Branch Davidians

In 1993, the Branch Davidians sect, led by David Koresh, had their compound in Waco, Texas, raided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). Church opponents and church supporters disagreed over whether a raid was "necessary".

The ATF view was that it was necessary to get inside the church compound, in order to use warrants to conduct a search to find evidence that compound residents had violated various federal laws. There was also a DOJ concern that young teen girls had been forced into polygamy with Koresh.