No. 5 Waco (1993)
For 51 days, the U.S. was gripped by a standoff in the Waco, Texas compound of cult-leader David Koresh. While not a classic hostage scenario, the compound was home to over 125 followers of the Branch Davidian sect, including women and young children who were, essentially, captive to the polygamous and well-armed Koresh. It began on February 28 when agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) attempted to serve a search warrant to Koresh. The Davidians were prepared for the ATF agents' arrival, however. A reporter had been tipped off about the raid and unknowingly asked Koresh’s brother-in-law (a mail carrier) for directions to the compound. Aware that agents were en-route, Davidian members armed themselves and took up defensive positions. After a brief discussion with an unarmed Koresh outside the compound, shots were fired (just who shot first is disputed) killing several federal agents and five cult members. The siege was on. Over the course of the next seven weeks, FBI negotiators attempted to coax Koresh and other Branch Davidians to end the standoff. Some children and women were released, but 84 cult members remained inside when, on April 19, the FBI was ordered to move in. Using armored vehicles, FBI agents punched holes in the compound walls and blasted tear gas. The Davidians set their compound ablaze. When the smoke cleared, 75 members were dead, including 25 children. The siege and its bloody aftermath have been mired in controversy. Questions arose as to which party shot first, whether the FBI used incendiary devices (which they were barred from using by order of the Attorney General Janet Reno), and the tactics used by the government during the standoff (blasting loud music to disrupt sleep). The event, which followed an earlier violent stand-off in Ruby Ridge, was said to have inspired Timothy McVeigh to his own act of violence in Oklahoma City.
