The fate of Branch Davidians: Jeff Guinn’s ‘Waco’ details chilling 51-day siege that led to massacre that killed 82, including 23 children
WACO, TEXAS: More than 80 people died in multiple violent clashes between federal law enforcement and the Branch Davidian Christian sect near Waco, Texas in the winter and spring of 1993. The assaults have since been cited multiple times as evidence for anti-government conspiracy theories.
Author Jeff Guinn's new book 'Waco: David Koresh, The Branch Davidians and a Legacy of Rage' describes cult leader David Koresh as a religious demagogue who slept with multiple teenage brides and long prophesied to his followers that they would bring about a conflict that would "make the end of days happen in their lifetimes."
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'It had to be an all-out battle'
"David Koresh wanted to make sure that when the final battle occurred, his followers would be able to fight the way the Book of Revelation said they must," Guinn told NPR. "It had to be an all-out battle. His people were going to die, but, obviously, they had to be ready to kill the agents of Babylon." Federal agents began probing the Branch Davidians over charges that children were being abused at their compound, called Mount Carmel, and planned to surprise the group. "[The agents] were given no information about what the Branch Davidians believed, what their religious faith meant," Guinn continued. "They thought from their sources that all the guns were kept in a locked room at Mount Carmel, a room that could only be opened with Koresh's permission."
However, Koresh had distributed weapons at the compound and most members of the group were armed to the teeth. Furthermore, the Branch Davidians knew the ATF was coming for them. On February 28, 1993, heavily armed officers pulled up at the compound in cattle trailers and demanded entry. Koresh opened the double front doors and asked, "What's going on?" Moments later, he gave a "weird" grin to agents and slammed the doors shut, they said. All hell broke loose as soon as the cult leader went back inside. Agents unleashed a hail of bullets at the building while helicopters hovered overhead — thus marking the start of a deadly 51-day siege.
The 51-day standoff
The mood among the Branch Davidians was rather upbeat at the beginning of the stand-off. The cult members, who had to undergo compulsory gun practice, managed to wound agents while they were still filing out of the cattle trailers. The women "calmly shot from the upper windows as their 43 children huddled on mattresses," according to the Daily Mail, which obtained a copy of Guinn's book. A gunfight ensued that would last at least three hours, during which five Branch Davidians and four federal agents died. "Almost one-third of the ATF agents are carried away, bleeding or dead from this fight," Guinn told NPR. "Before noon on this day, ATF is dragging itself away like a defeated army."
Despite the casualties, a 51-day standoff followed. The FBI, which took over from the ATF during this period, brought in hostage negotiators who tried to convince Koresh to surrender. Tactical experts, meanwhile, planned for a second raid that would rely on a type of tear gas to drive the cultists out of the compound. "In small doses, [the gas] wasn't supposed to be flammable, and it wasn't supposed to really be too physically affecting beyond irritation to eyes and skin," Guinn explained. "It would be enough if inserted gradually, so the Branch Davidians would come out."
The FBI finally executed its endgame on April 19, 1993, but things took an unexpected turn. A fire broke out at the compound and engulf the property in flames, killing everyone but nine of the people inside. Following the incident, either side claimed the other was responsible for setting off the blaze. Guinn, however, noted that only one of the three entities involved wanted to resolve the situation in death. "The ATF and the FBI both went in, not just with the hope, but with the actual determination that no lives were going to be lost. ATF and FBI officials made terrible mistakes that led to the loss of life, and that is horrible. But it was not the original intention," he continued, "Only the Branch Davidian agenda required people to die."
Koresh's remains were found close to one of his sidekicks. According to the FBI, the prophet had died from a gunshot wound to his forehead. An autopsy would later conclude that his follower had shot Koresh before turning the gun on himself. A total of 53 adults and 23 children lost their lives in the catastrophic raid. It's worth noting that Koresh had fathered 17 of the children, including two babies whose mothers went into labor during the siege. The six Davidians who died in the earlier ATF raid took the final death toll to 82.