The training, the assaults on the population, have been going on for over a decade here in the United States, and the death toll is climbing. What’s happened to our Special Forces? What types of cowards have they been twisted into, that they go out and attack American citizens, wooden churches full of men, women and children, and then slough it off as if – oh well; they are a just a bunch of cult members? Whatever happened to live and let live? And whatever happened to the Federal Law barring troops from assaulting civilians? Alex Jones, 9/11 The Road to Tyranny
When they attempt to serve a warrant all hell breaks loose. David Koresh is the leader of a small community of Christians known as the Branch Davidians. Koresh believed he was a prophet of God. Waco: The Survivors’ Story, Discovery 2013
Four ATF officers are dead. ibid.
Koresh’s refusal to leave enrages the hostage rescue team. ibid.
The stand-off is now into its second week. ibid.
With temperatures plummeting, they cut off electricity to the compound and send in the tanks. ibid.
Seven Branch Davidians leave the compound. ibid.
Over 70 people, including many children, were found in the ashes of Mount Carmel. ibid.
The story began in 1935 when a small religious group moved to Waco – an offshoot of the Seventh Adventist Church, they called themselves the Branch Davidians. Waco Cult: Crimes of the Century, Discovery 2016
In the early 1980s a new member appeared who would change everything – his name was Vernon Wayne Howell. ibid.
The ATF called it Operation Showtime. ibid.
Investigators identified 78 bodies, including the body of David Koresh. ibid.
Waco child: Are you gonna come in and kill me?
Jim Cavanaugh: No … no … nobody’s coming. Waco: The Rules of Engagement, 1997
We did not go in. We did not introduce fire into this compound. ibid. ATF officer
FBI, Clinton place blame on Koresh. ibid. AP article Kelley Shannon
A cheap thug who interprets the Bible at the barrel of a gun. ibid. David Troy, ATF agent
The Book of Revelations and its cryptic seven seals was their focus. ibid.
With its appropriation hearings a week away a large successful raid would produce major positive headlines to counter the AFT’s reputation as a rogue agency. ibid.
Three helicopters and the next minute you hear firing … ibid. Majorie Thomas
There were no guns on those helicopters. ibid. Cavanaugh
I believe that using CS gas against infants … that’s torture. ibid. Zimmerman
In 1993 federal and state authorities surrounded a religious community near Waco, Texas. After the longest siege in US law-enforcement history the sect’s home burned to the ground. 82 members died including 23 children. Waco: Madman or Messiah? I II, captions, CI 2018
‘He was a conman. He had a Bible in one hand and a machine-gun in the other.’ ibid.
‘For God sake, David, are you going to come out?’ ibid. rozzer
For 26 years before David Koresh arrived, Mount Carmel was home to a religious sect – the Branch Davidians. ibid. caption
‘Do you want to know the seven seals?’ ibid. Koresh’s sermon
‘He believes the Branch Davidians were going to be the special chosen group.’ ibid. scholar
‘You had more of a Gestapo mentality.’ ibid. former member
‘He said it was word that he’d got from God that we were not to have marital relations.’ ibid.
‘We already knew the war was coming.’ ibid. former wife of Koresh
‘The very people that’s suppose to defend that [constitution] are the ones that are attacking you.’ ibid. former member
‘The first shot was fired at us.’ ibid. Koresh
In February 1993 heavily armed federal agents raid a religious community outside Waco, Texas. But the apocalyptic cult and the self-proclaimed messiah David Koresh won’t go quietly. In the bloody battle that follows bullets from both sides kill six members of the Branch Davidian sect and four federal agents. What follows is a 51-day standoff, the longest siege in American history, that ends in disaster. 75 believers die in the flames, a third of them British. Waco Inferno: The Untold Story, Channel 5 2018
As the ATF remove their casualties, the FBI now takes over command. ibid.
His followers believed in him blindly. But the FBI called him a megalomaniac. In Defence Of s1e4: Waco: Clive Doyle, television news, Sky Crime 2019
He also had a great capacity for being outrageous and disregarding social norms. ibid. defence dude
The monster in this case was not my client. ibid.
Did they warn anybody? Did they protect anybody? No. ibid.
Helicopters, tanks and armoured vehicles arrived at the Branch Davidian’s compound at six in the morning. America’s Book of Secrets s2e6: Deadly Cults, History 2013
In 1993, the US government served a search warrant for machine guns against religious leader David Koresh. What followed was the largest gunfight on American soil since the Civil War. And a 51-day standoff that became the biggest news story in the world. Waco: American Apocalypse I: In the Beginning, Netflix 2023
David was our Christ giving us truths from God. ibid. woman
David Koresh had sex with young kids. ibid. man
February 28th 1993: We see these military helicopters approaching the compound. ibid.
I had concerns that this could potentially end in disaster. ibid. rozzer
David Koresh and his followers have killed four ATF agents. Waco: American Apocalypse II: Children of God, ATF press conference
He [Koresh] said God told him to wait. ibid.
This guy’s in trouble. He thinks he’s the Second Coming. ibid. woman
They put me in an orange jump suit and shipped me off to jail. ibid. mother exits compound to be reunited with son
HRT crushed Koresh’s antique Ford Ranchero … done in an in-your-face way. Waco: American Apocalypse III: Fire, agent
All this pressure was on Jeff Jamar to get this thing over with. ibid.
The generals are serenading us, I believe. ibid. Koresh
The first thing that I noticed when I walked in the front door was the smell – sewage and garlic. ibid. lawyer
My wife, she said turn on the television, and I saw the tanks and the teargas. ibid.
Now we have a very large-scale fire breaking out. ibid. CNN news
And there’s a rain of paper … It was raining Bible pages into these embers … Ammo popping off everywhere you go, and skulls everywhere and half-burned bodies. I mean it was apocalyptic carnage. ibid. agent