''The Davidian Massacre: Disturbing Questions About Waco That Must Be Answered'' is a 1995

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...

book about the

Waco siege The Waco siege, also known as the Waco massacre, was the law enforcement siege of the compound that belonged to the religious sect Branch Davidians. It was carried out by the U.S. federal government, Texas state law enforcement, and the U.S ...

written by Carol Moore. It was co-published by the

Gun Owners of America Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a gun rights organization in the United States. It makes efforts to differentiate itself from the larger National Rifle Association (NRA) and has publicly criticized the NRA on multiple occasions for what it consi ...

Foundation (

Springfield, Virginia Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 30,484 as of the 2010 census. Homes and businesses in bordering CDPs incl ...

) and Legacy Communications (

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...

Synopsis

The book presents Moore's interpretations of events concerning the lead up to, during, and after the

in 1993. The main argument of the book is that the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and preven ...

(ATF) agents' fear of prosecution for mishandling their botched raid on 28 February 1993 led

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

tactical agents to destroy evidence later into the siege.

Scholarly reception

Wessinger, in her review essay reviewing six other works on the

, believes that the reporting of facts from Carol Moore is "compatible" with the other more scholarly works she reviews. Wessinger makes clear that Moore separates her speculations about the federal government's actions and the facts of the matter, and she compliments Moore's extensive citations.

Dean M. Kelley Dean M. Kelley (June 1, 1926 – May 11, 1997) was an American legal scholar, religious freedom advocate, author, and executive with the National Council of Churches (NCC), where his work was mainly concerned with religious liberty issues. He a ...

notes that work is published through the

Foundation, an American gun rights organization, which might impact the interpretation of events (though, he acknowledges that it does not make the speculations untrue). Kelley believes that Moore is not as trustworthy as credentialed scholars, but Moore also is not privy to wild speculations about the federal government's actions either like those of

Linda Thompson Linda Diane Thompson (born May 23, 1950) is an American songwriter, former actress and beauty pageant winner. Thompson began her acting career as a " Hee Haw Honey" on the American television variety show '' Hee Haw''. She was also a girlfrien ...

and other critics of the federal government. Kelley concludes that, if handled with caution, the book can be "useful and informative".

Relationship with American right-wing politics

Gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, including securi ...

and

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, autho ...

activists in the United States have utilized Moore's work for political gain or to push for a right-wing political agenda. For example, Peter R. Quinones for ''The Libertarian Institute'' argued that the federal government sought to regulate gun rights of the

Branch Davidians The Branch Davidians (or the General Association of Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists) were an Apocalypticism, apocalyptic new religious movement founded in 1955 by Benjamin Roden. They regard themselves as a continuation of the Shepherd' ...

despite the original ATF

affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a statemen ...

citing legal issues only with

David Koresh David Koresh (; born Vernon Wayne Howell; August 17, 1959 – April 19, 1993) was an American cult leader who played a central role in the Waco siege of 1993. As the head of the Branch Davidians, a religious sect and offshoot of the Davidian Sev ...

, leader of the Branch Davidians, not all the rest of them. Furthermore, according to

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the ...

, protestors in front of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...

handed out copies of Moore's book in 1997 on the anniversary (19 April) of the Waco siege's end and

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and Ter ...

that was partially inspired by the siege. According to ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Penns ...

'', copies of Moore's book were found among the various books in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, sold by right-wing and radical right vendors fearful of the end of the world, particularly the Y2K bug.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidian Massacre: Disturbing Questions About Waco That Must Be Answered, The Books about the Branch Davidians 1995 non-fiction books English-language books