Many groups that are labeled cults are simply small religious groups outside of the mainstream. For this reason, it has the potential to be misused as a way to stigmatize members of any minority religion. The main issue with the word “cult” is that it has become pejorative in popular culture. In press briefings, FBI officials promoted that view, disparaging Koresh as a manipulative liar who couldn’t be reasoned with. For instance, Newsweek titled a March 1993 cover story “Secrets of the Cult.” After the fire, a Time cover photo featured the head of a maniacal-looking Koresh enveloped in flames. Nonetheless, during and after the Mount Carmel siege, news reporters embraced the cult stereotype of the Branch Davidians. Those who lost faith in Koresh left the group on their own accord. People were attracted to Koresh’s teachings because they judged that he had convincingly interpreted biblical prophecies about the Last Days. Koresh’s group had evolved out of Davidian and Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventist communities that had been in the Waco area since 1935. When researching Koresh, I found that while people were certainly drawn to him, it had nothing to do with alleged mind control.
LIVING EARTH WACO SERIES
The day before the ATF raid, the first installment of “ The Sinful Messiah” series about David Koresh appeared in the Waco Tribune-Herald.ĭrawing on reports of former members and anti-cultists, the series described Koresh as a cult leader who had sex with underage girls, severely spanked children, accumulated weapons and exercised mind control over followers. In media coverage of the Branch Davidians, a view of David Koresh quickly crystallized. (In 1992, a social worker with Child Protective Services had looked into the Branch Davidians for child abuse finding none, the case was closed.)ĪTF agents, meanwhile, were focused on the number of weapons being purchased – especially whether Branch Davidians were making grenades and converting semi-automatic weapons into automatic weapons without obtaining permits. Editors at the Waco Tribune-Herald were primarily concerned about the welfare of the children. In 1992, Waco media outlets and ATF agents started investigating the Branch Davidians. The story that emerges is much more complex – and makes one wonder if the tragedy could have been avoided altogether. A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll found that 73 percent of Americans thought that the FBI’s use of tear gas was “responsible.” Only 13 percent thought the FBI had acted too soon, while 57 percent believed it was “not soon enough.”īut in the years since these events, I’ve interviewed surviving Branch Davidians and studied scores of internal FBI documents, government reports, testimonies, news reports, and FBI negotiation tapes and surveillance device tapes. Immediately after the fire, most Americans took the side of the FBI. It was a narrative that federal law enforcement agencies were happy to encourage, and it resonated with the public’s understanding of so-called “cults.” Throughout the ordeal, media coverage of the ATF raid and FBI siege depicted the Branch Davidians as a cult with David Koresh exercising total control over mesmerized followers.
Seventy-six Branch Davidians, including 20 children and two miscarried babies, died. On April 19, the siege ended in a second tragedy when FBI agents carried out a tank and tear gas assault, which culminated in a massive fire. On March 1, 1993, FBI agents took control of the property, and ended up presiding over what became a 51-day siege. The raid prompted a shootout that resulted in the deaths of four ATF agents and six Branch Davidians. The ATF had obtained a search warrant and an arrest warrant for Koresh, whom they suspected was in possession of illegal weapons. Twenty-five years ago, on February 28, 1993, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents attempted to execute a “dynamic entry” into the home of a religious community at Mount Carmel, a property 10 miles east of Waco, Texas.ĭavid Koresh and his Bible students – who became known as the Branch Davidians – were living at Mount Carmel.
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