United States Department of Justice

“ You know, I mean, you know, and I don't want my boss to pounce you because you don't understand me and I don't think -- and this is honestly between myself and God -- I don't think that by myself being human I don't think that I have done a good enough job or that I have done everything that I can possibly do at the present to try to, to, to inform you clearly what the issues are from our side. ”

“ Midnight found the FBI and everyone else in law enforcement waiting while Koresh and Schneider slept.
According to one individual who left the compound during the standoff, there was never any plan to surrender on March 2. Instead, a number of individuals were to come outside with Koresh, who would be on the stretcher. After exiting, they would blow themselves up with some type of explosive device. Afterwards, all the remaining people inside would either be killed or would kill themselves. On the afternoon of March 1, everyone said goodbye to Koresh, then were sent to the chapel to pray. ”

“ April 19 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. ”

“ Because of the FBI's concern that the movement of Branch Davidians in and around the compound might trigger a gunfight, a "statement regarding safety" was drafted and read to Koresh at 2:53 p.m. This statement read as follows:
Rules For Your Safety: No one will be allowed to exit the building with a weapon. We tell you this for your own protection -- for if our agents perceive that their lives or the life of someone else is at risk they will take appropriate action to ensure their own safety. ”

“ In referring to the possibility that he might face the death penalty, Koresh even joked: "when they give me the lethal injection, give me the cheap stuff, huh?"
At 7:15 p.m., Brad Branch and Kevin Whitecliff exited the compound. These two men were the only individuals to exit, along with Rita Riddle who exited on the next day [material redacted as required by statute] .
At 8:03 p.m., Schneider called the negotiators to discuss the two men who had just come out. In this conversation, Schneider relayed a message from Koresh that his sign, the "guitar nebula," was coming faster through space now. ”

“ For the nations were angry -- which is like Psalms 2, the heathen raged -- and Thy wrath has come -which the Sixth Seal went -- what's going to happen is that the sum of the stars are going to be dark and all the natural elements of light and the heaven is going to part and everyone in this world is going to get to look up and see something they never seen before, something I was already shown. ”

“ Koresh also agreed to send out another child, Heather Jones, age 9, in the morning. Excerpts from these conversations serve to highlight the difficulty faced by the negotiators when dealing with Koresh. All of the quotes below are from Koresh:
2:48 p.m.
"Some guys think they're sneaking up and stuff like that, and they end up getting a bullet in their butt . . . and it's unnecessary." ”

“ It says here: for the kingdoms of this world becomes the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever. And the four-and twenty elders which sit before God on their seats fell down upon their faces and worshipped God, saying we give Thee thanks, oh, Lord, God Almighty, which art and was and are to come, because Thou has taken a great power in his reign which this is where God has to intervene. ”

“ So, God uses the weak and he uses the, the ones who try to seek peace, the ones who do not want violence and all that, he, he, he strengthens them like in Psalms 18 to overthrow the proud and the arrogant. ”

“ Even the old lion walked, and the lion's weapon, none made them afraid. Man, they thought they were so powerful, didn't they? The lion did tear in' pieces enough for his whelps and strangled for his lioness and filled his holes with prey and his dens with raven. I understand. It's just a job to keep yourself going, right? ”

“ 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. ”

“ Schneider told the negotiators later that day that he was not as upset as Koresh about the removal of the vehicles; however, there was still no progress in the negotiations.
The FBI warned the Branch Davidians to stay out of the tower during the operation to clear the automobiles. The tower provided the occupants with an ideal sniper post. Nevertheless, while the armored vehicles were removing the vehicles, adults held up children in the other windows of the compound. In addition, an HRT sniper saw a cardboard sign placed in one of the windows of the compound that read "Flames Await." ”

“ At 5:52 p.m., Koresh warned that if the telephone lines were not immediately reopened, the government would be responsible for the deaths of the children. Koresh also threatened a fight if this was not done. The negotiators attempted to calm Koresh. At approximately 6:10 p.m., when the armored vehicles began moving closer, Koresh became even more agitated. He threatened to fight the agents if the vehicles came on the compound's property, and he threatened to retaliate if they came any closer. ”

“ Schneider also complained that the people were cold and freezing inside the compound. The negotiators placed the blame on "their bosses" and urged Schneider to continue to work with them. In a conversation at 8:55 a.m., Schneider once again claimed that the government wanted to kill all of them and burn down the building.
At 11:35 a.m., the FBI negotiation team discussed the fact that letters had been sent from two attorneys claiming to represent Koresh and Schneider. These attorneys were Richard DeGuerin and Jack Zimmerman. ”

“ A short time after their surrender, SAC Jamar advised the negotiators that the tactical personnel were going to bulldoze obstructions away from one side of the compound. The Davidians were advised of this decision and the reasons why.
At 3:40 p.m., the FBI permitted Sheila Martin to call back into that compound and speak with her husband, Wayne. After informing him that she and their kids, who had been previously released, were doing well, Wayne responded that " [T] ime is short, and God is angry." He then began to preach before hanging up. ”

“ Conversations with Koresh, Schneider, and Kathy Schroeder continued until approximately 11:15 p.m. with the only progress being Schroeder's promise to come out the next day.
March 12 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. ”

“ Koresh agreed to read the following preamble on the telephone so that it could be recorded by the FBI on the audiotape to be broadcast: "I agree that upon the broadcasting of this tape, I will immediately come out peacefully with all my people."
While the audiotape was being delivered to KRLD and CBN, the negotiators continued to talk to Koresh. At 11:39 a.m., Koresh gave the first indication of the approximate number of people in the compound. He stated that there were approximately 20 children, 40 to 50 women, and 45 to 50 men. ”

“ Also, the prosecutors had to develop a legal strategy to separate those individuals who would be criminally charged from those individuals who were merely witnesses, and to ensure that all were either held in jail or released with sufficient guarantees to ensure their appearances at trial.
During the early conversations, Koresh informed the negotiators that he had been wounded. He had been shot in the hip area with the bullet exiting the area of his upper buttocks. He had also been shot in the left wrist. ”

“ Schneider directed the negotiators' attention to the last page of the letter stating that it was "very important." The entire letter appears in the appendix to this report. The last page is as follows:
Learn from David My seals or, as you have said, bear the consequences. I forewarn you the Lake Waco area of Old Mount Carmel will be terribly shaken. The waters of the lake will be emptied through the broken damn. [sic] The heavens are calling you to judgment. ”

“ Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Bill Johnston assisted the ATF in the preparation of the initial warrants, and, during the evening of February 28, began working with the Texas Rangers to determine if there had been a "leak" of the ATF's plan. AUSA John Phinizy also assisted the ATF with the warrants and became the liaison between the FBI and the prosecutors. United States Attorney Ronald Ederer and his First Assistant, James DeAtley, also travelled to Waco to assist. ”

“ At 6:10 p.m., a call from DeGuerin was patched into the compound by the FBI. In observance of, the attorney-client privilege, all recording and monitoring devices were disconnected.
At 7:00 p.m., local police warned the FBI that approximately 60 people were travelling to Waco to assist the Branch Davidians.
Contact was re-established with Koresh after the call with his attorney. Koresh was upbeat, stating that the lawyer talked straight with him. Koresh discussed surrender and promised to " [d] o something solid, that is no bull." ”

“ 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. ”

“ Sage told them that they would be treated fairly, that they were free to come out, and that transportation and medical care were available. SSRA Sage broadcasted again at 5:00 p.m. Sage also played a tape over the loudspeaker of his March 17 confrontational conversation with Koresh.
At 6:21 p.m., after Schneider was warned in advance by negotiators, the HRT used the armored vehicles to remove the compound's diesel and gasoline storage tanks. ”

“ March 29 The proposed face-to-face meeting between Koresh and DeGuerin caused significant controversy within law enforcement. SAC Jamar made the decision to permit the meeting, clearing it with U.S. Attorney Ederer. The AUSAs and the Texas Rangers, who would be responsible for the eventual prosecutions, strongly opposed the meeting. Jamar was focused on resolving the standoff safely, while the prosecutors and the Texas Rangers were focused on the integrity of future court proceedings. ”

“ The second priority was to centralize all negotiations. Since the previous day, there had been two separate channels of negotiations on two separate telephone lines. By 1:30 p.m., all telephone lines in the compound except for two were cut off. Those two lines could only dial out to the negotiators. By 4:45 p.m., the FBI command post was fully operational, negotiations were being handled by a highly trained team of agents, and FBI agents with armored vehicles were deploying to take over control of the compound's perimeter. ”

“ Koresh, for the most part, kept up his efforts to convert the negotiators to his religion.
March 5 This day began on an upbeat note when Heather Jones, age 9, was released at 8:39 a.m. However, this event had to be balanced against the notification from the Methodist Children's Home that Joan Vaega, who had been released on March 2, had a note pinned to her jacket. The note was from Joan's mother to Joan's older sister Ursula in Hawaii. It stated that by the time Ursula read the note-1 she (the mother) would be dead, and that once the children were out, the adults were going to die. ”

“ At 7:55 p.m., the negotiators became very concerned that CNN was conducting a telephone interview with Koresh. The interview was broadcast on the 8:00 p.m. news. All the law enforcement officials believed strongly that allowing Koresh uncontrolled access to the news media was extremely detrimental to the negotiation process. The FBI contacted CNN and requested that it conduct no further interviews of persons inside the compound. ”

“ Schneider simply complained as usual and began his own preaching about the Seven Seals. Contact was terminated at 4:58 p.m., after the FBI told him that no one could come outside the compound unless it was to surrender.
Between 9:00 p.m. and midnight, the negotiators attempted to call the compound approximately six times, letting it ring at least twenty times on each call. No one answered.
The perimeter was compromised again on March 26. Sometime between 11:00 p.m. and midnight, an unknown male, who had apparently snuck past the HRT, entered the compound. ”

“ February 28, 1993 The ATF began to execute the arrest warrant for David Koresh and the search warrant for the compound at approximately 9:30 a.m., and came under immediate gunfire. Negotiations began almost immediately with those inside the compound to effect a cease-fire. Sometime between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., ATF Deputy Director Dan Hartnett called FBI Associate Deputy Director Gow and requested the assistance of FBI negotiators in Waco. Gow agreed and called SAC Jamar in San Antonio. Gow directed SAC Jamar to send experienced negotiators to Waco. ”