From: Carol Moore in D.C. cmoore@capaccess.org or cmoore@upx.net ----------------------------------------- WACO UPDATE--MAY 8, 1996 by Carol Moore, member, Committee for Waco Justice, author of the mass market paperback *The Davidian Massacre* **APRIL 18 IN WASHINGTON D.C. Committee for Waco Justice members erected 82 crosses on the Ellipse directly south of the White House and displayed a banner reading "FBI KILLED A VILLAGE AND ITS CHILDREN," and flew the Davidian flag. (As the Washington Times noted, this was a "dark humored reference to fist lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's book n child-rearing.") Over twenty-five members of the press showed up for the event and news clips were shown on local stations around the country. Associated Press distributed a photograph of Carol Moore planting crosses. The "FBI TANKS KILLED 76" writing on her black t-shirt was clearly visible, as was the peace sign necklace she was wearing. When the press asked her what she would say to any anti-government types planning future bombings, she answered, "Read Gandhi." Unfortunately, Bill and Hillary Clinton were out of the country that week. Could it be because in the previous two years the Committee had set up their crosses and a "Waco Never Again" banner at the Ellipse not one day, but all five days leading up to and including April 19? Perhaps the Clintons could not deal with that much of a reminder of their sins yet a third year running. They had to get out of the country! Photos of the event and the signs have been sent to Hillary. **APRIL 19 IN WACO Davidians held a small memorial with about 50 people at Mount Carmel. They placed the first forty of the 82 markers they will be placing at crepe myrtle trees planted last year to represent the spirits of the martyred Davidians. Survivor and current Davidian minister Clive Doyle spoke eloquently of those lost, and of the plight of the 8 remaining Davidian prisoners, especially Livingstone Fagan who has been in solidary confinement for most of the last 21 months because he refuses to cooperate with the system by working. And Doyle chastised the government for refusing to prosecute those responsible for the deaths of family members. Survivor David Thibodeau roused the audience when he asked, "How do you spell murder?" "ATF! FBI!" answered the audience. In an interview replayed on Nightline, he said that he does not want to forget what happened there and it is good therapy for him to remember what happened. "The Voice of Liberty" radio show sponsored a "Waco conference" April 19-21 which attracted 50-100 participants. According to attendees, little was presented about government crimes against the Davidians and much information presented was questionable. To contribute to the Davidian's fund or get their resource list, write: Mount Carmel Survivors Memorial Fund, Inc., Box 120, Axtell, TX 76624. David Thibodeau has a separate list of video materials available, including a video presentation of a slide show he did at a conference. Write him at: 904 N. Gardiner, Box 4, Los Angeles, CA 90046. **APRIL 19 IN D.C. The Committee for Waco Justice sponsored a press conference outside the FBI building, which is now surrounded by a fence preventing the public from getting closer than 25 feet from the building. Again more than 25 press people showed to hear speakers from the Committee, FIJA, the Libertarian Party, the Leonard Peltier Freedom Campaign and a local peace group talk about the government's actions at Waco and the "anti-terrorism" bill. The press conference ended with a rousing chant of "Free the Branch Davidians." I have heard of only one replay of anything from the press conference on a local television station outside of D.C. The Committee also paid for a 4" x 3" advertisement in the Washington Times reading "FBI KILLED A VILLAGE AND ITS CHILDREN -- In Memoriam for the Branch Davidians -- April 19, 1993 -- Prosecute ATF-FBI Perpetrator -- Free the 8 Davidian Prisoners" **OKLAHOMA BOMBING AND WACO ANNIVERSARY Network television coverage of the April 19th anniversary seen by this author seemed to stress memorials for the dead of Oklahoma City and specific evidence--and important problems with that evidence--against Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols. There was relatively little mention of either Waco or "extremist anti-government militia groups." (However, at the end of a long interview with Militia of Montana's John Trochmann, one reporter did manage to bug him sufficiently that he accused her of being an "evil woman working for the British," in what he evidently thought was a private conversation. However, the video longshot and her tape recorder got it all.) Two networks interviewed Tim McVeigh and showed footage the evening of the 18th, even as his attorney said he didn't want to upstage the memorial in any way. And early on the 19th an amateur video photographer looking through his Waco footage found a shot of Tim McVeigh at Waco two weeks into the siege, commenting on people's warning him he should be afraid to come to Waco. A network news show aired it that night. **NEXT APRIL 19 IS A SATURDAY The last three April 19th anniversaries were work days. Next year is a Saturday, so all of our libertarian, patriot, constitutionalist, gun rights, civil liberties, etc. groups will have a wonderful opportunity to sponsor local rallies, conferences, etc. to commemorate the many special freedom-related anniversaries the converge on April 19. So start thinking about what you want to do in your home town. And hopefully we can get a nice big event going here in D.C.--maybe a freedom rally at the *Jefferson* Memorial for a change. **DAVIDIAN PRISONER APPEALS The six Davidians who appealed their sentences of a total of 195 years are waiting for a decision from New Orleans' Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. As reported in an earlier update, the January 4, 1996 oral arguments went very well. The government did not contest the defenses two primary claims--that U.S. District Judge Walter J. Smith should have given the jury the instruction that the defendants could be found innocent of aiding and abetting voluntary manslaughter on the grounds of self-defense and that he should not have sentenced five of them to an extra 25 years for allegedly carrying illegal weapons. Moreover, two of the three judges on the panel seemed skeptical that there was enough evidence to convict some of the defendants of anything! If there is any justice in this country, the 25 year sentences will be eliminated and some or all of the prisoners will get new trials and even be freed immediately! Davidian prisoner Brad Branch is still waiting for the results of his hearing after a guard falsely accused him of threatening him. (Branch had merely commented that he had a witness to the guard's harassing him, as he had done a number of other prisoners.) And prisoner Kevin Whitecliff is still at the Springfield, MO medical facility in treatment for a bloodclot in his leg. He has written to family that his treatment is adequate and he does not have major complaints at this time. Meanwhile, almost two years ago the Committee for Waco Justice filed a complaint with the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility of prosecutorial misconduct in the trial of the Davidians against chief prosecutor Ray Jahn and his two cohorts. They have not yet given us a response. Ray Jahn, of course, is now lead prosecutor in the Arkansas cases against McDougal and Governor Tucker, trying to implicate Clinton in Whitewater and other illegalities. However, we must wonder how seriously Jahn is trying to prosecute Clinton, one of Jahn's many co-conspirators in the coverup of mass murder of the Davidians! **CIVIL SUITS There are three sets of lawsuits being litigated for family members and survivors against federal agents and officials and Bill Clinton, those undertaken by Ramsey Clark, the Cause Foundation and the Houston firm of Caddell & Conwell. A Houston judge recently ruled that the Waco court is the proper venue for the civil suits. The hated Judge Smith is, of course, the U.S. District Judge for Waco and he already dismissed the first civil suit brought to him. Civil suit attorneys are now filing motions to recuse Judge Smith as being biased and to transfer the case to another judge. However, Smith himself will be deciding that matter. If he decides to keep himself on as the judge, attorneys will just have to appeal to a higher court. Meanwhile, according to Kirk Lyons of the Cause Foundation, there was some excitement over the possibility that the incriminating missing half of the front door had been found by a BBC film crew on the property in January of 1996. A rather indistinct still photograph of the hunk of metal was taken. However, by the time the Texas Rangers and Davidian attorneys went searching for it, no such door could be found. Davidians had sold some scrap metal in the interim. Most researchers remain convinced that federal agents conveniently "lost" that half of the door somewhere very far from Mount Carmel. **HOUSE AND SENATE WACO REPORTS The House Joint Subcommittees are now in the process of editing the final version of their reports and the transcripts of the 10 day July, 1995 hearings. It probably will be another two months before they are released. The Senate has experienced difficulty getting out the report on their two days of hearings because of staff overload and one staffer's maternity leave, so no date has been set on the release of that report. **COMMENT ON THE FREEMEN OF MONTANA SITUATION Members of the Committee for Waco Justice are glad that federal authorities have controlled themselves in this situation, neither violently attacking the Freemen to serve a warrant nor harassing and insulting them during negotiations. They've even allowed third party negotiations and even press visits. There has been relatively little deionization of the Freemen, by federal agents or the press, despite evidence that the Freemen have committed actual fraud and made threats against innocent citizens. If agents and the press had been this considerate of citizens' rights at Waco, 82 people would still be alive today. However, the FBI has warned the Freemen that the velvet glove contains an iron fist and we still may see the kinds of brutal attacks we saw at Waco. This despite the fact that Freemen have killed no federal agents and the fact that we have not heard of the Freeman having any vast stores of food. Inevitably, they will come out. However, fearful of the prospect that someday they may face hundreds of Davidian/Freemen/Randy Weaver situations as the uppity people protest the ever tightening federal thumb screws of laws and taxes, federal agents may try to make one more example of the Freemen--execution without trial remains a favorite tactic of tyrants. **PLEASE HELP THE COMMITTEE** Yes, we are in the hole from the last six months of activism and owe some members some money. To encourage us to keep active--so we'll be ready to do a press conference at Janet Reno's office as soon as the Davidian appeals are announced, so we can keep getting information out to the public and press, so that we can start thinking about new efforts to work for prosecution of the perpetrators--please feel free to contribute. In the last two and a half years of activism, the Committee has spent almost $5,000, mostly on newspaper ads, postage and Xeroxing. And no, we still don't have a bank account cause we're so low budget and we're asking checks to be made to Carol Moore. However, to help fundraising, Carol is donating autographed copies of her mass market paperback *The Davidian Massacre* to be sold at a special price of $9.00 book rate until the end of May. (Five or more still $8.00 each.) Please note other offers below. $9.00 The Davidian Massacre $2.00 each Buttons: Waco, Never Again -or- Free the Branch Davidians -or- FBI Killed a Village and Its Children $8.00 Information pack of miscellaneous articles, documents, etc. regarding Waco. ______ TOTAL Checks to: Carol Moore, c/o Committee For Waco Justice, Box 65518, Washington, DC 20035 202/635-3739 202/797-9877. FOR LIBERTY AND JUSTICE!!