a b O'Carroll, Eoin (February 5, 2010). "Centralia, Pa.: How an underground coal fire erased a town". Bright Green blog. The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 2013-07-03 . Retrieved 2013-08-05. Rubinkam, Michael (February 5, 2010). "Few Remain as 1962 Pa. Coal Town Fire Still Burns". ABC News (Australia). Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 29, 2012 . Retrieved February 6, 2010. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o DeKok, David (2010). Fire Underground: The Ongoing Tragedy of the Centralia Mine Fire. Globe Pequot Press. pp.19–26. ISBN 978-0-7627-5427-4. Archived from the original on 2022-05-27 . Retrieved 2020-11-25. The FBI received contradictory reports on the possibility of Koresh's suicide and was not sure about whether he would commit suicide. The evidence made them believe that there was no possibility of mass suicide, with Koresh and Schneider repeatedly denying to the negotiators that they had plans to commit mass suicide, and people leaving the compound saying that they had seen no preparations for such a thing. [77] There was a possibility that some of his followers would join Koresh if he decided to commit suicide. [77] According to Alan A. Stone's report, during the siege the FBI used an incorrect psychiatric perspective to evaluate Branch Davidians' responses, which caused them to over-rely on Koresh's statements that they would not commit suicide. According to Stone, this incorrect evaluation caused the FBI to not ask pertinent questions to Koresh and to others on the compound about whether they were planning a mass suicide. A more pertinent question would have been, "What will you do if we tighten the noose around the compound in a show of overwhelming power, and using CS gas, force you to come out?" [64] Stone wrote:

In fact, Germany’s drift away from the U.S. reflects a deeper shift that began with the Iraq War and has continued in fits and starts ever since, most significantly during Donald Trump’s presidency. But something else happened the night of October 8—another fire, fueled by the same conditions, in nearby Chicago. The Great Chicago Fire left 100,000 people homeless, destroyed over 17,000 wooden structures and killed 300. Though it wasn’t as severe as the Peshtigo fire, the big city blaze dominated headlines and history books. Peniel E. Joseph is a professor of public affairs and history at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of, most recently, “The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.” Another hypothesis is that the fire was burning long before the alleged trash dump fire. According to local legend, the Bast Colliery coal fire of 1932, set alight by an explosion, was never fully extinguished. [14] In 1962, it reached the landfill area. Those who adhere to the Bast Theory believe that the dump fire is a separate fire unrelated to the Centralia mine fire. One man who disagrees is Frank Jurgill Sr., who claims he operated a bootleg mine with his brother in the vicinity of the landfill between 1960 and 1962. He says that if the Bast Colliery fire had never been put out, he and his brother would have been in it and killed by the gases. [7]Report to the Deputy Attorney General on the Events at Waco, Texas: Appendix D. Arson Report". www.justice.gov. September 15, 2014 . Retrieved July 23, 2022. Evansville Photos". Evansville Courier & Press. Associated Press. February 14, 1981. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21 . Retrieved 2013-09-19. In this Feb. 14, 1981, file photo, Todd Domboski, 12, of Centralia, Pa., looks over a barricade at the hole he fell through just hours before this photo was taken in Centralia, Pa.

a b "FBI chief hails new Waco report". CNN.com. CNN. Archived from the original on January 31, 2020 . Retrieved January 30, 2020. This Is Not An Assault: Penetrating the Web of Official Lies Regarding the Waco Assault. May 29, 2001. ISBN 9781465315571. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020 . Retrieved April 19, 2020. Although the ATF preferred to arrest Koresh when he was outside Mount Carmel, planners received inaccurate information that Koresh rarely left it. [55] The Branch Davidian members were well known locally and had cordial relations with other locals. The Branch Davidians partly supported themselves by trading at gun shows and took care to have the relevant paperwork to ensure their transactions were legal. [56] Branch Davidian Paul Fatta was a federal firearms licensed dealer, and the group operated a retail gun business called the Mag Bag. When shipments for the Mag-Bag arrived, they were signed for by Fatta, Steve Schneider, or Koresh. The morning of the raid, Paul Fatta and his son Kalani were on their way to an Austin gun show to conduct business. [57] February 28 [ edit ] ATF agents attempting to enter the Branch Davidian compound on February 28, 1993 The Special Counsel considered whether the use of active-duty military at Waco violated the Posse Comitatus Act or the Military Assistance to Law Enforcement Act. These statutes generally prohibit direct military participation in law enforcement functions but do not preclude indirect support such as lending equipment, training in the use of equipment, offering expert advice, and providing equipment maintenance. The Special Counsel noted that the military provided "extensive" loans of equipment to the ATF and FBI, including—among other things—two tanks, the offensive capability of which had been disabled. Additionally, the military provided limited advice, training, and medical support. The Special Counsel concluded that these actions amounted to indirect military assistance within the bounds of applicable law. The Texas National Guard, in its state status, also provided substantial loans of military equipment, as well as performing reconnaissance flights over the Branch Davidian complex. Because the Posse Comitatus Act does not apply to the National Guard in its state status, the Special Counsel determined that the National Guard lawfully provided its assistance.

In 2001, another Michael McNulty documentary, The F.L.I.R. Project, researched the aerial thermal images recorded by the FBI, and using identical FLIR equipment recreated the same results as were recorded by federal agencies April 19, 1993. Subsequent government-funded studies [159] contend that the infra-red evidence does not support the view that the FBI improperly used incendiary devices or fired on Branch Davidians. Infra-red experts continue to disagree and filmmaker Amy Sommer stands by the original conclusions presented in Waco: The Rules of Engagement. CEV2, with battering ram, rips a hole into second floor of compound; minutes later another hole is punched into the rear of one of the buildings of the compound. The vehicles then withdraw. [93]

Agreement Reached With Remaing [sic] Centralia Residents". WNEP-TV News. October 30, 2013. Archived from the original on 2019-06-10 . Retrieved 2021-12-22.

Assault (April 19): Hundreds of federal agents; military vehicles (with their normal weapon systems removed): approx. nine M3 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, four or five M728 Combat Engineering Vehicles (CEVs) armed with CS gas, two M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks, one M88 tank retriever. [124] [127] So what’s Berlin’s plan? Germany’s big idea for resolving the Ukraine crisis is to revive a dormant diplomatic process known as the Normandy Format that includes Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine but, notably, not the U.S. (That same gathering came up with the so-called Minsk accords, a failed effort to halt the fighting in eastern Ukraine.) Out of sync a b Aguilera, Davy; Green, Dennis G. (February 25, 1993). "The Waco Affidavit". US District Court for the Western District of Texas - Waco. Archived from the original on October 2, 2019 . Retrieved October 2, 2019– via Constitution Society. The Waco siege raised concerns about potential government overreach and the infringement of individual rights. Some Americans [ who?] saw the incident as a reflection of an increasingly powerful and intrusive federal government, leading to discussions about the limits of government authority and the protection of civil liberties. Sheriff Harwell told reporters regarding law enforcement talking with Koresh, "Just go out and talk to them, what's wrong with notifying them?" [44] The ATF began surveillance from a house across the road from the compound several months before the siege. Their cover was noticeably poor (the "college students" were in their thirties, had new cars, were not registered at the local schools, and did not keep a schedule that would have fit any legitimate employment or classes). [45] The investigation included sending in an undercover agent, Robert Rodriguez, whose identity Koresh learned, though he chose not to reveal that fact until the day of the raid.