'Waco: The Aftermath' Ending Explained: Here's what happened after the 'Waco Siege' trial
The final episode for the Showtime series ‘Waco: The Aftermath’ is finally here and viewers have finally got to know what took place after the siege. The ‘Waco 5’ was put to trial after the siege and a lot of things happened during the trial which made it exhilarating. In the final episode of the show, we saw Gary Noesner taking the stand for a shocking testimony and revealed things would have been different if his team was given more time to negotiate.
It was time for the final comments and Dan Cogdell played the emotional card by telling the jury members that something similar could happen with them as well. As soon as the last comments were made, the jury made a decision and all eyes were on the judge now who had to announce the verdict.
So, what happened after the trial?
‘Waco: The Aftermath’ Ending Explained: What was the verdict?
The judge read the verdict of the jury and it was revealed that the jury members found the ‘Waco 5’ “not guilty” on the first two counts, including conspiracy to murder federal agents and aiding and abetting the murder of federal agents. However, the jury found Ruth Riddle, Livingstone Fagan, and Paul Fatta “guilty” of using an illegal firearm in the commission of a crime.
Attorney Dan Cogdell was confused with the verdict because if they all were “acquitted” of the first two charges, how can they be prosecuted for using a firearm for a crime that was never committed? Judge Smith found a valid argument in Cogdell’s comments and vacated all the convicts on the firearm charges.
They all were happy and on the day of their release, Clive and Ruth were finally going out of the prison. However, something happened and Ruth was taken into custody again. It turns out that Judge Smith wants to reconsider his verdict on “usage of illegal firearms” and flipped the decision. He gave five years of prison to Ruth, 15 years of prison to Fatta, and a sentence of 40 years in prison to Livingstone.
Their lawyer was stunned by the decision and accused the judge of flipping his decision just because of the government.
Fatta, Ruth, and Livingstone were sent to prison.
‘Waco: The Aftermath’ Ending Explained: What happened after the flipped decision?
On one side, a trial was taking place, but on the other hand, something diabolical was being planned by some of the militia groups in the US. They wanted to give a reply to the government for what they did during the Waco Siege. Timothy McVeigh was about to do something big and that would make the government believe that they can’t go without facing any consequences.
Earlier in the episode, we found that people in Elohim City were using chemicals to make bombs. In the ending moments of the finale, we saw Timothy renting a truck and stuffing it with barrels of bombs.
He drove the truck and stopped it closer to the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City – the building from which the ATF planned the raid on Waco. McVeigh did have a change of heart in the end, but it was all too late because the truck bomb exploded and killed a lot of people.
A total of 168 people were killed, including 19 children, and injured more than 680 others.
‘Waco: The Aftermath’ Ending Explained: Where are the Waco 5 now?
Ruth was sentenced to 5 years in prison but served only 4. She was out due to her good behavior and was deported back to Canada. On the other hand, Paul Fatta was sentenced to 15 years despite not being present for the ATF raid on Mount Carmel and was out after serving 13 years.
Livingstone, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison, was out after serving 13 years and was deported to the United Kingdom.
Clive Doyle, who was acquitted of all the charges, went on to live in Waco and practiced religion until his death in 2022.