Thirty years ago, Waco radicalized a teenage grocery clerk in Austin, Texas. Scott Horton was horrified both by the televised carnage of the FBI assault and by the mindless support for the feds he heard voiced by suburban housewives. Unlike the national media, Scott understood what it meant when the feds used toxic gas on American citizens and sent in tanks to collapse their home on top of them. After the fiery conflagration, Scott was vaccinated for life from being a starry-eyed idealist.
Since 1999, Scott has done superb interviews with the top experts on Waco, keeping a story alive that officialdom sought to bury. Those conversations have helped legions of Americans understand how the federal assault occurred and why the precedents it created continue to endanger our rights and liberties. Here’s a round-up of some of Scott’s greatest Waco hits:
April 19, 1999 David Thibodeau
In one of the only surviving recordings from Scott’s first radio show, Say It Ain’t So, on Free Radio Austin 97.1 FM, here is his long-lost first interview, with surviving Branch Davidian David Thibodeau from 1999. Thibodeau talks of his experience during the FBI final assault.
April 19, 2003 Dick J. Reavis
On the tenth anniversary of the final FBI assault, Scott interviewed Dick J. Reavis, a reporter for the San Antonio Express News about his book The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation. Reavis was far more skeptical of the federal story line than most of the reporters for the national papers. His gracefully-written book humanized the Davidians, in sharp contrast to their demonization in much of the media. (Scott conducted this interview using his Philip Dru pseudonym, a legacy of his time in the Witness Protection Program.)
April 18, 2007 Mike McNulty
Scott interviewed Mike McNulty, producer of Waco: The Rules of Engagement, Waco: A New Revelation and The FLIR Project, which asserted that the U.S. Army Delta Force was sent by Bill Clinton to Waco. McNulty debunked some early conspiracy theories on Waco, paving the way for more credible criticism. McNulty also fed great information to journalists, hounding them to dig deeper. Mike was a dogged researcher who would never quit. In 1999, he discovered the used pyrotechnic rounds the FBI fired in the final 1993 assault in a Texas Rangers evidence storehouse. That discovery exposed the FBI coverup, causing a national uproar and helping Janet Reno get the tainted legacy she deserved.
April 20, 2010 David T. Hardy
David T. Hardy, author of This Is Not an Assault: Penetrating the Web of Official Lies Regarding the Waco Incident, discusses how ATF ‘undercover’ agents — just nine days before the assault began — were granted access to the Branch Davidian compound and test-fired weapons with David Koresh. Hardy’s Freedom of Information Act requests shattered the ATF story line about not being able to easily nab Koresh before their violent assault. Hardy, a former federal lawyer, established himself as one of the most credible critics of federal outrages at Waco and other debacles.
April 19, 2012 Carol Moore
Scott interviewed Carol Moore, the feisty author of The Davidian Massacre – the first fact-filled, critical book to come out on the federal assault at Waco (published by the Gun Owners of America). Carol and Scott discussed evidence that several Delta Force members were “pulling triggers” at Waco; Independent counsel John Danforth’s investigation and coverup; the FLIR cameras that captured FBI automatic weapons being fired to prevent the Davidians from surrendering; and how the current NDAA makes future Waco-type massacres and coverups even easier for the government.
February 4, 2013 Will Grigg
In a wide-ranging interview, Will Grigg, author of Liberty in Eclipse, discussed how Waco became the template for law enforcement operations. Grigg joined the Libertarian Institute at its founding in 2016. His courage and devotion to fighting and exposing oppression created a legacy that survives his untimely death in 2017. His writings on Waco and plenty of other atrocities can be found in No Quarter: The Ravings of William Norman Grigg, published by the Libertarian Institute.
January 12, 2018 Dan Gifford 4/26/21 Dan Gifford:
Scott had multiple interviews with Dan Gifford, the Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated producer of Waco: The Rules of Engagement and a former investigative reporter for CNN. Dan reveals the role that gun control and religion played in the standoff negotiations and raid and the subsequent destruction and corruption of evidence in the aftermath. Gifford describes the setting of the final day of the standoff as well as the setting of the fire—and then the cover ups that followed. In this 2021 interview, Gifford shares his decades of experience looking into this topic, including all the times the government tried to shut him up.
February 26, 2018 David Thibodeau returns
Scott interviews surviving Branch Davidian David Thibodeau on the 25 year anniversary of the Waco Massacre to discuss Thibodeau’s book, “A Place Called Waco.” Thibodeau gives his personal history of how he joined the Branch Davidians, and explains how David Koresh attracted people from all over the world with his biblical teachings. Thibodeau describes the day of the raid and how the crucial pieces of evidence that corroborate the Davidians’ stories were “lost.” Scott then prompts Thibodeau: “Tell me about the fire.” Thibodeau concludes with what he’s learned from his experience, reflections, and review of the evidence that’s been uncovered in the years since the tragedy.
September 24, 2021 Barbara Grant
Scott interviews Barbara Grant about her new documentary which gives an expert’s perspective on the infrared footage captured on the final day of the Waco siege. The footage shows flashes that appeared to be gunfire; the Government dismissed them as solar reflections. Grant, who has studied and worked with infrared technology, decided to use her expertise to reveal the truth.
Scott and I have had plenty of rowdy interviews on Waco and the continuing coverup of federal outrages. We thrashed the topic on May 18, 2010, December 19, 2012, August 28, 2014 (discussing Attorney General Eric Holder’s role in the Waco Coverup), April 17, 2015, March 26, 2021, and on March 10, 2023. (Here are links to my Waco articles in the Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Playboy, USA Today, Washington Times, Libertarian Institute, New Republic, American Conservative, and American Spectator.)
Politicians and their media lapdogs may have moved on from Waco but Scott Horton will never forget. Luckily for America, Scott Horton remains hot on the Waco trail. He is interviewing key Waco critics for a new project that should be out soon.
