twelve of the surviving Branch Davidians — including [[Clive Doyle]], [[Brad Branch]], [[Ruth Riddle]], and [[Livingstone Fagan]] — charging them with aiding and abetting in the murder of federal officers, and unlawful possession and use of various firearms. Eight Branch Davidians were convicted on firearms charges, five convicted of [[voluntary manslaughter]], and four were acquitted of all charges.<ref>p. 7403 of the trial transcripts</ref> As of July 2007, all Branch Davidians had been released from prison.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/six-branch-davidians-due-for-release-13-years-after-waco-inferno|title=Six Branch Davidians Due for Release 13 Years After Waco Inferno|last=Associated Press|date=April 19, 2006|work=Fox News}}</ref>

Civil suits were brought against the [[United States government]], federal officials, former governor of Texas [[Ann Richards]], and members of the [[Texas Army National Guard]]. The bulk of these claims were dismissed because they were insufficient as a matter of law or because the plaintiffs could advance no material evidence in support of them. One case, ''Andrade v. Chojnacki'', made it to the [[Fifth Circuit]], which upheld a previous ruling of "take-nothing, denied".<ref>''Andrade v. Chojnacki'', 338 F.3d 448 (5th Cir. 2003), cert. denied (2004).</ref>