On Feb. 28, 1993, 70 agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives laid siege to the home of the Branch Davidians near Waco, Texas. By April, skirmishes with ATF and a fire resulted in the deaths of more than 80 men, women, and children.
Significant questions still linger about the events of the Waco siege—also known as the Waco massacre—but at the heart of the mystery lies a stark and troubling question: How did a federal investigation into alleged illegal weapons spiral into a catastrophic inferno that left over 80 people dead?
Waco lives on in infamy, but it is a flashpoint in a wider record of controversial behavior from the ATF. Incidents such as Ruby Ridge, Operation Fast and Furious, and the fatal shooting of Brian Malinowski in March 2024 continue to raise serious concerns about the agency’s strategies and use of force.
Rep. Eric…
