As to allegations that the children in the compound were being abused, hadn’t the Texas state authorities investigated that, and found no evidence of abuse?

The ATF, like all law enforcement agencies, is not averse to self-aggrandizing behavior–even if it’s abusive or illegal.

Any particular site you would recommend?

Fast forward to 1993, and you have the same attempt, but initiated by a far less capable and intelligent staff; Hoover may have been a depraved, ruthless and perverted miscreant, but far from an idiot. Thus attempting to walk in the same path Waco was a bumbled effort by ATF et al, resulting in, pardon the expression once flaunted by DOD Bureaucrats: “Overkill.” Ya know you really keep me on the ball Jim.

But the ATF would not get big headlines from making a peaceful arrest.

The feds profoundly deceived the American public on this after the fatal raid. David Hardy, a former federal lawyer, was a bulldog with Freedom of Information Act requests. He uncovered this bombshell long after the surviving Davidians had been convicted and sentenced by a kangaroo-court-style judge.

Here’s the lead up to the raid, pulled from my book Feeling Your Pain (2000)
SHOWTIME FOR THE ATF
The investigation of David Koresh by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) began in the final year of the Bush administration. ATF agent Davy Aguilera visited Koresh’s gun dealer, Henry McMahon, in July 1992 and raised questions about whether Koresh and his Branch Davidian followers were violating the National Firearms Act by illegally converting semiautomatic firearms to full automatic. The dealer sought to resolve the problem by picking up the phone and dialing Koresh. When Koresh heard the agent’s concerns, he invited the agent to visit the Davidians’ residence and carry out an inspection on the spot. Aguilera refused the invitation.
Seven months later, agent Aguilera submitted an affidavit to a federal magistrate alleging that the Davidians were violating federal firearms laws. The affidavit dealt at length with the Davidians’ unusual religious practices and polygamy, as well as their hostility to the federal government. Aguilera mentioned reports that “clandestine” publications such as Shotgun News (a widely read gun publication) and a Gun Owners of America video criticizing the ATF had been spotted inside the Davidians’ residence.(A subsequent congressional investigation concluded that that “the affidavit… contained an incredible number of false statements.”)
In early January 1993, the ATF rented a house near the Davidians’ poorly-built sprawling ramshackle wooden home to use as an undercover surveillance post. Eight ATF agents were stationed in the building as an undercover surveillance post. The Davidians immediately became suspicious when their new neighbors - who were in their 30s, carried briefcases, and drove late-model cars - claimed to be college students.
The ATF could easily have arrested Koresh and, after he was in custody, carried out a peaceful search of the Davidians’ home. Koresh routinely went into nearby Waco on shopping trips and regularly jogged outside of the building. On February 19, nine days before the eventual raid, two undercover ATF agents (recognized as such by Koresh and other Davidians) knocked on the door of the Davidian residence and invited Koresh to go shooting. Koresh, two other Davidians, and the two agents proceeded to have a pleasant time shooting with two AR-15s (so-called assault rifles), an ATF agent’s .38 Super pistol, and two Sig-Sauer semiautomatic pistols. Koresh provided much of the ammo for the plinking. The undercover agents’ official report noted: “Mr. Koresh stated that he believed that every person had the right to own firearms and protect their homes.”
Yet, the ATF still insisted that Koresh could not be arrested without a small army - and lots of accompanying television cameras. A congressional investigation subsequently concluded: “The ATF deliberately choose not to arrest Koresh outside the Davidian residence and instead determined to use a dynamic entry approach. The bias toward the use of force may in large part be explained by a culture within ATF… Management initiatives, promotional criteria, training, and a broad range of other cultural factors point to ATF’s propensity to engage in aggressive law enforcement.” The more force the ATF used in attacking the Davidians, the easier it would be to subsequently vilify them in the national press and in federal court.