The Waco Siege
A 51-day standoff between federal agents and a religious sect ended with a fire that killed 76 people, including 25 children — and a government report years later confirmed federal agents didn't start the blaze, even as the tragedy directly inspired the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in American history.
The Waco Siege was a real 51-day standoff between the Branch Davidians religious sect, led by David Koresh, and federal law enforcement near Waco, Texas, beginning with a February 1993 ATF raid and ending in an April 1993 fire that killed 76 people. A subsequent Justice Department investigation concluded Davidians themselves started the fire, though the siege's handling generated lasting controversy and directly motivated the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
- →The siege began on February 28, 1993, when ATF agents attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidians' Mount Carmel compound, resulting in a gun battle that killed four ATF agents and six Davidians.
- →The subsequent 51-day standoff, led primarily by the FBI, ended on April 19, 1993, when a fire engulfed the compound during a tear gas assault, ultimately killing 76 people, including 25 children.
- →A formal Justice Department investigation, completed in 2000, concluded that Branch Davidian members themselves started the fire and that government agents did not materially contribute to its spread, based on forensic and audio evidence.
- →The Waco siege, along with the related Ruby Ridge standoff less than a year earlier, directly motivated Timothy McVeigh's 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, which he explicitly cited as retaliation for the federal government's handling of both events.