The federal government can be said to have misplayed its hand in both instances, to put it mildly. But on the 30th anniversary of the Branch Davidian debacle, “Waco: American Apocalypse” attempts to put the Texas battle into a sensible context. Heather Jones was 9 years old when she became the last child “freed” from the compound known as Mount Carmel Center during the 51-day standoff (she didn’t want to go). Kathy Schroeder , a follower of the evidently delusional Branch Davidian “prophet” David Koresh , defends the sect’s beliefs and its leader’s dictates, including his sexual dominion over all women at the Mount Carmel compound. Chris Whitcomb , an FBI sniper who witnessed the entire siege, harbors such anger that one wonders if he should be handling a gun.

---