Waco Paper, TV Station Settle Suit Over Branch Davidian Raid

Two Waco news organizations and federal agents have reached an out-of-court settlement to end a two-year lawsuit that claimed reporters helped cause the deadly 1993 Branch Davidian raid.

The settlement included no admission of wrongdoing or acceptance of liability, lawyers for the Waco Tribune-Herald and KWTX-TV said Thursday. Other terms were not disclosed.

The media companies and American Medical Transport were sued by the families of four U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents who were killed during the Feb. 28, 1993, raid. Other agents joined the suit, claiming the defendants’ actions contributed to the tragedy.

More than 20 agents were wounded in a firefight when federal officials tried to arrest cult leader David Koresh on weapon charges. Six Branch Davidians also died in the battle.

After a 51-day standoff, Koresh and 80 of his followers died in a fire that destroyed the compound as authorities were punching holes for tear gas in its walls with battering rams.

An American Medical Transport employee admitted to tipping the Waco television station about the raid. Investigations by the Texas Rangers and the U.S. Treasury Department determined that a KWTX cameraman inadvertently alerted a sect member to the raid less than two hours before it began.

The Waco Tribune-Herald’s parent company president, Jay Smith, said the settlement was a business decision by Cox Newspapers Inc.’s insurance carrier. He said Cox officials believed they could have won the case.