The trial that followed the ATF and FBI’s siege of the Branch Davidians’ compound Mount Carmel Centre in Waco, Texas, is the focus of the crime drama “Waco: The Aftermath” on Showtime. Lead Federal Prosecutor Bill Johnston prosecutes five remaining Branch Davidians, including the one who accepts a plea deal and testifies against other defendants, after the siege that claimed the lives of numerous ATF agents and sect members. In actuality, Bill was a key player in the case, which aroused curiosity about his life and location at the moment. Let’s discuss what we know about him now.
Who is Bill Johnston?
Wilson Johnston, a Texas prosecutor at the time, gave birth to Bill Johnston in Dallas. Later, he went to Baylor University School of Law after attending Texas A&M University. From 1984 to 1987, Bill then worked as an associate at a Waco-based law firm called Haley & Davis, largely specialising in government defence and medical negligence. At age 28, he was appointed as the first federal prosecutor for Central Texas, where he oversaw the US Attorney’s anti-drug operations along the Texas-Mexico border. Bill worked as a prosecutor on a number of notorious cases prior to the Waco trial, including the case of serial killer Kenneth McDuff.
Bill assisted law enforcement during a six-week quest for the serial killer after securing a warrant for arresting McDuff. He found Dr. James Granberry, who was the Texas Parole Board’s then-chairman, as a result of his research into McDuff, who had received the death penalty. The latter, who admitted guilt to accusations of perjury, was prosecuted by Bill. In the two-month Waco trial, he prosecuted eleven defendants for the Department of Justice as the Assistant US Attorney. Five of the eleven Branch Davidians received sentences for complicity in the voluntary killing of federal officers, while the other eight were found guilty on firearms-related crimes.
Bill admitted to hiding a page of notes pertaining to the prosecution of eleven Branch Davidians in 2001. The FBI apparently used pyrotechnic tear gas on the penultimate day of the 51-day standoff between authorities and the Branch Davidians at the Mount Carmel Centre, according to the information that was purportedly included in them. Bill was given a two-year probationary period and 200 hours of community service after entering a guilty plea. His service as a Judge Advocate in the III Armoured Corps of the United States Army Reserve at Fort Hood, Texas, came to an end in 2002.
Where is Bill Johnston Now?
Bill Johnston began his legal career as a private practitioner after serving as a federal prosecutor. He founded the legal practise Johnston & Johnston in 2001 and served as a partner there until 2013. Bill served as the founding attorney of The Law Office of William W. Johnston from 2014 until 2022. During these two times, he was involved in a number of notorious and complicated cases. Five women who were reportedly sexually assaulted by members of the Baylor University football team were co-represented by the attorney from 2015 to 2018. Additionally, he worked with agents from the US Secret Service and the Sao Paulo State Police on a case involving a Brazilian family that “breached a loan agreement and defrauded the [Bank of America] and the guarantor regarding collateral.”
Additionally, Bill played a crucial role in the investigation of Baptist minister Matt Baker, who claimed that his wife committed suicide. He uncovered evidence that showed the guy had killed his wife and changed the scene of the crime to show that the victim had committed suicide, earning him a 60-year sentence. Bill co-founded with Calvin G. McLean the law company Johnston & McLean PLLC, which he currently works for. He describes his experience as a prosecutor as “experience on the other side,” and he is currently working as a criminal defence attorney. Plano, Houston, and Waco are Texan cities where his business maintains offices.
Bill concentrates on defamation, privacy, unsolved/cold cases, white-collar crimes, fraud investigations, and Title IX litigation. In addition, he and Peabody Award-winning investigative reporter Robert Riggs co-host the true-crime podcast “True Crime Reporter.” The National Trial Lawyers organisation named Bill one of the top 100 attorneys in the nation for the practise of criminal law in September 2022. In Newport, Rhode Island, where the US Navy has its Naval Justice School, he also worked as a lecturer. Bill, meantime, has opted to maintain his privacy in his personal life.
