Remembering The 51 Day Standoff In Waco, Texas – 25 Years Later

The Beginning Of The Stand Off – February 28, 1993

On Sunday morning of February 28, 1993, the ATF attempted to execute their search warrant by taking the commune by surprise. However, their cover was broken when a KWTX-TV reporter that had been tipped off by the raid asked for directions from a U.S. Postal Worker who happened to be Koresh’s brother-in-law. Upon Koresh being notified of the raid, undercover ATF agent Robert Rodriguez overheard the discussion. He secretly made an excuse for himself to leave the commune in order to warn his superiors that Koresh had learned about their plan. Although the ATF knew that the Branch Davidians anticipated the raid was coming, they continued on with the raid even though their plan required the element of surprise.

Then everything went wrong.