[Chancellor Palpatine]

You must've bought the government spin. In reality, Vernon Howell never changed his name, he wasn't selling his people apocalyptic visions he claimed were from God, he wasn't out cruising nightclubs for new followers, and instead of selling guns and gun parts for money, he was really doing sacred art that he sold at a roadside stand. < /sarcasm >

[CyberAnt]

I'm talking about the title of the thread: Fed's attack Texas "church"

The Branch Dividians were not a "church", they were a cult!!

[plusone]

What the Waco people did after the raid began is irrelevant. The fact is, only Howell was wanted in regards to some firearms registration problems. The rest of the people were not wanted for anything. It was the military atyle assault on the Church that began the whole ordeal, one that would not have started if the FBI/BATF had just brought Howell in for questioning alone. He was available, and as been pointed out, he frequented the local town often. He could have been picked up without a fight. But this would have removed the free publicity that the BATF hoped to use as leverage for a larger budget. Whatever the Waco people did after the assault began is moot to this debate. The fact is, the BATF should never have assaulted the church in the first place. It simply wasn't necessary. (And don't use the 'child abuse' argument here, that doesn't fly. What would the BATF be doing investigating allegations of child abuse?)