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

The Official Danforth Report

Photo Credits: Bill Greenblatt/Liaison

In the final report of November 8, 2000, Special Counsel Danforth concluded that the allegations against the government lacked sufficient claim. Although those involved in withholding information during the trial were prosecuted, it was declared that the pyrotechnics did not start or spread the compound fires. The surviving Branch Davidians also acknowledged that the fire was indeed started by other followers, with audio recordings helping to prove so. However, David Koresh’s lawyer called the entire Danforth report a whitewash, and former U.S. Attorney general Ramsey Clark who represented the Branch Davidians stated that “History will clearly record, I believe, that these assaults on the Mt. Carmel church center remain the greatest law enforcement tragedy in the history of the United States.”

Yet, Danforth’s report didn’t put an end to all of it.