Citation

Blackman PH. J. Firearms Public Policy 1994; 6(1): 165-246.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, Second Amendment Foundation)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Twenty-five children and scores of adults died as a result of the United States governments assault on a Seventh-Day Adventist sect near Waco, Texas, in 1993. This article examines the government surveillance and search warrant that led to the attack, and finds that the warrant fell far short of proper Constitutional standards. After the deaths of most persons in the Branch Davidian compound in the April 19, 1993, inferno, the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Justice conducted their own internal reviews of governmental actions during the initial attack, the siege, and the final assault on the compound. This article discusses what is revealed, and what is deliberately obscured, in the governmental reports. Finally, the article proposes reforms to avoid future tragedies.