Cut off from the outside world by federal agents encircling them, the doomsday cultists locked in an 11-day-old standoff hung a banner from their lookout tower reading, "God Help Us We Want the Press."
KBGC-AM in Dallas said the banner and a flag hung from a window earlier Tuesday were responses to an offer from a KBGC talk show host who asked members of the Branch Davidian sect to give him a sign if they wanted his help.Federal authorities wouldn't comment on the banner, but the FBI said previously that cult leader David Koresh complained about being cut off from the news media.
Early in the standoff, Koresh called a radio station and CNN, giving long interviews. Cult members inside the compound also talked with newspaper reporters until authorities cut off their outside telephone contact.
Last week, the FBI played a taped sermon by Koresh on the radio after he promised immediate surrender in exchange, but the 33-year-old self-proclaimed messiah reneged, saying he was awaiting further instructions from God.
Hundreds of federal officers using armored vehicles and unarmed tanks surrounded the compound about 10 miles outside Waco.
Four federal agents were killed and 16 wounded in a shootout Feb. 28.
Twenty-one children and two elderly women have left the compound since the standoff began. Ninety adults and 17 children remain, according to Koresh.
During a program Friday on KBGC, talk show host Ron Engelman offered to help.
On Tuesday, Engelman appealed to the sect for a sign, saying a white flag would mean it wanted his help. Minutes later the sheet appeared, Van Dielen said.
The sheet blew away in a half-hour, but by midafternoon the larger banner appeared. It remained there for about three hours.