A few months after the siege at Ruby Ridge, another attempt by federal agents to seize illegal weapons owned by a religious group known as the Branch Davidians led to a fifty-one day siege in Waco, Texas. On February 28, 1993, seventy-six ATF agents arrived at Mount Carmel, the Davidians' compound outside Waco, to arrest the sect's leader, David Koresh, on charges of illegal possession of weapons and explosives. As at Ruby Ridge, a gun battle erupted, with conflicting accounts of who fired the first shot. Four ATF agents were killed and sixteen were wounded in the shootout; inside the Branch Davidian compound, six Davidians were killed and an unknown number were injured. The FBI soon arrived at the compound and took command of the negotiations to end the standoff.

The next day, ten children were sent out of the compound. The FBI then surrounded the compound...