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TLS as president, one page, 6.75 x 8.75, White House letterhead, May 3, 1993. Letter to Jay Lewis, in full: “Thank you for your letter. I was deeply disturbed by the tragic loss of life near Waco, Texas. I was especially appalled that innocent children suffered at the hands of David Koresh and other members of the Branch Davidian cult. I greatly appreciate your support on this matter.” Below his signature, Clinton adds a brief handwritten postscript: “Thanks very much.” In very fine condition. Accompanied by the original White House mailing envelope.
This letter dates to two weeks after the devastating end of the Waco siege on April 19, 1993, a 51-day assault by the U.S. federal government and Texas state law enforcement officials on the religious cult known as the Branch Davidians and their leader David Koresh. When the ATF suspected the cult of stockpiling illegal weapons, search and arrest warrants were issued for Koresh and the cult’s compound at the Mount Carmel Center. The raid was met with intense retaliatory gunfire and resulted in the deaths of four ATF agents and six Branch Davidians. When news emerged that children were being sexually and physically abused inside the compound, President Clinton acquiesced to Attorney General Janet Reno’s recommendation to mount an assault. The FBI launched a tear gas attack in an attempt to force the Branch Davidians out of the compound's buildings, but the Mount Carmel Center soon became engulfed in flames. The fire and the reaction to the final attack within the group resulted in the deaths of 76 Branch Davidians, including 20–28 children.
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