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Volunteers rebuild Davidian church
WACO, Texas (AP) - A libertarian talk show host led a convoy of volunteers with shovels and pickaxes to Waco Sunday to initiate the rebuilding of the Branch Davidians' compound church. A fire during a government raid six years ago leveled the compound, killing leader David Koresh and about 80 followers. Austin talk show host Alex Jones, 25, said Sunday he wants to rebuild the church as a memorial and to increase publicity about the FBI's possible role in the fire. "This is about saying the witch hunt of 1993 is over," Jones said as he and about 60 people began digging foundations for a 38-by-40 frame church. The deadly fire April 19, 1993, ended a 51-day standoff between Koresh and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and FBI. Jones said he chose now to build a memorial and church because of a recent admission by the FBI that agents had fired potentially incendiary tear gas canisters at the compound the day it burned, despite years of statements to the contrary. Attorney General Janet Reno earlier this month appointed a special counsel to investigate. Government officials maintain that Branch Davidians, and not federal agents, set the fatal fire. Koresh follower Clive Doyle, who survived the 1993 fire, said Sunday he has been leading 12 to 20 people in Bible studies near Waco and likely will lead services at the new church.
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