-[birds chirping] -[dog barks distantly]
suspenseful music plays
Anhydrous hydrazine.
Ammonium nitrate.
Nitromethane.
Ammonium nitrate.
[indistinct radio chatter]
Oh, shit.
Shit.
[door slams open]
suspenseful music plays
[man] Come on, man. We gotta go.
[door opens and closes]
suspenseful music plays
theme music plays
[Dan] Defense calls FBI Supervisory
Special Agent Gary Noesner to the stand.
[people murmuring]
[Dan] As the lead negotiator for the FBI,
how many hours did you spend
on the phone with the Davidians?
[Gary] Uh, it's hard to say, definitively. Hundreds.
[Dan] Seems like you got to know them pretty well then.
[Gary] I guess so.
[Dan] Well enough to get some of them to come out.
Yes.
Uh, 35 people came out during the siege
including 21 children.
How did you do that?
Get so many people out?
You build trust over time.
You start small, you give them something,
in return they give something.
You compromise.
Trust.
Uh-hmm.
[Dan] Was it difficult to build that trust
when other members of your team
were cutting the power to the Davidians' home,
or rolling tanks over their cars,
or using sleep deprivation techniques,
like, uh, blasting floodlights or music throughout the night?
Yeah, my team, the negotiation team,
worked in conjunction with the tactical team, HRT.
And although our efforts were coordinated,
sometimes we took different approaches.
And that relationship with HRT,
would you describe it as, um...
-adversarial? -[chuckles]
But just remember, the ATF's not gonna be around
-to take the blame this time. -I don't give a shit!
Uh, it could get heated,
but we always had the same objective.
To get everyone out safely.
[Dan] Now, days before the final raid,
you had reached an agreement with the Davidians
regarding their surrender, correct?
David had promised to come out before and never did.
It's not uncommon in situations like this
for people to say one thing and do another.
So the FBI didn't believe
the Davidians were gonna come out
and a decision was made to go in.
Who made that decision?
The Attorney General.
[Dan] In a meeting on April 12th?
[Gary] Sure.
Were you at that meeting?
I was not.
[Dan] Was anyone from the negotiations team there?
-No. -[Dan] Why not?
If you were a team,
why wasn't half the team at this very important meeting?
[breathes hard] You'd have to ask them.
But you supported the decision they came to,
to raid Mount Carmel on the 19th?
Leadership felt it was the best way
to avoid more loss of life.
[Dan] I'm not asking what leadership thought.
I'm asking for your personal opinion.
Be careful, Mr. Cogdell.
[sucks teeth]
On April 16th,
do you remember Steve Schneider
asking you for a computer?
Yes.
[Dan] And why did he want that?
Uh, he said it would help Koresh write the Seven Seals out,
and once that was done, they'd come out.
This is a request you made for the computer.
Is that your signature there at the bottom?
Yes.
And the date next to the signature?
April 16th.
So, four days after a decision had been made
to conduct the raid on Mount Carmel,
you requested a new computer
-for Steve Schneider? -[Gary] Yes.
And how long does it normally take
for a request like that to go through?
-A week or so. -[Dan] A week.
So you ordered a new computer
knowing that it wouldn't arrive until after the raid?
-Well-- -[Dan] Why do that?
Why order something
knowing that it wouldn't arrive until after the raid?
Unless you didn't know the raid was coming.
I don't recall exactly when I was told about the raid.
You didn't know. They didn't tell you
because they knew you'd be against it.
Leadership made a tactical decision.
It wasn't a tactical decision, it was an emotional one.
They were getting embarrassed on national TV
and they were sick of it.
No, they just felt Koresh wasn't serious about coming out
and they believed they were out of options.
Because you failed?
I don't believe negotiators ever fail.
We either solve a situation
or we create more time for HRT to prepare.
HRT cited and I quote,
"Once negotiations failed, we were left with no choice."
That wasn't my assessment of the situation.
They gave you 51 days, didn't they?
That's a pretty long run to wind up with nothing.
I wouldn't call it nothing.
We got 35 people out.
And who knows?
Maybe you could've gotten another 35
if you weren't running over their cars.
-That wasn't us. -That wasn't the FBI?
No, it was the FBI, but it wasn't my team.
Oh, so that doesn't count?
For Christ's sake, why don't you just ask it?
Excuse me?
I know where you're heading with all this.
Cut to the chase, just ask the question.
Uhm, what question would you like me to ask?
[Bill] Objection!
[Judge Smith] Overruled.
You wanna know if it was inevitable,
if they were planning to die all along.
So you should just ask me.
Was it inevitable?
No, it was not.
[people murmuring]
They were running out of water and resolve.
And I believe that without the tactical maneuvers
and a little more time,
we could have gotten a lot more of them out,
perhaps all of them.
[Dan] Did you tell that to leadership?
[Gary] I did.
And that's why they didn't bring me
to meet the Attorney General.
That's why I was rotated out.
Some FBI leaders were tired of the press
and the attention.
The American public was tired of it.
Everyone was tired.
The FBI wanted it over at any cost.
Holy shit.
Uh, no further questions, Your Honor.
dramatic music plays
[floor creaks]
-[Carol grunts] -[men grunting]
[dog barking]
I have one question for you
and I better like your answer.
Why were you in Andy's trailer?
That was yours?
That was Andy's?
I mean, I didn't--
I was--I was--I'm stupid, I was high
and then I just went into the wrong trailer.
When I realized I was in the wrong place, I left.
Is that a crime?
Go ahead. Search me. Go search my stuff.
I didn't take nothin'.
suspenseful music plays
[Andy] What's the downside of killing her right here?
I know she saw something in my trailer
-she shouldn't have. -[guns cocking]
-[dog barking] -[whispering]
suspenseful music plays
[indistinct whispering]
[dog barking]
-[gunshot] -Hey, no!
You might hit the dogs!
Auf! Auf!
Blind 'em, I swear to God! These are good dogs,
but call them or I'll fuck them up!
Come on here!
suspenseful music plays
[gunshots]
[Wayne on tape] There are 75 ATF agents
around our building and they're shooting at us!
There's women and children in here,
and they're--call it off!
[Sheriff Harwell] This is Sheriff Harwell.
-[Wayne] Sheriff! -[Sheriff Harwell] Wayne.
[Wayne] We got women and children in danger!
-[Sheriff Harwell] Wayne! -[Wayne] Tell them to pull back!
That call was placed by Wayne Martin
moments after the ATF raid began.
Wayne Martin isn't here to tell you about it today
because he was burned alive 51 days later.
Every case,
every trial asks a question...
and it's up to you the jury to answer that question
for the rest of the world.
I thought I knew what the question of this trial was.
See, I thought the question of this trial was,
"Does the United States government
have the right to attack its own citizens?"
It's a scary question when you say it out loud.
But that's not the question.
Because the government already believes
it has that right.
The real question
that you the jury are tasked with answering today is this,
"When the United States government
comes for you and your family
with no plan for peaceful surrender,
do you have the right to defend yourselves?"
That is what's at stake here today.
For you...
for all of us.
dramatic music plays
[Gary] You are really brave.
Well, I'm a badass, Gary. What can I say?
Do you know what tipped them off to you?
No, I don't know.
Maybe they saw me at Andy's house.
What? Wait.
You went to Andy the German's house?
Yeah, I snuck in there when no one was looking.
-[chuckles] -You shouldn't have done that.
Well, I found something, so you're welcome.
He had a notebook, okay?
With a bunch of science-type stuff like chemicals.
What kind of chemicals?
Nitromethane... [sighs]
anhyzahydrizone.
Anhydrous hydrazine?
That's racing fuel.
And adaman--admantium...
[sighs] Nitrous...
[Angie] Ammonium nitrate.
[snaps fingers] That's it.
-Fertilizer. -Racing fuel and fertilizer.
That's the same combination they use in The Turner Diaries
to build their bomb.
tense music plays
[man] Robert Kling.
Hey, happy early birthday.
[Tim] What?
April 19th, coming up quick.
[rock music plays over radio]
- suspenseful music plays -[indistinct chatter]
There you go.
You boys drive safe.
[David] I received another vision from God.
That's wonderful.
Well, I'm not sure everyone will agree with you.
What He's asking...
a lot of people might say it's wrong.
We don't judge you for what He asks you to do.
Thanks, Clive. That's very comforting.
dramatic music plays
[door opens]
[prison guard] Clive Doyle, get up.
The verdict's in.
dramatic music plays
[Karen] Dad, can I ask you something?
Of course.
[Karen] Is everything David says the word of God?
Or sometimes is he wrong?
David hears the voice of God.
And you believe everything he says,
even when it's something strange?
[bailiff] All rise.
Has the jury reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor.
[people murmuring]
[Judge Smith] The jury rules as follows.
On the first count,
conspiracy to murder federal agents,
the jury finds all four defendants...
not guilty.
[all gasp]
On the second count of aiding
and abetting the murder of federal agents,
the jury finds all four defendants...
-not guilty. -[all exclaim]
On the count of using an illegal firearm
in the commission of a crime,
the jury finds Paul Fatta,
Livingstone Fagan,
and Ruth Riddle...
guilty.
[all gasp]
dramatic music plays
What does that mean?
It means you've been cleared of all charges.
You'll be free to go in a couple of hours.
[Clive] But what about the others?
[Judge Smith] Order in the court. Order.
[Dan] It just doesn't-- there's something.
Your Honor,
we'd like to ask the court to reconsider that last verdict.
On what grounds?
On the grounds that it doesn't make a lick of sense
to be convicted of using an illegal firearm
to commit a crime
when you weren't convicted of the actual crime.
Well, that's not for us to say.
-The jury ruled-- -[Rocket] Hang on. Hang on.
Hang on. Mr. Cogdell is right.
How can I be guilty of using a weapon
during a crime if that crime never happened?
Interesting legal paradox.
But... I agree with the defense.
I'm vacating the convictions on the firearms charges.
The defendants are to be released.
-Yes. -[all exclaim]
dramatic music plays
[Clive] Are you sure?
I'll tell David.
David. David.
George Roden has been put in a mental hospital,
because of his outburst in court.
upbeat rock music plays
You know what that means?
[all] I think there's something you should know
I think it's time I told you so
There's something deep inside of me
There's someone else I've got to be
Take back your picture in a frame
Take back your singing in the rain
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man
All we have to do now
Is take these lies
And make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me yeah, yeah
Freedom
- Freedom... -[music stops]
[exhales sharply]
[David] God has given me this land
and everything on it.
I'll give you all ten minutes to get off my property.
Or what?
Or we do this mean.
We're gonna live here by God's laws,
not by man's weakness anymore.
Those of you who wanna stay, can stay.
But there's gonna be some new rules.
No drugs, no drinking, no smoking, no sex.
If you stay, you stay to study your Bible,
to find a new way, a better way.
And if that doesn't interest you,
well, it's time you found a new doorway to darken.
[Gary] Oh, excuse me.
Hey, Mitch.
I got nothing to say to you.
Okay. Look, I know you're pissed.
I need your support on something.
Yeah, well, you can't have it.
Please, just hear me out.
You took internal bureau discussions
and you aired it to the world, Gary,
you made us look like amateurs.
Indecisive, spiteful little--
-I told the truth. -You made us weaker.
People don't expect the government to be perfect, okay?
But they do expect us to be accountable.
You think I'm not accountable?
You had the luxury
of criticizing from the sidelines, Gary.
You got to leave.
I didn't. I stayed,
made the tough call, and watched those people die.
And I got to live with that.
What, you think you're the only one
still dealing with the consequences of Waco?
I still dream about it every night, Gary.
[shouts] So do I!
But you know what, Mitch?
I think that's what we deserve.
What happened at Waco, it affected all of us.
It affected the entire country.
And I know you understand what I'm talking about.
We both saw the protesters at Mount Carmel.
We saw the increased militia presence
and that has only gotten worse since the fire.
And I believe that these people
are planning an attack, something big.
And I need the bureau's support to look deeper into it,
but I can't get it alone.
I need your help.
What do you mean by attack?
The advantage that we've had in dealing with these groups
is handling them one at a time, sir.
If Gary's right
and they started communicating with each other
through extensive fax networks,
there's a real chance they could morph
into some kind of headless terrorist network.
If Gary's intel is good,
I think we need to take a closer look.
If the Intel is good.
That's a pretty big "if."
You're asking me to go way out on a limb here
based on the word
of an unsanctioned CI nobody has met.
Well, I think the intel is good.
-I trust her. -[Alan] I know you trust her.
But before I go deeper into this,
I need to meet her myself.
Okay.
You're gonna do great.
So you're this mystery CI
I've heard so much about.
Yes, sir. Nice to meet you.
And how did you get to know this group?
The Aryan Brotherhood?
Uh, well, I was dating this guy.
His name was Wild Bill.
Uh, he liked to rob banks, do all kinds
of crazy shit like that.
Um, yeah, but then one night we got into an argument
and he beat me up pretty bad.
I still can't see super good out of this eye, you know.
And that, that pissed me off.
So I narced on him.
No offense.
None taken. We're not narcs.
We're Feds.
Oh, yeah, that's much better,
sort of.
So, this place, this Elohim City,
you think they're building a bomb of some kind?
Yes.
Uh, they--there-there was a bunch of chemicals
that could be used to build a bomb
written down in Andy the German's notebook.
Um, and they talk a lot
about making the government pay for what happened at Waco.
Have you been in contact with Wild Bill
since he was arrested?
No, sir. [chuckles]
That's over.
[Alan] Hmm.
So if I told you that I had the phone logs
from Arkansas State Penitentiary,
where Wild Bill is incarcerated,
would that change your answer?
I might have called him a few times.
-[Alan] How many? -Um, I don't know for sure.
-More than five? -[Carol] Maybe.
-More than ten? -[Carol] Maybe.
[Alan] This Aryan Brotherhood,
they just let you live there
and read their notebooks with no problem.
No.
They almost killed me. I had to run.
[Alan] Did anyone see this?
-Yeah, yeah, yeah. I did. -Huh.
You know, there's been a lot of chatter
from groups like these,
you know, saying things,
like, um, they wish the FBI would dare
try something like we did at Waco.
Have you heard any of those people
saying anything like that?
I-I don't know.
Not-not-not in those words exactly.
[Alan] Did they ask you to tell us this?
Why would they? I don't understand.
[Alan] To goad us into maybe another conflict.
You know, something they can all rally around.
Did they ask you to tell us this?
No, I'm telling the truth. Okay?
Hey. Uh, could we have a moment, please?
Come on. What, what are you doing?
She's been through a lot for us.
-For you. -No, for all of us.
She's a good kid.
If I knew you were gonna berate her like this--
It does not matter
if everything she says is true
if she can't hold it together on the stand.
Well, I can work with her. I can get her to calm down.
We cannot afford another Waco.
It's over.
I gave you your time.
[sighs]
They're not gonna pursue it.
Did I screw up?
No.
No, he had his mind made up
before we even walked in the room.
You have somewhere to go?
No, I don't.
You know, you asked me once
how a nice girl like me wound up
in a place like Elohim City.
Was easy.
They're the only ones that wanted me.
And, Gary, if we ever cross paths again,
you act like you don't know me,
safer that way, okay?
Good luck to you, Carol.
[sighs deeply]
upbeat blues music playing
[lock buzzes]
[singer] I've spent too long
Away from home
Did all the things
I could have done...
[both laugh]
-[Clive] Oh. -[Ruth] Oh.
-Let me get four more. -Yeah.
Hey, is Jocelyn working tonight?
She, she usually works Tuesdays.
-The waitress? -Yeah.
She quit this morning.
And I was gonna propose to her tonight. [chuckles]
Yeah. She seemed cool,
kind of came out of nowhere.
She begged for the job a couple of months back.
-Yeah. -Then just up and quit.
Wait, when did you say she started working here again?
Just after New Year's, I think.
Like January 7th, like when we started working here?
Could have been.
[mutters] That son of a bitch.
-Excuse me, Mr. Cogdell. -What? Oh, yeah.
You have a call up front.
Hello.
Yeah, what's up?
The judge did what?
[singer] But their streets
Did not feel
Like mine
So long...
What do you say we get out of here?
It sounds good to me.
[singer] Goin' home...
[sighs]
[both sigh]
Wait a sec. Wait a sec.
Stop.
-What's wrong? -What's going on?
Need to take you back inside,
your release has been delayed.
Delayed? What do you-- what do you mean?
-No, it's over. -No, they, they said
-she was not guilty. -Hands behind your back.
-No. -Sir, the-the judge
-already said that she-- -No. No.
No, no, but I'm free.
-You can't do this. I'm free. -Let's go.
-I'm free! -We'll figure it out, Ruth,
-it's-- -I'm free.
No.
[grunting] I'm free!
I'm free!
[Judge Smith] I have had some time to reflect
and I believe now I was too hasty
in my initial decision to vacate the convictions
on the weapons charges.
Thus, I am reinstating them now and we'll move on
-to sentencing. -What?
Your Honor, this seems wildly outside of the--
Please don't interrupt me, Mr. Cogdell.
But you're finding them guilty of a--of a non-existent crime,
of a crime that you yourself were willing to vacate.
There is no reason to set aside these guilty findings merely
because the verdicts cannot be rationally reconciled.
I'm sorry, are you serious?
You're supporting a decision
that you're admitting is irrational?
If they were found guilty
of using a weapon in the commission of a crime
then by that verdict,
they must also be guilty of the crime
the weapon was used in.
But they were found not guilty of that crime.
I have made my decision. Take a seat.
But that doesn't make any sense.
[Judge Smith] I said I am ready
to move on to sentencing.
The only person
to show any contrition was Ruth Riddle,
and as someone who was clearly manipulated
by Mr. Koresh,
you're not entirely to blame
for your actions.
Therefore, I am ordering you
to be committed to the custody
of the US Bureau of Prisons
-for a term of five years. -[people murmuring]
-Five years? -[Judge Smith] Paul Fatta.
I'm ordering you committed to the custody
of the US Bureau of Prisons
for a term of 15 years.
-But I wasn't even there! -[Judge Smith] Quiet.
-I-I wasn't even there! -[Judge Smith] Quiet!
Livingstone Fagan, 40 years.
-Forty? What? -[Dan] Your Honor,
there's no way this outcome was the jury's intention.
They made their intention clear with their verdict.
[Dan] You know what? This isn't justice.
This is the government demanding their pound of flesh.
They, they can't stand to let our clients walk away
and they're getting you to do their dirty work.
Another word and I will fine you a thousand dollars, Mr. Cogdell.
I'm already broke. You can't get blood
-from a stone. -[Judge Smith] Don't be so sure.
That just cost you a thousand dollars.
[Dan] People will remember this.
This will be the first line on your obituary someday.
Don't you wanna be on the right side of this?
Another grand. The next time you speak,
I will ask the bailiff to remove you
from the courtroom.
Okay, okay.
All right. Okay.
[Judge Smith] Furthermore, Paul Fatta, Livingstone Fagan,
and Ruth Riddle, upon your release,
you must pay the US government restitution
in the amount of $1,131,687...
Oh, that is bullshit.
The people decided this was wrong
that what the government did was wrong.
If you answer that judgment by steamrolling them,
you're just asking to have this happen again!
-I am applying the law. -The law is supposed to be fair!
I decide what is fair!
It is not my job to cater to the moral fringe--
It's not your job
-to subvert the will of society! -[Judge Smith] Bailiff, please
take Mr. Cogdell out of my courtroom.
Who got to you? We need to be asking questions
about how this had to go.
We need to question the government...
-Order! Order! -...and the people that made
the decisions that led to this tragedy.
Who got to you? Who got to you?
dramatic music plays
Ladies and gentlemen,
my decision is made and my decision is final.
-[gavel bangs] -[Judge Smith] Court adjourned.
[Bill] Hell of a case, wasn't it?
Are you here to rub it in?
Because I'm happy to add an assault charge to this.
No. No, I'm not here for that.
You were a worthy opponent.
Well, that's a nice consolation,
seeing as the wheels of justice
just ran right over my clients.
Everything I did was above board.
Oh, really? Even Jocelyn?
-Who? -The pretty waitress at the bar.
Don't tell me she wasn't a spy.
Well, I honestly don't know what you're talking about.
But if she was, she wasn't with us.
Man, what do you want?
I'd like to prosecute the ATF for perjury.
And I could use someone from outside the system
to help me.
I might be able to make a little time for that.
[birds chirping]
[David] You might think that what you see here
is a rundown old shell of what this place used to be.
But your eyes lie to you.
I alone see the truth.
This land right here under your feet,
it's not land at all.
It's a doorway
through which we will change the whole world.
When I look around at these old broken buildings,
I see the building blocks of one giant house
that we will build right here together.
One giant house that we will all live in together as one.
You believe it, don't you?
You believe it still.
Don't you, Clive?
dramatic music plays
Yes...
I do.
So now the FBI's sending agents to spy on us as we mourn?
No. I'm not here for the FBI.
I'm here for me.
I care about what happened to you.
That's why I'm here today.
Maybe you could say some words to that effect.
Okay.
I was the lead negotiator here at Waco.
Sometimes I feel like I never left.
This place,
these events...
will stay with me forever.
Now, I know there may be some of you here today
and there's others that believe that the FBI came here
and just wanted to purposely see everybody get killed.
We didn't want that.
None of us wanted that.
So if we didn't want it to turn out this way,
and neither did you,
then how could it,
when nobody wanted it?
A religious friend of mine proposed once
that maybe it was evil that made it happen.
And I suppose he was right,
but not necessarily in the way he meant,
because I believe that the whole idea of evil,
it keeps us from seeing a thing clearly.
It blinds us,
because the evil is never on our side.
It's always the other guys.
I think what's closer to the truth
is that we were scared,
and you were scared.
And then we called you evil
and you called us evil,
and then we both stopped seeing each other
and communicating.
And that's when the tragedy came.
And now, it keeps me awake at night
worrying that if we cannot find a better way
to remember that, that even though
we might disagree
or be on opposite sides of a thing,
we are all fallible people.
I make mistakes and so do you.
We're more the same than we are different.
A great divide opened here among us
and I'm here today to push against that divide.
And I hope...
that each and every one of you can help me in that effort...
or I don't know what will happen.
[guard] Your last meal request.
Any particular channel?
Yeah.
The news.
Miami Beach police are looking for a man in his 20s.
The shooting took place in front of several witnesses.
[Clive] Please join us for a moment of silence,
as we toll the bell one time
for each life that was lost.
[bell tolling]
suspenseful music plays
[grunts]
[sighs]
[police siren chirps]
[grunts]
[panicked breathing]
[kids singing indistinctly]
[explosion roars]
[explosion rumbles]
[car alarm beeping]
[dog barking in distance]
suspenseful music plays
-[people screaming] -[car horns honking]
[people screaming]
[sirens approaching]
dramatic music plays
[applause]
[cheering, whistling]
[President Clinton on radio] The bombing in Oklahoma City
was an attack on innocent children
and defenseless citizens.
It was an act of cowardice, and it was evil.
The United States will not tolerate it,
and I will not allow the people of this country
to be intimidated by evil cowards.
I have met with our team
which we assembled to deal with this bombing,
and I have determined to take the following steps
to ensure the strongest response to this situation.
First, I have deployed a crisis-management team
under the leadership of the FBI,
working with the Department of Justice...
theme music plays
[man] MTV