Waco Siege - Aftermath

Aftermath

The new ATF Director, John Magaw, criticized several aspects of the ATF raid; for instance, he compared the raid leaders Phillip Chojnacki going with a helicopter team and Chuck Sarabyn going in one of the horse trailers to a football team's coach and assistant coach going onto the field with the players. Magaw made the Treasury "Blue Book" report on Waco required reading for new agents.

A 1995 GAO report on use of force by federal law enforcement agencies observed that "on the basis of Treasury’s report on the Waco operation and views of tactical operations experts and ATF’s own personnel, ATF decided in October 1995 that dynamic entry would only be planned after all other options have been considered and began to adjust its training accordingly."

The Texas Rangers recovered at least two .50 caliber weapons from the remains of the compound. There is the question of whether the Davidians actually fired the .50 caliber rifles during the raid or during the assault. Various groups supporting gun bans, such as Handgun Control Incorporated and the Violence Policy Center have claimed that the Branch Davidians had used .50 caliber rifles and that therefore these types of firearms should be banned. The ATF claims such rifles were used against ATF agents the day of the search. Several years later, the General Accounting Office in response to a request from Henry Waxman released a briefing paper titled "Criminal Activity Associated with .50 Caliber Semiautomatic Rifles" which repeated ATF's claims that the Branch Davidians used .50 caliber rifles during the search. FBI Hostage Rescue Team snipers did report sighting one of the weapons – readily identifiable by its distinctive muzzle brake — during the siege.