Well, that was a- thank you for the introduction, Ron, and that's exactly how we met. And I will add that I also wanted to get out with the evidence that I had, that I collected, didn't want the sheriffs to take it away from me, so I kind of had to scoot kind of quickly and leave Ron and Ken there to fend for themselves! But I, I called later and found that they weren't booked in, so, uh, it came out all right. I'm very happy to be here today, I feel very humbled to be here today. As, you heard from Ron's introduction, I'm an attorney. I'm a member of the only profession, the only profession that Christ himself specifically condemned. And, well said, from the Good Book. Because, for the most part, our profession, has not led, or let up, or lived up, to its ethics, its own code of professional responsibility- in helping the poor, in helping the hated, in helping the oppressed, in helping those who are out the mainstream, who desperately need, Constitutional protection and legal advocacy. And I'm ashamed, on behalf of my profession, for their conduct in Waco, because a lot of the decisions that were made, a lot of the tragedy resulted, from lawyer bureaucrats in Washington, and people sitting in comfortable offices across this country, who were not moved to do anything. Until it was too late. In the great tragedy of April 19th. Our involvement was- came out kind of out of the blue, I, I've listened to all of the speeches today, and I'm, I'm- tried very hard to prepare my speech, and to give a cogent, well-directed talk- but I just can't do it. Because, there's just too much emotion welling up inside me. Too much thoughts about what could have happened. The total unnecessity of what happened here. How none of this had to happen. And so rather than try to commit it to paper and give you a steroid, wooden presentation, I'm just gonna wing it. Because it looks like just about everybody else here today has.

What happened here, February 28th, when we were all sitting in our living rooms watching it, or hearing about it on CNN or on the news- our foundation has a track record of defending unpopular people, people who are hated, people who are un-, misunderstood. People who need legal advocacy and can't get it because when they go down to the attorney's office, the attorney wants $50,000 retainer. Because, he's politically incorrect or hated in the community. And frankly, that's not what our Bill of Rights is all about. That's not what Christian charity is all about. And when I got home, February 29th [sic], the phones were ringing off the hook in our office. And We only have two. But they never stopped ringing that day. And who was calling? But a lot of independent, fundamentalist Christian churches across this country, who knew of us- who had heard what had happened at Waco, and their message was very simple. One: are we next? And two: will this happen to us, and what can you do about it? Well, we pondered that, and after, the call tally hit forty, forty different groups calling us, we decided, to come to Waco to see what we could do. Now, we had some track record in this. And, I'll take you back, a little back further in history to the Randy Weaver situation. Where in a very similar situation, the Army surrounded, a small family up in rural Idaho, gunned down a 14-year-old boy in the back, shot a nursing mother on her own front porch by an FBI sniper- and by the way, an FBI sniper that was here at Waco, Texas- and basically destroyed, a Christian family whose only crime was that they wanted to live apart, from mainstream society, worship God in their own way, and be left alone. But that's not enough for the people in Washington, when people want to be left alone, that, that makes 'em targets. And we had, just before that siege ended, something in our saddlebags, we were on our way to Idaho, with a temporary restraining order. It was a novel idea, we thought it might work. Use the courts, which have been very interventionist in the past, to force the feds to pull back with a temporary restraining order. Well, before we could file it, before we could get to Idaho, the siege ended. So we did one, learn one valuable lesson from Idaho. Is that when, the federal government uses independent negotiators, people live. When people- when the government, uses their own in-house people, to handle a situation, people usually die. And as we said in our press conference on March 11th, they usually die by fire- and we were not far wrong.

So we were there, trying to help the Weaver family in their situation, and we knew what had worked there. Bo Gritz, independent Presidential candidate, went to Idaho, ended the siege peacefully, an independent negotiator, and his message was simple: "We're not asking you to surrender. All we're asking you to do is change your tactics. From a situation that you can't win to one that you can. And I've got the best attorney in the world to help you, named Gerry Spence." Well, that worked. And I understand, from my information, that just about everyone in Mt. Carmel was aware of the Randy Weaver situation. They had read about it. They knew about it. It preyed on their minds. They knew what was at stake there. And they had that when they were confronted with this overwhelming force on their doorstep, as to what could possibly happen there. So they knew with the Randy Weaver situation. But Randy Weaver took it to trial with Gerry Spence and he won. He won. Because the jury just couldn't buy the government's lies, the government's cover-ups, and the government's chicanery. It was even too much for the judge. He sanctioned, and filed sanctions against the government in the tune of $3,000. For hiding evidence, switching evidence, and playing, footloose, with the evidence. So it had been done. We knew that, when we came to W- we knew that that would work in the surrender situation- we came to Waco on March 6th. Now you heard my friend Phil Arnold tell you about March 6th, and every Texan knows what happened on March 6th. It's the day the Alamo fell. But let me tell you something. The parallel ends there. At least Santa Ana, spared the women and children. That tell you something, about what we're up against here, in fighting the most powerful government in the world, so be it. But Santa Ana, known as a butcher and a tyrant, spared the women and children at the Alamo.

So we came and offered ourselves as negotiators. Our plan was simple: we'll just take the Bo Gritz plan, and plug it in to Waco. We hooked up with Gary Coker- and we were in touch with the FBI negotiators- and we said, "Look, we'll get the best smoke-breathing, rhino-killing attorneys in the world to help these people- if you'll let us go in there and tell 'em that." And the FBI had a very simple answer: "It's a great idea. But we're not going to let you do it." Well, from that point we had no choice but to go our own. So we called Dick DeGuerin- and we formed the Lawyer Response Committee- and we started bringing lawyers down here. And yes, there still are good lawyers out there. There are honorable lawyers out there. There are lawyers that believe that the Constitution really does apply to all people. And are willing to risk, their personal fortune, their life, and their sacred honor, in defense of that. And one of those men is Dick DeGuerin. [applause] He came down- he fulfilled all our expectations. He came down with a writ of habeas corpus in his saddlebags. And he filed in federal court. And as other attorneys came on board, they filed a writ of habeas corpus. And it- the newspaper said it was the first time it had ever been done. To try to use the judicial process, a temporary restraining order and a writ of habeas corpus to end a federal siege. Well- the court did not rise to the challenge there. But it sure got 'em wondering, and got the press, asking questions as to, why these people are being holed up, and why won't you let, the attorneys in to talk to their clients. Well, our secret weapon, Dick DeGuerin, got in. And the process was working; Jack Zimmerman got in. And I can tell you, ladies and gentlemen, and I will believe this to my dying day: those innocent people in there were going to come out peacefully. They were going to come out peacefully, they were going to submit to the judicial process, and they had the hope of victory. They, knew what the case was, they knew what the government's case was- And with Dick DeGuerin and Jack Zimmerman at their side, coming out peacefully, they were going to surrender. Or change tactics. No, they weren't going to surrender; they were going to change tactics. And take it into a federal courthouse where they could win. Well, in spite of all that's happened, we saw what happened in San Antonio. No murder conspiracy. None! Zip! Not guilty! That's what those people that were incinerated in there had to look forward to. When they came out, if they were charged.

After, the fire on April 19th, and the horror that was, which we all watched on our television sets. And let me tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that your tax dollars paid for that outrage. And on that day, I was ashamed to be an American. I was ashamed. [applause] I was ashamed to hear my fellow citizens say, "they had it coming." I was ashamed, to be in a country, where law enforcement would give high fives and make jokes about Texas barbecues. I say that having seen that- the remains of those people, and the handiwork of this government. And how dare they say that! How dare they say that in this country! [loud applause]

Those of you that know me know I'm a pretty jocular fellow. I'm pretty easy to get along with. But I don't put up, with baby incinerators. And I don't put up, with people with callous indifference- who wipe out an entire culture, an entire sect- without thinking about it twice. And I don't think much about people, who use the Bible as a handtowel, and the Bill of Rights as their toilet paper. [applause]

And such colossal arrogance! What does it hurt to talk; what does it hurt to lessen your control, FBI? I know you're a control freak. I know you've got to have a hand on the situation. But you showed beyond a shadow of a doubt, beyond all reasonable doubt, beyond a preponderance of the evidence, that you were totally incompetent to handle negotiations! [applause] I would say that the first- criteria, for being a negotiator, is you've got to be able to tell the truth! (pause) Does anyone here believe- and you in the press, I direct this to you especially- does anyone here believe, any of the garbage that we were being fed, after a 51-day propaganda siege, called a government press conference? Why weren't you asking the hard questions? Well, I have part of the answer why. Because if you asked the hard questions, you got hauled back into a room, and interrogated. And in one case, arrested. For criminal trespass. That's what happened to the members of the press. But that's all you were facing, was a little time in jail, and having to call your city desk editor and explain, "I asked a bad question, and I got arrested. Send another reporter." What was so hard about that, members of the media? Why weren't you asking the hard questions! Why weren't you telling the American people what was going on? Why aren't you telling us now, what you should have been telling us then? I know, because I got drunk with you guys. While we were sitting there trying to figure out how to get attorneys inside Waco, I was sittin' there in the Waco Hilton, drinking with you. And I heard your top stories. I heard you telling me, how, "Gosh, I know the government ain't telling us the truth, I know we're getting Purina dog chow over there at that government press conference. But what can we do, they won't let us back in if we ask a bad question." Well, dammit, that's your job and you let the American people down! [applause]

Since you wouldn't do your job, now the attorneys got to do their job. And more importantly, we the people of the United States of America have got to do our job! It's our country and our government! [applause] Every one of us here, is vicariously liable for what happened there! Because a hundred thousand of us didn't come down here, and surround this place, and say, "No, FBI, we ain't gonna let you incinerate 'em!" [applause] And I'll say right now, if a situation like this develops again- I want everybody hearing the sound of my voice linking arms with me, and everybody else in this country at that site to protect those poor people, because we know what they'll do. [applause]

Now you know what's going on! You can't, with honor, stick your head back in the sand and comfortably watch your television. You can't! Unless you're a dishonorable person or a coward. And I'm not talking about physical coward, because I'm the biggest physical coward going. I'm talking about moral cowardice. The cowardice that would not enable you to look at your own children- with a straight face- because you know they could be next, if they join some religious group that this government doesn't approve of! And you know that's right!

Of course, this information's been there for a long time. We know what happened to Randy Weaver; heck, it goes all the way back to Jesse James! They've been throwing smokers, to smoke people out, for a century! And when it blows off a woman's arm and kills a 15-year-old boy, like it did in the James farm in the 1870s- they said, "That weren't no bomb, that was just a smoker. We just wanted to smoke 'em out, we didn't know it'd blow up." But it burned the cabin down. It happened to Gordon Kahl, they burned him up in '83 and where was the outrage? It happened to the farmlands with people being shot on their own front porch. But that was just one lone guy with a gun. And he was eas-, easily demonized. Then, in 1992- they kill off, most of a family. Vicki Weaver and her son Sam, and the family dog. And we were too diverted by Hurricane Andrew, to worry about what was happening there- and they got away with it. And not six month later- Not six months! After Randy Weaver came off of Ruby Ridge- and we have Waco, Texas on our doorstep. And now a hundred people are dead! Are we going to sit down while they kill a thousand? Are we going to let that happen, is that what it's gonna take? We have got to draw the line now! We the people of the United States, have got to take back our government, and have got to ensure that justice is done to these people and that the guilty are brought to justice. [applause]

And you say, how is that gonna happen, Lyons? I mean- you've got this underfunded legal foundation you run- which a lot of people say is pretty radical- and you've got, a lot of people in the Branch Davidian survivors, that don't have any money- how are we going to fight the most powerful government in the world? Well, we don't have any choice, folks. And I'll say this, if anybody wants to call me a radical, that's fine. Because I'm radical. I'm very radical. And I'll- stop- this case, and I will be happy to let others happen it, when the mainstream legal community will jump involved and get involved in this, and do what they should have done in the first place, so I never would have had to come down here, and get involved in Waco, Texas. And if being radical in defense of the right to life- and if being radical in defense of the right to free speech- and if being radical, in defense of the right to keep and bear arms- and being radical in defense of the right for a jury to hear the evidence and render a decision is radical, then so be it! [applause]

We have, a unique situation here, ladies and gentlemen. We have some very brave attorneys- And I will say, especially some very brave, dedicated defendants- that stood the test in San Antonio, Texas under very trying circumstances. No one I don't think, could predict, the outcome of this case would be as it was- and maybe it's not everything that everybody expected. But the murder conspiracy was knocked out. It's dead in the water. That dog don't hunt. And a lot of information was brought out. But by no means, anywhere near the information we need the American people was brought out in that trial- and for a very good reason. I firmly believe the government didn't show its full hand there, because there's a lot of stuff they didn't want that jury looking in to. And more importantly, now that these gentlemen and ladies of the media are interested, there's a lot of stuff they didn't want you looking into.

The evidence that's available, in my belief, in the Waco case- is scandalous. It is so scandalous that it makes Whitewater, look like a Mayday fair. It's the type of scandal that can topple administrations. That's why I have said from the very beginning: these are political cases. These are political defendants. It's a political trial. Why? Because the government has a very vested, heavy interest in the outcome. Can they afford to lose, the criminal trial? No, they really couldn't. They did get a little something. But they could not afford what happened there. That was a disaster for them; they put the best face on it that they could. They certainly cannot afford to lose these civil trials that are coming. And that's where, we, the legal community, the defense community, the civil rights commmunity, need your help. You the American people. But they do have a very valid stake, in what's happening here. Because, when an attorney, pursuing the civil rights statutes of the United States- when he enters the arena, in the courtroom, with his client, prosecuting the United States government in a civil case- he stands in the place of the attorney general. In prosecuting the government and its agents. And this, ladies and gentlemen, must be done. There are men that, and women that are going to prison, possibly- that need the evidence that we can find- There is a, American people waiting to know, do they have a Bill of Rights or not? That is waiting to hear what this jury is going to decide. And there's so much information that we just need to find out, how this government operates, when it targets somebody for destruction. And it's oh such a cynical reason. I wish they had a good reason for what they did! But I, I have heard it said- I have heard it said, that it was for no more cynical reason that, we need more money for our appropriations. We need a headline. "Terror Cult Smashed, Thousands of Guns Seized." We need that for Congress so, our under-financed SWAT team will get more money. Because you know, we're the newest boys in town, with a SWAT team, and we need more money- we're not getting it like the other guys. And we want to strut our stuff. Now that has been suggested as the reason for the raid. And it has some credence. Do your think it was an accident that Stephen Higgins was in front of Congress asking for mo-, for more money, so soon after this happened? I know to defend, this is awfully fishy. We need to look into that. Ladies and gentlemen, fortunately we are aided- by a system where the cockroaches are starting to eat the cockroaches. I truly look forward to putting on these people under oath. And asking them questions. Because I got a funny feeling- that once they stop pointing at each other- they're going to start pointing up. And that will lead us in discovery to finding out, hopefully, to the satisfaction of a jury and the American people, what really happened there. What really happened in Waco. What type of callousness, what type of decadence reminiscent of Rome at its worst, was going on in Washington, that allowed this to happen. Because what happened here was oh so useless. Oh so unnecessary. These people were coming out. The arrest warrant named only one person, David Koresh. What, what crime did Aisha Gyarfas commit? Coming from Australia- with a, hope and promise of a bright future- with a one-year-old child, and an unborn baby? What hope did she have? What did she do to deserve this treatment at the hands of the government? That historically has opened people from other countries with open arms? Why did she have to die? We have to find out. And oh what a decision this jury is going to have. It will be probably the most historic decision a jury ever gets to make. Because when we sue these people, and I'll digress a little bit because what the jury decision- will be available to them- we have a chance to put the government on trial. We have a chance, to prosecute this government. [applause]

A civil rights suit has already been filed in the Western District of Texas. Federal court claims have already been filed. And the numbers are astronomical; I won't go into the numbers. It's just money. But it's very important money. We ask for a lot. The other attorneys that are suing, on behalf, of survivors, and of families, who are grieving, are asking for a lot. But this is not to enrich ourselves, and every family I've talked to says the same thing. We've got to send a message to this government. A multi-million dollar message to this government. That we will not tolerate this again. And we cannot allow this type of tragedy to happen to another- hundred families. As has happened to our family. And that's why these suits must go on. And we don't have tanks, ladies and gentlemen. We don't have guns, especially if the BATF keeps up with its excellent work, of disarming the American people. We don't have the means to resist them by force. All we have is our Holy Bible, our Bill of Rights, and our own sturdy, self-independence, to keep us free. And, we can send a million or a billion-dollar message to this government. That if you individual, Lon Horiuchi- or if you individual sniper, assassin, or tank-driver- If you go around killing kids, in their churches, in their homes- we're going to slap, a multi-million dollar verdict on you, and you will never, ever work in law enforcement again- You will never, ever, ever get out of debt, because you will be, millions of dollars in debt, paying off these families- We're gonna take your house- we're gonna take your kids' college money- we're gonna take your home in Bermuda- we're gonna make sure you never work in law enforcement again, and the evidence will be turned over to a new attorney general, to prosecute you, if the evidence so finds! [applause]

Well, there's one hard part, though. We're suing the most powerful government on the face of the Earth. We're suing individual agents. Go down to the courthouse and pull the lawsuits that've been filed. Look who's named. Janet Reno. Bill Clinton. Stephen Higgins. [applause] We're going for very big fish. These people are going to fight very, very hard. Without, the backing of the American people- I can tell you right now, that even though, there are some excellent firms, representing clients, there are some big names, that are willing to fight on behalf of you the American people in vindicating your rights, and that are these plaintiffs. That we do not have a snowball's chance, in that fire over there, of winning, unless you the American people are willing to get behind us, and help us change public opinion in this country, so that these people are looked at, with a little bit more, sensitivity, than just a bunch of cockroaches. Which is that- what I feel was the feeling, among the federal law enforcement officers here, when that fire was going on. And, I'm very careful not to overstate my evidence. I try to understate it. But I think it has been said, and I tend to personally agree with this feeling. That they looked at those people in there with complete callous indifference. They didn't perhaps intend for them to die, but they didn't really care what happened to them. It's as if, I blindfolded myself and pulled out a Walther P-38, and started firing in the audience. Should I be surprised if I take the blindfold off and see blood on the ground? They just didn't look at them as human beings. They didn't look at them as people. Well, I tried to look at them as people, when I was in the Tarrant County, Medical Examiner's Office. And until my tears choked back my ability to look further, I tried to look at them as they were. And it's very difficult. But they were children. They were women, they were men. They were people that were different from you, they were people the same as you. They were people, that separated themselves, who had views, that may be different from yours. But, from all I can tell, and from meeting and getting to know the survivors, they were a happy community- they were a self-contained community- and they were a community that were targeted by destruction by your government, financed by your tax dollars. And upheld by you the people of the United States in letting them do this. And it will happen again. I have no better authority than the attorney general of the United States! When she talked to the Congress and said, "this will happen again." We've already had indications of other churches, and other communities, that have been, feelers put out, by the ATF, that they might be the next stop for a raid. These people can't get off the wagon, they're not gonna stop. They're where they are, and they're going to work their, program out to the end. And they're not going to change their attitude. If we just sit here, eat, meet, and retreat. They're not going to change their attitude. But- if you sue that individual agent, and bar him from law enforcement, you'll send a message to his buddies. I can promise you. I can promise you that. There's a group over here that I want to call to your attention, the Fully Informed Jury Association. In my opinion they're the last hope, our judicial system has. The American jury. [applause] If you do not- if you do not understand, your rights, as jurors, and your duties as jurors- then as soon as I finish talking, or as soon as the last speaker, I want you to go over there and visit with Rube, go over there at the F-I-J-A center- and you find out what jury's all about. And you tell your friends, and you tell your families. And I know it may be controversial- but folks, we don't have a whole lot of time here. When you leave here today, you need to go home and tell every one of your family members, and all your friends and associates, what you saw here today, what you heard here today, and what you learned here today. We cannot let this die! The government is counting on, our enthusiasm waning. See, that's how the government wins. They wear you down; they let it drag on and drag on and drag on- until you finally give up. "I'm not willing to make it part of my life." But ladies and gentlemen, your children's future demands, that you make this part of your life. That you make this part of your agenda. You have got to make this, an important part, of the historical process that's going on all over this country now, as people wake up as to what happened here in Waco. We've got to come together as a community, and together, speak with one voice, that we will not tolerate this again. And I, can only humbly say, that an attorney, as part of a profession that Christ specifically condemned, that I will be at my duty station, prosecuting this government, prosecuting these agents, till there is, no more breath in my body. [applause]

I didn't know these people, but I wish I had. Thirty years ago, our President, John F. Kennedy, said, at the Berlin Wall, "Ich bin ein Berliner." He said that to show, unity and just cause, with the besieged people of Berlin, who had just had a wall erected. Well, the Wall came down in East Germany- but it's going up all over the United States. And I can say, in closing my remarks, and as we together, join hands- black, white, brown- whatever face, whatever creed, whatever country you hail from- as we come together to fight, this monumental injustice and try to preserve, our ailing, Bill of Rights and our posterity for our children, I can say with pride that, "I am a Branch Davidian." And all you all should be a Branch Davidian, when we remember what happened today. Whether that's our creed or not! In terms of where I stand with this government, I'm a Branch Davidian. Thank you. [applause]