Differing Opinions

Emma- I believe that the ATF/FBI agents started the fire in Waco, Texas unintentionally after firing upon the combine or Mount Carmel containing the Branch Davidians led by David Koresh. Investigations of the Mount Carmel ashes show evidence of tear gas bullets which were used by the FBI, along with the ATF, and were commonly known to cause fires. The FBI agents tried to convince the Branch Davidians to come out of Mount Carmel and weren’t trying to cause them harm. They were trying to keep others in Waco, Texas safe. On the fifty-first day of the standoff, the FBI agents were allowing women and children to exit the building for their safety. Many women chose to stay and follow who they believed was their “God”, David Koresh. The Branch Davidians were believed to have a barricade inside Mount Carmel, which could have been one cause of the fire. If the Davidians were firing along with the FBI, then either side could have easily hit the barricade and cause the gunpowder to explode. Also, the Davidians had been collecting illegal firearms and seemed to have much more ammunition then the FBI and the FBI could have hit a storage of the Davidians firearms as well.

Hanna- I agree with the conspiracy that we, the US, started the confrontation between the Davidian Branch. When finding an opened package in the mail of gunpowder, grenades, and illegal firearms, we became concerned with what the Davidians had planned and also not being able to get access to the inside of the building. The ATF and the FBI did whatever it was going to take to get the people out. They yelled through megaphones, used strobe lights, and used other obnoxious techniques to force them out. When the Davidians held their ground and remained inside, the FBI and ATF fired the first shot at the Davidians. In self-defense, they fought back. Without warning or knowing of the use of tear gas, a flammable substance, played a factor in the building blowing up. We were not suppose to use tear gas, however. With the amount of ammunition and explosives the Davidians had, any shot a could have started a fire. The building was not intended to be blown up. We believe it was a freak accident.

Alexis- I agree with the conspiracy that WE unwittingly started the fire in the Waco, Texas Combine incident because most of the evidence that we as a group have found points to the fact that the FBI door teams started shooting first.  I believe that the fire was started unintentionally by the use of firearms shooting into the building, striking an explosive material barricading the doors of the warehouse.  Also, the FBI was unaware of the fact of the use of tear gas, which is very flammable. Our group believes that the tear gas, the barricades, and the firing of the guns all contributed to the fire.

Celia - I agree with the fact that our (FBI, SWAT, and ATF) agents were the people to start the explosion of the WACO Combine or Mt. Carmel building with all the Branch Davidians inside. I agree with this conspiracy because when researching the topic, most of the facts we found were in support of the fact the all the FBI, ATF, and SWAT agents fired the first shot that eventually lead to the explosion of the building. Also, we were the ones who used tear gases on the building and Branch Davidians inside, which helped create the massive fire. However, I do not think that the fire was started intentionally. I think that as we kept firing, all the barricades the Branch Davidians had set up containing weapons, gunpowder, and grenades, which began to explode and created a chain reaction, eventually causing the massive explosion.