The Ashes of Waco

Negotiation Transcripts

Arguably the biggest informational treasures in the Dick J. Reavis Papers is the collection of negotiation transcripts. From the first 911 call made by Branch Davidian Wayne Martin during the height of the Feb. 28 shootout, to FBI negotiator Byron Sage's loudspeaker instructions during the fiery chaos of April 19, the drama is captured in these transcribed conversations between the adversaries.

I believe we have the full set of transcripts, which were procured by Reavis during his investigation from defense attorneys. Technically one can get them from the FBI with a Freedom of Information Act request, but from what I hear, one will have to wait a while.

Most, but not all, of these transcripts are in digital format, and many of those are already included in the digital collection. You can see what's there so far with this link: http://tinyurl.com/yeh2kmk, or by searching "negotiation transcript" in the search bar of the digital collection.

I have been working on adding these lately and will continue to do so until they are all up there. They are one of the most researcher-requested items in the collection, and I can see why. Now, they will be fully keyword searchable, making this aspect of research much quicker and more productive.

The other type of item most requested are the actual negotiation recordings. Those will all eventually be in the digital collection too, and when they are, researchers will be able to find recorded content using the transcripts, all at their own desks at home.

A Selection of New Scans

Here we present a few newly-scanned items of interest.

Firstly, three fake postage stamps, creators unknown (if anyone out there knows who made these, please sing out!). It's likely that the stamps were produced by an underground anti-government constitutionalist group who actually used them to send mail. It is impossible to say how many letters posted with stamps such as these made it through the postal system. 

Next we have a promotional postcard for the controversial documentary "Waco: The Big Lie":

Stay tuned for more scans through next week. We will be closed for the end-of-year break for two weeks following. We welcome your questions and comments. Please know that we are interested in presenting all facets we can surrounding this story but that we refrain from drawing any conclusions publicly or producing editorial statements, no matter what our private opinions or understandings may be. 'Til next time!