13th Anniversary of the Siege at Waco

Today marks the 13th anniversary of one of the worst days in the history of the United States. On a Sunday morning in 1993, agents of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms attacked the headquarters of the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists, a small Christian sect, in central Texas. The Branch Davidians were suspected of possessing illegal gun parts. The raid was timed to coincide with a newspaper exposé accusing the sect’s leader of weapons law violations and abuse of underage females.

Approximately 100 armed agents drove up in cattle trailers, shots rang out near the front door, and a gun battle ensued. The seige at Waco had begun. The Branch Davidians were surrounded by federal agents for 51 days and most died in a raging fire that started soon after military tank-like vehicles injected CS gas into the compound buildings. To this day, no federal agent has been found guilty of any wrongdoing.