Photos: 20th Anniversary of raid on Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas
April 19, 2013
Fire engulfs the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Monday, April 19, 1993. The compound burned to the ground after FBI agents in an armored vehicle smashed the buildings and pumped in tear gar. The Justice Department said cult members set the fire. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
A banner reading "Send in CFA and Don Stuart" hangs from the watch tower of the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Wednesday, March 10, 1993. This was the second day cult members hung a banner asking the press and others for help. The CFA, or Constitution Foundational Association, is a conservative group highly critical of the federal government. Stewart has been identified as someone experience in negotiations. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
A McLennan County Sheriffís Deputy stands watch on a lonely stretch of road outside the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Monday, March 15, 1993. The standoff between members of the doomsday religious cult and the Federal authorities was in its 16th day. (AP Photo/David Longstreath) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Branch Davidian cult members leave federal courthouse in Waco, Texas on Monday, March 22, 1993 following a hearing. The 23-day standoff between David Koresh, his followers and federal agents continues. They are identified as front right to rear: James Lawten, 70; Brad Branch, 34; Kevin Whitecliff, 31, Ofelia Santoyo, 62; Gladys Ottman, 67; Sheila Martin, 46. (AP Photo/George Widman) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
In this March, 26, 1993 file photo, a person can be seen in the lower right hand corner of the photo running back to the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas. The 20th anniversary of the botched raid on the Branch Davidians compound passed quietly Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, as colleagues of the four agents who died gathered in private and local officials made no plans to note the day. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives held a ceremony in Waco to honor agents Conway LeBleu, Todd McKeehan, Robert John Williams and Steven Willis, the four agents who died in the Feb. 28, 1993 raid. Six Davidian members also died in that raid, which began a 51-day standoff that ended in a fire and the deaths of about 80 more sect members, including two dozen children. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File) ( Branch Davidian Anniversary )
Members of the Texas Department of Safety stand in the rain at a barricade north of the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Monday on March 23, 1993. Thirteen people have left the compound since the standoff began in a bloody shootout. (AP Photo/George Widman) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
A law enforcement official watches as an armored personnel carrier is deployed from the command center at the Texas State Technical College campus in Waco, Texas in this March 1993 photo. (AP Photo) ( DAVIDIANS GAO )
Talking to a crowd of reporters near the Branch Davidian compound, Pastor W.N. Otwell questions the motives of federal authorities who said they were concerned about the safety of women and children in the compound near Waco, Texas on Saturday, March 6, 1993. Otwell is from the God Said Ministries in Nacogdoches, Texas. (AP Photo/John Gaps III) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
An Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent stands in the rain at a barricade north of the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Monday, March 22, 1993. (AP Photo/George Widman) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Pallbearers wheel the flag draped casket of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent Steve Willis out of the Second Baptist Church after a service Federal officials continue the standoff with the Branch Davidian religious group into its seventh day in Houston, Texas on Saturday, March 6, 1993. (AP Photo/Tim Johnson) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
An agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms wears a stocking mask over his face to protect from the cold weather while working a roadblock near the Branch Davidian Compound near Waco, Texas on Friday, March 12, 1993. Freezing rain and sleet are expected in the night and no end is in sight in the standoff with the religious sect. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
CNN directors Bill Schneider, left, and Melinda Kauffman work outside their mobile office near the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Friday, March 15, 1993. The FBI said earlier that cult leader David Koresh "indicated that it was his desire to get this matter resolved." Talks with the doomsday prophet were the most positive in weeks. (AP Photo/Susan Weems) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Angie Desai of Garland, Texas, looks toward the Branch Davidian compound from a hill about five miles away in Waco, Texas on March 17, 1993. The cross was put in place on Tuesday by a person trying to send the Davidians a message. The cult's compound has been surrounded by law officers since the Feb. 28 shootout. Cult leader David Koresh says 88 adults and 17 children remain inside. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Linda Cox displays a T-shirt that she is selling near the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on March 18, 1993. The shirt says "David Koresh left's get it on world tour." (AP Photo/Rich Bowmer) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Two Texas Department of Public Safety officers take it easy at a checkpoint near the Branch Davidian compound on Friday, March 20, 1993. Law officers have been in a standoff with David Koresh and his Branch Davidian followers since February 28 gunfights that ended with four Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents and at least two cultists dead. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Two entrepreneurs, Stacey Boiles, 26, left, and Jane Lupfer, 28, both of Waco, Texas, set up shop with their Branch Davidian cult T-shirts near the cult's compound in Waco, Texas on Friday, March 20, 1993. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
A Texas Department of Public Safety officer holds two rifles at a checkpoint near the Branch Davidian Mount Carmel compound in Waco, Texas on Friday, March 26, 1993. The siege in its 27th day. (AP Photo/George Widman) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Max Bell of Prescott Valley, Arizona, sits with his son Alex and dog Bandit on a hillside near the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas on Saturday, March 27, 1993. The month-long standoff between David Koresh and his followers and federal agents has cost taxpayers more than $5 million so far. (AP Photo/George Widman) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
A military helicopter buzzes past the Mount Carmel Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas on Friday, March 27, 1993. The standoff between law enforcement and the Branch Davidian cult continues in the 27-day. The FBI said they have not talked with cult leader David Koresh since Wednesday night. (AP Photo/David Phillip) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
A trio of anti-ATF demonstrators put up an effigy of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Director Stephan Higgins near the Branch Davidian cult compound near Waco, Texas on Monday, March 29, 1993. Georgia Jenkins, left, of Tulsa, Okla., Billy Walker (in back of truck) and his wife Mary hang the effigy of Higgins. Crosses left depict the ATF officers who died in the raid on the compound on February 28. (AP Photo/Dave Martin) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Demonstrators in favor of the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms stand with signs and flags on a roadway that leads to the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Sunday, March 29, 1993. (AP Photo/George Widman) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Branch Davidian cult members, from left, Brad Branch, Kathryn Schroeder and Kevin Whitecliff are escorted into the federal courthouse in Waco, Texas on Thursday, April 1, 1993 to be arraigned on charges of conspiracy to murder federal agents and possession of firearms. (AP Photo/Dave Martin) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Two Texas Department of Public Safety officers read the morning paper at a road block near the Branch Davidian compound outside Waco, Texas on Friday, April 2, 1993. The standoff between federal agents and the Branch Davidians has continued for almost five weeks (AP Photo/Susan Weems) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Betsy Burke, of Dallas, looks out her passenger window at a roadblock near the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas on Friday, April 2, 1993. Burke was driven to the compound by friends who said they were taking her out for her birthday and then drove the 100-miles to the compound for a picnic. The paint on the window refers to Vernon Howell a.k.a. David Koresh, who is holed up in the compound with his followers. (AP Photo/John Gaps III) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Two men are shown in the doorway of the Branch Davidian Compound April 2, 1993 in Waco, Texas after two Houston lawyers left after eight hours of negotiations. (AP Photo/Rick Bowner) ( Armed Cult )
An Army helicopter flies low and near the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Friday, April 3, 1993. The helicopter partially obscures a banner hung out a compound window by cult members reading "Rodney King, we understand." (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Randy Berryman and Shelli Read, both of Redlands, Calif., look through a telephoto lens at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Monday, April 6, 1993. (AP Photo/John Gaps III) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Palm readers Zena Harrs, in orange, and Linda Parker, wearing dress, far right, both of Waco, Texas, read palms of Rhiannon Gardner, second from left and Jamie Blair on a hill where tourists make a stop over looking the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, Texas on Tuesday, April 6, 1993. Marrs, a veteran palm reader and psychic, said she believes the cult standoff will end in four more weeks and that David Koresh is lying to lawyers in reports that the seige will end after Passover. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
A person inside of the tower of the Branch Davidian compound removes a banner from the guard tower so a new one can be put in place in Waco, Texas on April 8, 1993. Several banners have been placed on the compound since the February 28 siege. (AP Photo/David Phillip) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Unidentified people climb on top of a barn adjacent to the Branch Davidian Compound near Waco, Texas on Thursday, April 8, 1993. An array of equipment had been left on the roof by federal authorities over the past 40 days of the cult standoff. (AP Photo/Susan Weems) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
A helicopter makes a low pass over the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Friday, April 9, 1993. A banner hangs from a window reading: "1st Seal, Rev 6:12, PS 45, Rev 19, PS 2, PS 18, PS 35, KJV," which refers to several verses from Psalms and Revelation in the Bible. KJV refers to the King James version of the Bible. (AP Photo/David Philip) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Lawrence Zimmerman of Milwaukee, left, has his friend Steve Yakich of Waco steady his binoculars while trying to view the Branch Davidian Compound near Waco, Texas on Saturday, April 10, 1993. The standoff continues, now in its 42nd day. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Two unidentified men appear between Bradley armored vehicles in front of the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Saturday, April 11, 1993. Federal authorities erected barbed wire around the compound to prevent cult members from escaping. The banner hanging from the compound window reads: "1st Seal, Rev 6:12, PS 45, Rev 19, PS 2, PS 18, PS 35, KJV," which refers to several verses from Psalms and revelation in the Bible. KJV refers to the King James version of the Bible. Authorities refused to comment on significance of the banner. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
A helicopter makes a low pass over a banner that was unfurled from a window by Branch Davidian cult members at the compound near Waco, Texas on Friday, April 9, 1993. The banner reads: "1st Seal, Rev. 6:12, PS 45, Rev. 19, PS 2, PS 18, PS 35 KJV," which refers to several verses from Psalms and Revelation in the Bible. KJV refers to the King James Version of the Bible. (AP Photo/David Philip) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
James Michael Lesak, 20, of Houston, holds a cross and an artificial flower as he stages what he said was a protest over the February 28 shooting at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Tuesday, April 14, 1993. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Floodlights slice through the night sky behind the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, in this April 15, 1993 photo. Attorney General Janet Reno pledged Thursday, Aug. 26, 1999, that a new investigation of the Waco, Texas, siege will "get to the bottom" of how FBI agents used potentially flammable tear gas grenades against her wishes and why the bureau took six years to admit it. (AP Photo) ( FBI WACO )
Tourists make use of the roof of their van as a platform for a medium format camera which they were using to try for a better view of the Branch Davidian compound some three miles away in Waco, Texas on Saturday, April 18, 1993. Operating the camera is Gail Nogle of Dallas, while on ladder is Nancy Bailey of Anderson, Ind. and in van is Graham Dunlap, 3, of Dallas. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
This is a aerial view of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, shown at Monday's press briefing April 19, 1993 by FBI agent Bob Ricks. (AP Photo) ( ARMED CULT )
An armored vehicle drives past the Branch Davidian compound near Waco,Texas, the morning of April 19,1993. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin) ( WACO FIELD TEST )
A battering ram attached to an armored vehicle moves in front of the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Monday, April 19, 1993. The armored vehicle ripped into the compound, tearing down and punching large holes on the 51st day of a standoff. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Damage can be seen on the south end of the Branch Davidian compound after federal agents used an armored vehicle to punch gaping holes in the religious compound's buildings near Waco, Texas, on April 19, 1993. The FBI then fired tear gas canisters into the building where David Koresh and 95 followers had been holed-up for 51 days. (AP PKOTO/Ron Heflin) ( FILE WACO )
Flames are seen in building to right of tower and smoke blows into the sky as the fire first becomes visible at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, on April 19, 1993. The compound burned to the ground and the Justice Department said cult members set the fire. (AP PHOTO/Roberto Borea) ( FILE WACO )
Flames are seen in building to right of tower and smoke billows into sky as the fire first becomes visible at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Monday, April 19, 1993. (AP Photo/Roberto Borea) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
A National Guard helicopter hovers over the burning Branch Davidian cult compound 19 April 1993 in Waco, TX. TIM ROBERTS/AFP/Getty Images ( SAWH990308514470 )
The Branch Davidian cult compound observation tower in Waco, TX is engulfed in flames after a fire, apparently started from inside the compound, burns the complex to the ground 19 April 1993. The fire was started after federal agents began pumping teargas into the headquarters of the cult led by David Koresh. TIM ROBERTS/AFP/Getty Images ( SAWH990308514440 )
Flames engulf the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on April 19, 1993. The Justice Department said cult members set the fire. (AP Photo/Susan Weems) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
The Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, goes up in flames on Monday, April 19, 1993. The compound burned to the ground with only nine known survivors. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
A television cameraman films an armored vehicle loaded on a truck passing the media checkpoint as a convoy departs from the remains of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas on Tuesday, April 20, 1993. Armored vehicles were used in a tactical maneuver Monday on the religious cult's fortification. (AP Photo) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Investigators look over the remains of victims piled on the roof of a bunker which remains from the destroyed Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on April 22, 1993. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Investigators carry a body bag past a flagpole with the Texas state flag and an ATF flag beneath it at half mast at the destroyed Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Thursday, April 23, 1993. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
A group of people gather on a hillside and look toward the site where the Branch Davidian compound once stood about 6 miles away outside of Waco, Texas on Sunday, April 25, 1993. The hillside, outside of Waco, Texas, has been a popular place for the curious, after the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms raid on February 28. (AP Photo/Roberto Borea) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Investigators clear debris from the area in front of the concrete blockhouse at the destroyed Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Monday, April 26, 1993. Independent arson investigators supported FBI claims that members of the cult started a fire that consumed their compound. (AP Photo/Roberto Borea) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Investigators clear debris in front of the blockhouse at the destroyed Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas on April 26, 1993. Visible in the dumpster are a number of cans. Authorities have expressed health concerns due to rotting food and human remains at the site. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Investigators search for clues in the rubble of the destroyed Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Tuesday, April 27, 1993 while another investigator, left, operates a video camera. Lawyers for some of the Branch Davidians questioned the impartiality of an outside team of investigators that concluded the cultists themselves set the fire that destroyed the compound. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Arson investigators, right, confer at the scene of the destroyed Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on April 27, 1993, while another investigator, left, operates a video camera. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
A lone worker sifts through the debris of the burned Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on April 29, 1993. A total of 58 bodies have been removed from the complex that burned on April 19 after a 51 day siege by federal agents. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
Investigators work on top of the underground bunker at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Monday, May 3, 1993 as the search continues for more bodies at the burned out compound. The heavily armed religious sectís complex burned on April 19, killing an estimated 72 people. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
This is a drawing by a child in Houston, Texas shown May 4, 1993, who was released from the Branch Davidian compound and interviewed by the Trauma Assessment Team headed by Bruce Perry, MD. Phd. of Taylor College of Medicine. Asked what she thought would happen at Mount Carmel, this vision of fire with a stairway leading to heaven resulted. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
The Texas flag and the ATF flag hang by one corner with the U.S. flag over the site where the Branch Davidian compound once stood in Waco, Tx, May 4, 1993. Investigators are still searching the area for bodies from the April 19th fire. The bodies of 72 people, including cult leader David Koresh, have been removed so far. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin) ( DAVIDIANS AFTERMATH )
Star High, 6, of Waco, Texas, helps to replace the crosses in an area dedicated to the people that died during the siege of the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Sunday, May 9, 1993. Star's family removed the crosses and cut the grass in honor of Mother's Day. (AP Photo/Charles Bennett) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
The burned out Branch Davidian compound and the 77-acres surrounding it east of Waco, Texas on May 10, 1993. The property is in dispute as to who owns it with the government and members of the Branch Davidians at odds on its future. (AP Photo/Charles Bennett) ( Waco Branch Davidians )
This is an undated file photo showing David Koresh, right ,with his wife Rachel and son Cyrus. Koresh who claims to be Christ, was the leader of a cult known as the Branch Davidians near Waco, Texas. (AP Photo) ( KORESH FAMILY PORTIRAIT )
This is a 1981 photo of David Koresh taken at the Mount Carmel compound of the Branch Davidians cult near Waco, Texas. Koresh, the leader of the cult who claims to be Christ, and his followers, were involved in a standoff with police at the compound in 1993. (AP Photo) ( DAVID KORESH )
This 1998 file photo shows Branch Davidian leader David Koresh in a police line-up following a gun battle with former Davidians. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune Herald) ( Koresh Mother Slain )
A photo of former Branch Davidian leader David Koresh hangs on a wall at the one-room chapel on the site of the Branch Davidian Compound near Waco, Texas, Monday April 9, 2007. Residents living on the grounds are undertaking major renovations of the land in a effort to seek new followers and change the image of the sect. (AP Photo/Rod Aydelotte) ( Branch Davidians )
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