The Waco Incident

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the work of the committee on Government Reform and Oversight ("the Committee") which was created for the specific purpose of analyzing and evaluating the application and administration of federal laws. It looks at its contribution in the investigation of the FBI siege and consequent tragedy at Waco where many people died because federal law enforcement took such an aggressive stance against a cult group in Texas. It also evaluates its role in the aftermath of the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 persons. It evaluates how the Committee conducted its investigation on the assumption that some particular person or persons, or branch or branches of the government, were responsible for the failed raid.

From the Paper:

"The federal government's investigation of the bombing of the Murrah building in Oklahoma City focused the public's attention on militia movements in the United States and the potential threat to public safety presented by some of its adherents. The Oklahoma City bombing occurred on the second anniversary of the Waco fire. The anti-government ravings of its perpetrators encouraged the Committee to re-open the investigation into what happened in Waco. However, the Committee's willingness to link in the public's mind the bombing in Oklahoma City and the actions of federal law enforcement in Waco gave credence to the tenets of patriot-style groups linked to the Oklahoma City bombing and eroded public confidence in federal law enforcement."

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