http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco_SiegeIn May 1992, Chief Deputy Daniel Weyenberg of the McLennan County Sheriff's Department called the ATF notifying that his office had been contacted by the local United Parcel Service regarding a driver seeing a package that had broken open on delivery to the Branch Davidian residence, revealing that it contained firearms, inert grenade casings, and black powder. On June 9, 1992 a formal investigation was opened and a week later it was classified as "sensitive, thereby calling for a high degree of oversight from both Houston and Headquarters" (italics on the original).[12][13]
The documentary Inside Waco claims that the investigation started when in 1992 the ATF became concerned over reports of automatic gunfire coming from the Carmel compound.[14]
The ATF began surveillance from a house across the road from the compound, but their cover was noticeably poor (the "college students" were in their 30s, not registered at the local schools, and they did not keep a schedule which would have fit any legitimate employment or classes).[15] Subsequent investigations, including sending in one agent undercover, revealed that there were over 150 weapons and 8,000 rounds of ammunition in the compound. Most of the weapons were legal semi-automatics; however, the ATF alleged there were also a number of fire-arms that had been illegally modified to fire full-automatic.[14]
Davy Aguilera, the ATF agent that had prepared the affidavit, testified later on the trial that a neighbor heard machine-gun fire; but Aguilera failed to tell the magistrate that the same neighbor had previously reported the noise to the sheriff, who investigated the noise. The sheriff found Koresh had a lawful item called a hellfire device, which allows a semi-automatic firearm to fire at a rate approaching that of fully automatic firearms. The affidavit was approved by a U.S. magistrate and was used as a base for warrants.[16]
Now
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... c0801.htmlSAN ANGELO, TEXAS – More than 400 children removed by investigators from a West Texas polygamist compound are in state legal custody in an unprecedented child welfare case that grows more complex by the day.
The children face an uncertain fate, experts say, including months of legal wrangling over them and the increasing possibility that most won't be returned to the remote religious ranch. A judge has scheduled a hearing for April 17.
Meanwhile, state officials must now care for and find foster families for children who have led a mostly monastic life, one where pop culture is an anathema and the outside world is an evil.
"They're going to need a lot of people that understand their culture and history," said Sam Brower, a Utah private investigator who has made several visits to the 1,700-acre Eldorado compound, run by followers of jailed polygamist Warren Jeffs. "They're trying to communicate with people that have lived out their lives in a cave basically – very, very isolated."
Texas is just one of those 'special' states. I'm all for state's rights, but i do believe stealing peoples children under false allegations was strictly prohibited by that crumply old piece of paper no one pays attention to anymore.
) have broken the law.
