Changes

====The Investigation====

The reason why the Branch Davidians came to the attention of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms was the combination of a series of newspapers articles about the sect and a random discovery by a postal worker. Mark England and Darlene McCormick, who were local writers for the <i>Waco Tribune-Herald</i>, wrote a seven part series titled “Sinful Messiah,” which focused on some of the more lurid and salacious aspects of life in the compound. The writers interviewed three ATF sources who also happened to be disgruntled former Davidians. One of the sources, Marc Breault, ended up being the key informant who helped get the ATF initiate the investigation of the Davidians. Koresh was never interviewed by England and McCormick. <ref> Reavis, pgs. 40-43</ref> Dovetailing with the “Sinful Messiah” series was the ATF investigation, which officially began in 1992 when a postal worker noticed a number of weapons being mailed to the compound. Although there is nothing inherently illegal about sending guns through the postal service, the ATF believed it warranted an investigation so special agent Robert Rodriguez was tasked with infiltrating the compound. Most of the weapons the agent saw in the compound were legal, but Rodriguez’s reports concluded that the Davidians were manufacturing illegal weapons, which was enough to get a warrant to raid the compound. <ref> Kerksetter, Todd. “‘That’s Just the American Way’: The Branch Davidian Tragedy and Western Religious History.” <i>Western Historical Quarterly.</i> 35 (2004) pgs. 456-7</ref>

====The Siege====