From: [s--sh--e] at [cco.caltech.edu] (Tom Renner)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.guns
Subject: Massacre of Branch Davidians 1/5
Date: 12 Feb 1994 11:00:43 GMT
This is the first of five messages containing the Committee
for Waco Justice's report "The Massacre of the Branch Davidians."
(The messages range in size from 85-117K and are 550,000K total.)
Please distribute the report through e-mail to bulletin boards
message and file areas, appropriate lists, FTP sites, etc. Tell us
what FTP sites you have put it on. Tell us if you have any
problem receiving all reports. Tell us if you are NOT on the
LIBERNET system and want to receive updates about the Committee
for Waco Justice's activities. For all of the above, please e-
mail Carol Moore <[c--oo--e] at [cap.gwu.edu]> 202/986-1847.
This e-mail is free. To obtain a hard copy of the report
for $7.00, a Wordperfect 5.1 diskette (3.5" or 5.25"?) for $4.00,
or source materials for $10 send cash or checks (written to Carol
Moore) to P.O Box 33037, Washington, D.C. 20033. We would
appreciate any contributions to help us attain our goal of having
an Independent Counsel investigate and prosecute government
agents and officials for crimes against the Branch Davidians.
Also, we will be holding Vigils in front of the White House
February 28 and April 19, 1994 from 6-7:30 pm. For more
information about our committee contact Alan Forschler at
<[a--a--f] at [cap.gwu.edu]> or 202/797-9877.
-------------------------------------------------------------
THE MASSACRE OF THE
BRANCH DAVIDIANS
A STUDY OF GOVERNMENT
VIOLATIONS OF RIGHTS,
EXCESSIVE FORCE
AND COVER UP
January 28, 1994
By Carol Moore
(c) 1994 [1]
In consultation with:
Alan Forschler
Ian Goddard
James A. Long
Richard J. Sanford
Timothy Seims
Andrew Williams
COMMITTEE FOR WACO JUSTICE
P.O. Box 33037, Washington, D.C. 20033
202/986-1847 202/797-9877
Please Feel Free to Copy and Distribute!
Copying for non-commercial distribution encouraged.
________________________________________
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
The Public Must Know the Truth
Justice Must Be Done
Past Wacos: Government's "Historic Interest in
Breaking Up Armed Groups"
BATF and FBI Persecution of Randy Weaver
Government Reliance on "Private Spies" and "Cult
Busters"
The History of the Branch Davidians
Non-Weapons-Related Allegations Against David
Koresh
BATF-TREASURY DEPARTMENT VIOLATIONS OF RIGHTS, EXCESSIVE
FORCE AND COVERUP: THE FEBRUARY 28, 1993 RAID ON THE BRANCH
DAVIDIANS
1. BATF Ignored Branch Davidians' Legal Gun Business
2. BATF Found No Evidence Weapons Were Purchased
Illegally
3. "Probable Cause" Based on Biased Information About
Intent
4. "Probable Cause" Based on Religious and Political
Beliefs
5. Other Irregularities in the February 25, 1993
Affidavit
6. BATF Ignored Branch Davidian Attempts to Cooperate
7. Questionable Grounds for a Paramilitary Raid
8. Government Multi-Task Force Makes for "Partners in
Crime"
9. Dubious Drug Allegations to Obtain Helicopters for
Free
10. Chronology of the February 28, 1993 BATF
Raid
11. BATF Used Excessive Force to Serve Warrant
12. Allegations BATF Agents Shot First
13. Allegations Agents Shot Indiscriminately and from
Helicopters
14. Allegations Friendly Fire Injured or Killed Some
Agents
15. BATF Intimidation of the Press
16. BATF Coverup
17. Treasury Department Coverup
18. Committee for Waco Justice Conclusions
FBI-JUSTICE DEPARTMENT VIOLATIONS OF RIGHTS, EXCESSIVE FORCE
AND COVERUP: THE 51 DAY SIEGE AND APRIL 19, 1993 ASSAULT ON
THE BRANCH DAVIDIANS
1. FBI Control of the Press and Media
2. Possible Illegal Use of Tanks
3 FBI Impatient with Conciliatory Measures
4. FBI Relied on Experts and Cult Busters Urging Tactical
Pressure
5. FBI Pressure Tactics Replaced Negotiations
6. FBI Destroyed Crime Scene Despite Complaints
7. FBI Plan to Gas, Disassemble Mount Carmel
8. FBI Refused to Believe Final Koresh Promise to
Surrender
9. FBI Misled Janet Reno on Need for and
Dangers of Assault
10. Questions About President Clinton's Hostility Toward
the Branch Davidians
11. Chronology of the April 19, 1993 Gassing, Demolition
and Fire
12. Fatal Decision to Escalate to Demolition
13. Suspicious Activity by FBI Agents
14. Lack of Fire Precautions
15. Branch Davidian Statements that Demolition Trapped
People
16. Branch Davidian Statements that Demolition Started the
Fire
17. FBI Allegations that Branch Davidians Started the
Fire
18. FBI and BATF Crime Scene Coverup
19. "Independent" Fire Investigator Coverup
20. Justice Department Coverup
21. Committee for Waco Justice Conclusions
FEDERAL PROSECUTION OF THE BRANCH DAVIDIANS
The Charges
Pre-Trial Motions and Jury Selection
The Prosecution Case
The Defense Case
Civil Rights and Wrongful Death Law Suits
SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL UPHEAVALS AND THE YEAR 2000
Millennialists and Survivalists
Drug-Prohibition-Related Violence
Gun-Prohibition-Related Violence
Economic Unrest and Tax Rebellion
Secessionists and Separatists
COMMITTEE FOR WACO JUSTICE RECOMMENDATIONS-
RESPECT THE BILL OF RIGHTS
1. Protect Right to Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press,
etc. 2. Protect Right to Keep and Bear Arms
3. Protect Right to Refuse Quartering of Soldiers
4. Protect Right to be Secure Against Unreasonable
Searches, etc.
5. Protect Right to Indictment by Grand Jury, Trial by
Jury, etc.
6. Protect Right to a Speedy Public Trial, Impartial
Jury, etc.
7. Protect Right to Trial By Jury In Civil Suits
8. Protect Freedom from Excessive Bail, Excessive Fines,
etc. 9. Protect Rights Retained by the People
10. Protect Powers Reserved to the States or the
People
DIAGRAMS AND PHOTOGRAPHS [Most not included in asci file]
Treasury Department and BATF Chains of Command
Diagram and Drawing of Mount Carmel Center
White House, Justice Department and FBI Chains of
Command
April 19th Diagram of Tank Damage to Mount Carmel
April 19th Infrared Photo of 11:59:16 of
Tank Rammings and Collapsed Gymnasium
April 19th Infrared Photo of 12:10:40 Fires
____________________________________
THE MASSACRE OF THE BRANCH DAVIDIANS
A STUDY OF GOVERNMENT VIOLATIONS OF RIGHTS, EXCESSIVE FORCE
AND COVER UP
THE PUBLIC MUST KNOW THE TRUTH
Several year end television reviews of 1993 portrayed
the deaths of 86 or more members of the Branch Davidian[2]
religious group in Waco, Texas as a symbol of Attorney
General Janet Reno's "heroism" for taking responsibility for
their fiery deaths. Representative J.J. Pickle, chair of
the Subcommittee on Oversight of the House Ways and Means
Committee, summed up the feelings of many when he said of
David Koresh, "The leader of that compound was a nut, and
his followers agreed to live with a nut."[3] Many Americans
consider the Branch Davidians to be the religious fanatics,
child abusers and violent "gun nuts"
government and the press have portrayed them as being.
Footnote [2] Six Branch Davidians died during the
February 28, 1993 raid and, at least 80 during the April 19,
1993 fire. According to several Branch Davidians, in the
last few years the group had come to call themselves
"Students of the Seven Seals." However, survivors do accept
the use of the term "Branch Davidian" since it is so well
known at this point (private communication).
However, many other Americans believe that nothing the
Branch Davidians did, or were accused of doing, justified
either the February 28 or April 19, 1993 assaults against
them. Representative Harold Volkmer charged the initial
attack on the Branch Davidians was part of a pattern of
"Gestapo-like tactics" at the bureau. "I fail to see the
crimes committed by those in the Davidian compound that
called for the extreme action of BATF on Feb. 28 and the
tragic final assault."[4]
Representative John Conyers branded the April 19th gas
and tank attack a "military operation" and called it a
"profound disgrace to law enforcement in the United States."
He told Janet Reno, "you did the right thing by offering to
resign. I'd like you to know that there is at least one
member of Congress who is not going to rationalize the
innocent deaths of two dozen children."[5]
As the trial of eleven surviving Branch
Davidians for "conspiracy to murder federal officers"
proceeds in San Antonio, Texas, the public may finally learn
the disturbing and even shocking truth about U.S. government
violations of rights, excessive use of force and coverup.
There is a possibility that the jury will be so disgusted by
trial revelations it will acquit most of the Branch
Davidians on most or all charges.
The Committee for Waco Justice is a group of
individuals committed to ensuring that the public does learn
the truth about violations of rights, use of excessive force
and coverup of wrongdoing in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
and Firearms' (BATF) initial raid upon, and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) destruction of, the Branch
Davidians. Our report--"The Massacre of the Branch
Davidians"--is a systematic presentation of evidence of
government agents' and officials' misconduct and crimes.
Our sources include the Treasury Department's September 30,
1993 report, the Justice Department's October 8, 1993
report, Senate and House of Representatives hearings, news
reports and other published materials, news video tapes,
conference audio tapes and personal interviews. Our report:
* examines similar government actions towards
dissident groups and individuals and the government's
growing reliance on private spies and "cult busters";
* reviews the history of the Branch Davidians and the
questionable evidence used to support non-weapons
allegations against David Koresh;
* outlines the most important current evidence of BATF
and FBI violations of rights, excessive use of force and the
ongoing coverup, a coverup in which both the Treasury and
Justice Departments are participating;
* describes the charges facing the eleven Branch
Davidians, their expected defenses, and civil suits against
the government by surviving Branch Davidians and families of
the deceased;
* delineates an inevitable rise in the number and variety
of dissident religious and political groups as we approach
the "magic" year 2000;
* offers recommendations to ensure that local, state
and federal governments end violations of Americans' rights.
Despite the Committee's limited resources, and our
primary reliance on public sources, we have made some
important and startling findings which seem to be evidence
of official misconduct and crimes against the Branch
Davidians. Our most disturbing findings are:
* After BATF could find no evidence that weapons were
purchased illegally, it based its "probable cause" on biased
information about "intent" from "cult busters" committed to
destroying the Branch Davidians and former members
influenced by them and on words and deeds protected by the
First Amendment.
* BATF ignored David Koresh's past cooperation with more
serious investigations as well as Koresh's 1992 invitations
to BATF agents and the local Sheriff's Department to inspect
his guns. BATF also engaged in flagrant "undercover"
surveillance which may have convinced the Branch Davidians
that the government was preparing to destroy them and that
armed defense was their only recourse.
* BATF decided to conduct a paramilitary raid because
of the overly-aggressive mentality of raid planners, biased
information from cult busters, shoddy intelligence, a need
to bolster BATF's image, and the desire to punish a BATF
critic.
* BATF knew former tenants probably had set up a
methamphetamine lab at Mount Carmel and that Koresh had
dismantled it years before; nevertheless, they used that
information to get free support from the Texas National
Guard.
* Although the magistrate who signed the warrants did not
designate this a "no knock" raid, BATF had no plan to serve
the warrant peacefully and even expected a shootout! BATF
may have shot first and did fire indiscriminately. BATF
raid commanders in helicopters may have fired from them.
Attorney General Janet Reno has not completed an
investigation into 911 tapes whose time sequence was re-
ordered, possibly to discredit Davidians' claims helicopters
were firing at them.
* The savage BATF assault may have convinced some wounded
Branch Davidians the government meant to slaughter them, so
they committed suicide or had themselves shot.
* After the raid, BATF intimidated two important
witnesses who could attest to the Branch Davidians'
innocence. They tricked one into accepting "protective
custody" and then kept him away from the press and the FBI;
they brushed off another's offer of help and then put him on
the "armed and dangerous" list when he left town.
* The Justice Department knowingly violated its own
interpretation of the posse comitatus law by using tanks
against the Branch Davidians, including in the final, fatal
assault; it also misled President Clinton about their use.
* The FBI controlled, intimidated and lied to the press
and the media.
* Richard M. Rogers, the FBI Hostage Rescue Team
Commander at Waco, repeatedly sabotaged negotiations by
pressuring the siege commander to use harassment tactics and
later CS gas against the Branch Davidians. Rogers is now
under investigation and may be indicted for his overly
aggressive tactics in the 1992 standoff with Randy Weaver in
Idaho. The FBI's impatience to end the standoff may have
been related to their fear the upcoming Weaver trial would
bring out facts about FBI misconduct in that case.
* The FBI and Justice Department covered up its reliance
on "cult busters"--including a long-time FBI advisor--
because of criticism of their use, because one advisor was
indicted for "unlawful imprisonment," and because of a
lawsuit against the FBI and Attorney General Janet Reno
regarding the FBI's use of the term "cult."
* The FBI convinced Attorney General Reno to approve
their plan to gas and demolish Mount Carmel by evidently
withholding from her David Koresh's very credible April 14th
letter promising to surrender, even as they showed her his
defiant April 9th and 10th letters. Evidently this letter
also was withheld from the press and not mentioned to
Justice Department outside experts during FBI briefings. It
was included in the Justice Department report, but
mislabeled as a mere "request."
* The FBI convinced Attorney General Reno that April 19th
would not be "D-Day"--that they would proceed with a safe
operation and continue to negotiate. However, they obtained
authority to "return fire" and speed up demolition of Mount
Carmel and evidently never informed Reno of their
expectations there would be casualties.
Despite FBI and Justice Department statements to the
contrary, FBI agents were seen outside their tanks near the
building before the fire. Under the FBI rules of engagement
they had the authority to shoot Branch Davidians, may have
done so, and now may be covering up their acts.
The Justice Department and FBI are refusing to admit
that there was an order to begin the demolition of Mount
Carmel right before noon and have not revealed who--FBI
ground commanders or FBI or Justice officials--gave that
order.
Nearly simultaneous FBI tank attacks from three sides
trapped Branch Davidians in the building and started some or
all of the fires from which most could not escape. There
was no mass suicide; there were desperate suicides by a few
trapped victims of the fire. If two or three despairing
Branch Davidians did light fires, as the government claims,
it was because government assaults had convinced them
martyrdom was preferable to capture and enslavement by evil
authorities.
During the April 19th fire, FBI tanks destroyed
important evidence by bulldozing burning walls into the
rubble. BATF and FBI agents were all over the "crime scene"
during Texas Rangers investigation and may have destroyed or
even fabricated evidence.
* The BATF-influenced chief fire investigator issued a
biased fire report blaming the Branch Davidians for their
own deaths. The government then bulldozed the ruins of Mount
Carmel before defense attorneys could send in an independent
fire investigator.
The Treasury Department and Justice Department reviews
of the BATF investigation and raid and the FBI siege and
final assault contain dubious assertions and leave too many
questions unanswered. Neither "review team" was authorized
to take under oath testimony of BATF and FBI agents and
Treasury and Justice Department officials. Many consider
these reviews and reports to be little more than systematic
coverups of official crimes.
* Despite Treasury Department report findings that
BATF's February 28, 1993 raid commanders lied repeatedly to
investigators and their superiors, and that BATF officials
covered up these lies, no one has been prosecuted.
* The Justice Department's review team is tainted by
conflicts of interest regarding Deputy Attorney General
Philip B. Heymann, and reviewers Edward S.G. Dennis and
Willie Williams.
* There are suspicions that cronyism among Arkansans
involved in Waco decision-making--President Clinton, Webster
Hubbell, Bruce Lindsay and the late Vince Foster--might
extend to covering up any errors or crimes related to the
massacre of the Branch Davidians.
* The trial of the eleven Branch Davidians is bringing
out important evidence of coverup such as missing vital
evidence, changing statements by several BATF agents, and
evidence that BATF agents were wounded by friendly fire--not
to mention prosecutorial misconduct in the form of
withholding evidence favorable to the defense.
JUSTICE MUST BE DONE
If our small committee could discover so much damning
evidence of wrongdoing, we believe an Independent Counsel
appointed by the Attorney General could discover much, much
more. The Independent Counsel would be empowered to
identify and prosecute government agents and officials
responsible for official misconduct, violations of rights,
and excessive use of force which resulted in the deaths of
over 86 people, and for any and all related crimes. She or
he would be empowered to investigate the actions of Treasury
Department and Justice Department officials, BATF and FBI
officials and agents, and officials and agents of any other
departments, agencies and law enforcement involved in the
incident. She or he could also investigate White House
officials and employees. She or he would have full power to
subpoena witnesses to give testimony under oath and to grant
immunity in exchange for evidence of criminal wrongdoing--
power which neither the Treasury nor the Justice
Department's "review teams" had.
The Committee for Waco Justice believes the facts
already available provide compelling evidence that BATF and
the FBI, through a combination of negligence and arrogance
bordering on intentionality, did indeed massacre the Branch
Davidians. No matter how the April 19th fires started,
those who gassed Mount Carmel Center and rammed it with
military tanks ultimately are responsible. This would be
the largest massacre of civilians by federal agents on U.S.
soil since the slaughter of 300 Native Americans--also
mostly women and children--at Wounded Knee in 1890.
Americans must ensure that law enforcement agents never
again initiate or participate in another such massacre.
PAST WACOS: GOVERNMENT'S "HISTORIC INTEREST IN BREAKING UP
ARMED GROUPS"
The word "Waco" has become synonymous with two opposing
scenarios. To many Americans--and especially authorities--
it means crazed religious fanatics arming themselves to make
war on the U.S. government and committing mass suicide when
they lose the war. However, to other Americans "Waco" means
a questionable, clearly illegitimate or even vicious and
murderous government destruction of a dissident group.
Appendix G of the Treasury Department report, "A Brief
History of Federal Firearms Enforcement," states: "The raid
by ATF agents on the Branch Davidian compound resulted from
its enforcement of contemporary federal firearms laws. In a
larger sense, however, the raid fit within an historic,
well-established and well-defended government interest in
prohibiting and breaking up all organized groups that sought
to arm or fortify themselves. . .>>>From its earliest
formation, the federal government has actively suppressed
any effort by disgruntled or rebellious citizens to coalesce
into an armed group, however small the group, petty its
complaint, or grandiose its ambition. The collection of
large arsenals by organized groups lent itself, ultimately,
to the violent use of those weapons against the government
itself or portions of its citizenry. Indeed, federal agents
who tried to disband the groups frequently became the
targets." (TDR:Appendix G:7)
Footnote[6] >>>From the Report of the Department of the
Treasury on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
Investigation of Vernon Wayne Howell also known as David
Koresh, September, 1993. All references from the report will
be included within the text, with the page number after the
colon, e.g., (TDR:#).
The report's history does not mention that both a
federal statute--Firearms Owners' Protection Act of 1986,
Sec. 21--and a judicial decision--United States vs. Anders,
885 F.2d 1248 [5th Cir. 1989]--hold that there is nothing
per se wrong with the ownership of large numbers of legal
arms. Obviously, the decision and the statute have not
reined in BATF.
Appendix G describes the following as examples of the
federal government's most successful tax, alcohol and
firearm law enforcement efforts: suppression of angry
farmers facing foreclosure in Shay's Rebellion (1786);
enforcement of tax and firearms laws during the Whiskey
Rebellion (1794); enforcement of a tax on houses during
Fries Rebellion (1799); suppression of those guilty of
"fugitive slave rescues" during the 1850s; thwarting of John
Brown's attempt to steal firearms from Harpers Ferry and
distribute them to slaves; suppression of the Ku Klux Klan
during the 1870s; suppression of old west outlaws during the
1880s; suppression of "violent" union organizing during the
1890s; enforcement of the 1918-1933 prohibition of alcohol;
and enforcement of the National Firearms Act of 1934 (a tax
on guns) prompted by the Prohibition-related rise in crime
and use of firearms. In 1972 the Treasury Department
created the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to
enforce gun, explosives and arson-related laws.
Appendix G notes that "In recent times, the federal
government has shown itself even less patient with armed
groups than it had historically. Radical extremists of both
the Right and the Left have been pursued aggressively once
they began breaking the law." (TDR:Appendix G:11.) The
appendix lists the following triumphs: destruction of the
Symbionese Liberation Army in a gun battle and house fire
that killed all members; pursuit and capture Gordon Kahl, a
tax protester who killed a police officer, in a gun battle
and house fire which killed him; pursuit and capture of
bank-robber and assassin Robert Matthews, leader of "The
Order," in a gun battle and house fire which killed him;
three-day siege of the heavily armed, 80-member Covenant of
the Sword and Arm of the Lord religious group. The appendix
closes with the line, "The raid on the Branch Davidian
compound occurred in the context of that historical
background." (TDR:Appendix G:4) Evidently, the Branch
Davidians' fiery deaths fit well within that "historical
background" as well. (Local Philadelphia police, not
federal agents, were responsible for the 1985 fire that
killed 11 members of the MOVE group and destroyed two city
blocks.)
Tony Cooper, a law enforcement consultant on anti-
terrorism and professor of negotiations and conflict
resolution at the University of Texas at Dallas, describes
"the formation of a curious crusading mentality among
certain law enforcement agencies to stamp out what they see
as a threat to government generally. It's an exaggerated
concern that they are facing a nationwide conspiracy and
that somehow this will get out of control unless it is
stamped out at a very early stage."[7]
In its attempt to "stamp out" out fundamentalist
Muslim "conspiracies," the FBI may have allowed its hired
informant to build and plant the bomb that exploded at the
World Trade Center two days before the BATF raid on the
Branch Davidians. In tapes he secretly recorded, the
informant, former Egyptian army officer Emad Salem,
allegedly tells FBI agent John Anticey that his high April
expenses were due to the costs of his building the World
Trade Center bomb.[8] The exact transcript reads: "We was
start already building the bomb, which is went off in the
World Trade Center. It was built, uh, uh, uh, supervising,
supervision from the Bureau and the DA and we was all
informed about it. . .And we know that the bomb start to be
built. By who? By your confidential informant." Defense
attorneys say Salem drove the van with the bomb in it to the
Trade Center garage and then stayed nearby until the
explosion.[9] (Ironically, in his April 20, 1993, news
conference defending the FBI's assault on the Branch
Davidians, President Clinton boasted, "This is the same FBI
that found the people that bombed the World Trade Center in
lickety-split, record time."[10])
During the April 28, 1993, House Judiciary Committee
hearing on Waco, then-BATF Director Stephen Higgins defended
the tactics used at Waco by stating, "In the 18 months prior
to the Branch Davidian incident, ATF Special Response Teams
had carried out 341 actual activations to high risk
situations," including "diverse sects and survivalists."[11]
However, many believe these figures are merely evidence that
BATF is out of control. In April, 1991, 23 BATF agents
raided the home of Del Knudson, endangering his wife and two
young children, but found only legal weapons and parts. In
December, 1991, BATF agents, with two television crews in
tow, raided John Lawmaster's home, broke up furniture,
doors, walls, and gun and filing cabinets. They found
nothing illegal and left without shutting the door, leaving
guns and ammunition strewn about the unsecured house. At
the request of the government, the court sealed the
affidavit that led to the search warrant and the break-in
and denied Lawmaster's request for its release. Lawmaster
appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals. BATF refused to pay
damages.[12] In 1991, BATF agents also entrapped Randy
Weaver, an act which eventually led to the FBI's fatal
"standoff" described in the following section. On February
5, 1993, the BATF ransacked the home of a Portland, Oregon
black woman, and terrorized her children for several hours
in a case of mistaken identity.[13]
BATF AND FBI CRIMES AGAINST RANDY WEAVER
The Justice Department and FBI are now investigating
possible criminal misconduct on the part of FBI agents and
officials in the killing of Idaho white separatist Randy
Weaver's wife and son. Significantly, these are many of the
same agents and officials who were in charge of the FBI's
actions against the Branch Davidians: former FBI Director
William Sessions, former FBI Deputy Director Floyd I.
Clarke, Assistant Director for the Criminal Investigative
Division Larry Potts and Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) Commander
Richard M. Rogers. This account includes the most recent
revelations about their irresponsible behavior, much of
which was repeated in Waco.[14]
Randy Weaver had retreated to rural Idaho with his
wife, four children and a family friend, Kevin Harris. In
1990 a BATF undercover agent entrapped Weaver into selling
him two illegally sawed-off shotguns for $300. Weaver
alleges BATF charged him after he refused to inform on other
white separatists. The government then gave him the wrong
date for a court hearing, March 20 instead of February 20,
1991.
Rather than take immediate action when Weaver failed
to appear, U.S. Marshals began almost 18 months of
surveillance. Finally, on August 22, 1992, six Marshals,
one equipped with an assault rifle with a silencer,
approached Weaver's cabin and threw rocks at his dog in an
effort to lure Weaver closer so they could arrest him. When
the agents shot the dog, Harris and Weaver's 14-year-old son
Samuel, not knowing who the attackers were, ran towards them
shooting. Their shots killed U.S. Marshal William Degan.
Samuel was shot in the back and killed as he retreated. The
armed Weaver and Harris then refused to surrender to
authorities.
The National Guard and the FBI Hostage Rescue Team
were called in. (The Hostage Rescue Team's motto is "To Save
Lives.") According to court records, the U.S. Marshals
falsely told the FBI that Weaver himself had ambushed them
and that the Weavers and Harris would kill anyone who
approached them. U.S. Marshals never did tell the FBI that
Samuel had been killed by a Deputy Marshal. They did tell
them Mrs. Weaver was a fanatic capable of killing herself
and her own children as an end to the siege. However, they
provided no evidence of this to FBI agents, who took the
Marshals on their word. FBI agents admit they actually
believed the Weavers had killed Samuel.
Finally, U.S. Marshals never told the FBI that they
knew that when the adults went outside the cabin they always
carried weapons. FBI HRT Commander Richard M. Rogers
authorized "rules of engagement" which gave snipers the go-
ahead to shoot any adult carrying a weapon outside the
cabin. (The standard FBI rules of engagement are "Agents
are not to use deadly force against any person except as
necessary in self-defense or the defense of another, when
they have reason to believe they or another are in danger of
death or grievous bodily harm. Whenever feasible, verbal
warnings should be given before deadly force is
applied."[15]) However, the FBI never advised the Weavers
or Harris they would be in jeopardy if the FBI saw them
armed on the property.
The day after the first shootings, Harris and Weaver,
carrying their guns, left the cabin to visit Samuel's body.
FBI sniper Lou Horiuchi first shot Weaver in the shoulder
and then tried to shoot Harris. However, he accidentally
shot Vicki Weaver as she stood in the doorway of their cabin
holding her baby. She died instantly, dropping the baby to
the ground. Harris was wounded by shrapnel. During the
standoff the Rogers Hostage Rescue Team used psychological
warfare techniques. Court records show that the FBI taunted
the Weavers after Vicki Weaver's death, calling out over
their loudspeakers, "Good morning, Mrs. Weaver. We had
pancakes for breakfast. What did you have?"[16]
Weaver and Harris surrendered nine days later, after
the FBI allowed Populist Party presidential candidate Bo
Gritz to serve as a "third party" negotiator. They were
charged with conspiracy to murder federal officers. Their
trial before a federal jury and U.S. District Judge Edward
Lodge began five days before the April 19th fire that killed
75 or more Branch Davidians.
Most of the above disturbing information came to light
during the trial. It was also revealed that FBI agents had
fabricated evidence (staged critical photographs), failed to
provide the defense with information they were legally
obligated to give it, and delayed in producing requested
information and evidence. Weaver's defense attorney was
Gary Spence, who had won notable trial victories for Karen
Silkwood's children and Imelda Marcos. Spence did not call
any witnesses or present a defense, but simply told jurors
the government had failed to prove its case.
In July, 1993, the jury acquitted Weaver and Harris for
Degan's murder, saying Harris had acted in self-defense.
The jury also rejected charges that the two men conspired to
provoke a confrontation with federal officers. Weaver was
convicted of failing to appear for the weapons charges trial
and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, with credit for
time already served. Spence told reporters, "A jury today
has said that you can't kill somebody just because you wear
badges and then cover up those homicides by prosecuting the
innocent." Juror Janet Schmierer of Boise, Idaho said, "I
think they built their whole scenario out of how they
perceived someone else should be living their lives, and if
someone believed differently. . .they must be abnormal."
Spence also said, "federal law enforcement agents should be
indicted for murder in the deaths of Mrs. Weaver and
Samuel."[17] In November, 1993, Judge Edward Lodge rebuked
the FBI, saying its behavior in fabricating evidence and
delaying presentation of crucial evidence "served to
obstruct the administration of justice." He asserted, "the
Government, acting through the FBI, evidenced a callous
disregard for the rights of the defendants and the interests
of justice."
According to a November 25, 1993, New York Times
article, the Justice Department inquiry, led by Deputy
Attorney General Philip B. Heymann, is "focusing on whether
officials misjudged the danger the agents faced and
knowingly violated the agency's limits on the use of deadly
force by killing Mrs. Weaver. The inquiry is also examining
whether officials failed to consider less aggressive tactics
and later closed ranks to avoid scrutiny of their actions."
Justice investigators are warning "top mangers, agents,
prosecutors and former officials that they could face civil
or criminal charges, including obstruction of justice and
violations of civil rights law." Further, "some FBI
officials said they also feared that a separate
investigation by a state prosecutor in Boundary County,
Idaho, where the incident took place, could lead to homicide
charges against FBI agents."
Some members of the Hostage Rescue Team, "including
Richard M. Rogers, its commander, have refused to cooperate
with investigators." Other agents have criticized Rogers
for being overly aggressive and failing to consider
negotiations. Larry Potts, the senior FBI official who
would have had to approve the new rules of engagement, told
FBI investigators he does not remember giving Rogers a clear
go-ahead to change them.[18] According to the Washington
Times, in December, 1993, FBI Director Louis J. Freeh told
FBI agents that indictments against some FBI agents were a
"virtual certainty."[19]
GOVERNMENT RELIANCE ON "PRIVATE SPIES" AND "CULT BUSTERS"
Because of government spying upon and disruption of
peaceful political groups during the 1960s and 1970s, the
Justice Department set guidelines prohibiting investigations
of groups "based solely on activities protected by the First
Amendment or on the lawful exercise of any other rights
secured by the constitution or laws of the United
States."[20] As an agency of the Treasury Department, BATF
does not work under such restrictions. Both agencies are
free to investigate groups suspected of engaging in criminal
activity.
Once an investigation is underway, most government
agencies, including BATF and the FBI, seem willing to
receive information from such groups as the Anti-Defamation
League of B'nai B'rith (ADL) and the Cult Awareness Network
(CAN). These groups, and others like them, clearly have
their own agendas. They keep copious files of biased and
prejudicial information on private individuals and
organizations and share these with law
enforcement.
The Anti-Defamation League keeps files on Arab-
American, Jewish peace, anti-apartheid, and other human and
civil rights groups. A year-long investigation by the San
Francisco District Attorney found that the ADL had
infiltrated groups, stolen membership lists and other
private documents, and swapped files with police, sometimes
illegally. However, the ADL escaped prosecution. "In an
unusual procedure, [District Attorney] Smith filed a civil
suit accusing the ADL and [ADL investigator] Bullock of
illegally possessing confidential documents, then promptly
accepted a settlement that contained no admission of
wrongdoing." Shortly after this, 19 individuals filed a
suit seeking damages for 1,100 people who allegedly were the
targets of illegal surveillance and seeking court orders
against such surveillance.[21] The government's lenience
towards ADL suggests it does not frown on ADL's spying
activities.
The ADL supplied information about the Branch Davidians
to federal authorities. In a front page article about the
ADL, Herb Brin, publisher of Heritage, which serves the Los
Angeles Jewish community, wrote: "U.S. and Texas authorities
have precise documentation (from ADL, of course) on the
Branch Davidian cult in Waco and how it operated in the
past."[22]
The Cult Awareness Network (CAN) actively urges the
press, Congress and law enforcement to act against any non-
mainstream religious, psychological or even political
movement which it describes as a "cult." After interviewing
CAN's executive director Cynthia Kisser, a reporter wrote:
"no one knows how many destructive cults and sects exist in
the United States. Kisser's binder holds 1,500 names
gleaned from newspaper clippings, court documents and
thousands of calls to the network's hotline. Some of the
groups have legitimate purposes, Kisser says. But her
group's efforts show that most, despite wildly diverse
beliefs, share stunningly similar patterns of mind control,
group domination, exploitation and physical and mental
abuse."[23] CAN critics point out that so-called "mind
control" techniques are not much different than the
techniques used in education and socialization efforts used
by all schools, churches, ideologies and philosophies.
According to CAN critic Dr. Gordon Melton of the
Institute for the Study of Religion in Santa Barbara,
California, CAN has used a number of means to try to destroy
small religious groups: they unsuccessfully tried to expand
"conservatorship" to allow families to remove members from
"cults"; they unsuccessfully tried to have laws passed
against "cults"; they unsuccessfully sued the American
Psychological Association for rejecting their views on
"brainwashing." However, they have found one successful
method of disrupting groups: false anonymous charges of
child abuse. Anonymous reports are legal under current
law.[24]
Priscilla Coates, former executive director of CAN,
told reporters, "I know how these types of groups work and
the children are always abused."[25] CAN has been on a
crusade against the Christian religious group The Children
of God, known in the United States as "The Family." CAN
alleges the group practices indiscriminate sex, including
with children.[26] Many Family members accuse CAN of making
false child abuse complaints which have resulted in dozens
of arrests in at least 10 countries. Most of the charges
are quickly dropped and there have been no convictions. The
Family has demanded a Congressional investigation of
CAN.[27]
The Cult Awareness Network's other successful approach
is referring relatives of group members to "deprogrammers"
who charge thousands of dollars for their services and,
according to a former national director of CAN's
predecessor, the Citizens Freedom Foundation, "kick back"
some of the money to CAN.[28] Deprogramming often includes
kidnapping individuals, subjecting them to sleep and food
deprivation, ridicule and humiliation, and even physical
abuse and restraint until they promise to leave the alleged
cult. Because deprogrammers usually involve family members
in these kidnappings and deprogrammings, victims rarely
press charges. However, in the last few years 5
deprogrammers have been prosecuted for kidnapping or
"unlawful imprisonment." One such deprogrammer is Rick
Ross, a convicted jewel thief, who has boasted of more than
200 "deprogrammings." CAN executive director Cynthia Kisser
has praised him as being "among the half dozen best
deprogrammers in the country." In the summer of 1993 Rick
Ross was indicted in Washington state for unlawful
imprisonment.
Nancy Ammerman, a Visiting Scholar at Princeton
University's Center for the Study of American Religion, was
one of the outside experts assigned by the Justice
Department to evaluate BATF and FBI's handling of the Branch
Davidians. She was particularly critical of Rick Ross and
the Cult Awareness Network. "Although these people often
call themselves `cult experts,' they are certainly not
recognized as such by the academic community. The
activities of the CAN are seen by the National Council of
Churches (among others) as a danger to religious liberty,
and deprogramming tactics have been increasingly found to be
outside the law. . .Mr. Rick Ross, who often works in
conjunction with the Cult Awareness Network (CAN), has been
quoted as saying he was `consulted' by the BATF. . .The
Network and Mr. Ross have a direct ideological (and
financial) interest in arousing suspicion and antagonism
against what they call `cults'. . .It seem clear that people
within the `anti-cult' community had targeted the Branch
Davidians for attention." (JDR:Ammerman:1)
Footnote [29] All references from the Justice
Department report will be included within the text, with the
page number after the colon. The report consisted of 4
books and an unbound paper. (JDR:#) refers to the largest
book, the factual report. All other references will include
the name of each specific contributor, e.g., (JDR:Dennis:#)
or (JDR:Stone:#).
Nancy Ammerman compared Waco and Jonestown: "There,
too, an exceptionally volatile religious group was pushed
over the edge, inadvertently, by the actions of government
agencies pushed forward by `concerned families.'"
(JDR:Ammerman:8) What she may not have realized is that
CAN's President is Patricia Ryan, daughter of Congressman
Leo J. Ryan. It was he who threatened and hounded Jim Jones
and his Peoples' Temple members until they murdered him and
committed mass suicide in Guyana in 1978. Carrying on what
seems to have become a family tradition, on April 8, 1993,
Patricia Ryan told the Houston Chronicle, "Officials should
use whatever means necessary to arrest Koresh, including
lethal force."[30]
Ross definitely deprogrammed one (and possibly more) of
the Branch Davidians who fed questionable but damaging
evidence to BATF. He also provided negative information to
the Waco Herald-Tribune for its February, 1993, series on
the Branch Davidians. The paper quotes Ross declaring, "The
group is without a doubt, without any doubt whatsoever, a
highly destructive, manipulative cult. . .I would liken the
group to Jim Jones." The authors write, "Ross said he
believes Howell [Koresh] is prone to violence. . .Speaking
out and exposing Howell might bring in the authorities or in
some way help those `being held in that compound through a
kind of psychological, emotional slavery and servitude.'"
Ross told the Houston Chronicle that Koresh is "your stock
cult leader. They're all the same. Meet one and you've met
them all. They're deeply disturbed, have a borderline
personality and lack any type of conscience. . .No one
willingly enters into a relationship like this. So you're
talking about deception and manipulation (by the leader),
people being coached in ever so slight increments, pulled in
deeper and deeper without knowing where it's going or seeing
the total picture."[31]
CAN representatives made numerous television and radio
appearances during the siege. Ross bragged on the "Up to
the Minute" public television program that he "consulted
with ATF agents on the Waco sect and told them about the
guns in the compound." On April 19th he told the "Today
Show," "I was a consultant offering ideas, input that was
filtered by their team and used when they felt it was
appropriate." The Justice Department report mentions a Rick
Ross television appearance during the siege where he
declared he hoped Koresh would be a coward and surrender
rather than end up as a corpse. (JDR:167) After the April
19th fire, CAN associate Louis West said on a MacNeil/Lehrer
Newshour broadcast that the FBI "knew they were dealing with
a psychopath. Nobody is more dangerous or unpredictable
than a psychopath in a trap."
After the fire, CAN "counselor" Brett Bates tried to
arrange contacts with survivors by meeting with their
families. He told the N.Y. Daily News, "Before they can
become productive witnesses in the prosecution, they have to
realize they were victims of mind control." Columnist
Alexander Cockburn wrote, "the deprogrammers are demanding
that they be allowed to exercise their dark arts on the
burned Davidian survivors so that they testify correctly and
desist from maintaining--as they have--that no mass suicide
was under way. The FBI says `this is worth considering,'
but the decision is up to the U.S. attorney."[32] The only
Branch Davidian to turn state's evidence is Katherine
Schroeder who was confined in a mental institution after
leaving Mount Carmel in March, 1993 (private communication.)
It is unknown if she was "deprogrammed."
After the April 19th fire Methodist Minister Joseph
Bettis wrote Attorney General Reno, "from the beginning,
members of the Cult Awareness Network have been involved in
this tragedy. This organization is widely known for its use
of fear to foster religious bigotry. The reliance of
federal agents on information supplied by these people, as
well as the whole record of federal activity deserves your
careful investigation and public disclosure. . .Cult bashing
must end, and you must take the lead." Larry Shinn, a vice
president of Bucknell University wrote to the chair of the
House Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights,
"media, legal institutions, and law-makers too often rely on
the word of self-styled cult experts like C.A.N. whose
overly negative agenda often slides into purely anti-
religious attack." And in early May, a coalition of 16
religious and civil liberties organizations, including the
American Civil Liberties Union, the American Conference on
Religious Movements, Americans United for Separation of
Church and State, the Episcopal Church, the General
Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, the National
Association of Evangelicals, the National Council of
Churches of Christ and the Union of American Hebrew
Congregations issued a statement which read in part, "We are
shocked and saddened by the recent events in Waco. . .Under
the religious liberty provision of the First Amendment, the
government has no business declaring what is orthodox or
heretical, or what is a true or false religion. It should
steer clear of inflammatory and misleading labels. History
teaches that today's `cults' may be tomorrow's mainstream
religions." President Clinton seems to have jumped on
the anti-cult bandwagon. On April 23, 1993, Clinton said,
in what some see as a thinly veiled threat, "I hope. . .that
others who will be tempted to join cults and become involved
with people like Koresh will be deterred by the horrible
scenes they have seen. . .There is, unfortunately, a rise in
this sort of fanaticism all over the world. And we may have
to confront it again."
Attorney General Janet Reno also has expressed anti-
cult sentiments. During the April 28, 1993, House Judiciary
Committee hearing, Representative William Hughes advised
Janet Reno to consult groups like the Cult Awareness Network
for advice on "mind control." Reno replied that she was
concerned about the negative affect of cults on children,
that "if a child is in a cult situation for any length of
time," he or she might experience "permanent damage."
BATF is still investigating so-called cults. In
November, 1993, acting director John W. Magaw stated that he
was determined that other religious "cults" not develop into
"armed compounds." He said, "They're out there. They don't
yet have the kind of weaponry that we saw in Waco. . .but
they will develop if society allows them to." Magaw said
BATF is keeping tabs on "cult-like organizations" in "three
or four places around the country. . .We're trying to
monitor way early in the game."[33]
In his November 22, 1993, American Academy of Religion
presentation, Dr. Melton condemned the government's calling
on groups like the Cult Awareness Network for information on
"cults." He compared it to the government calling on Nazis
for information on Jews or Ku Klux Klan members for
information on African-Americans.
At least one group is fighting FBI use of the "cult"
term and its reliance on private spies. In May, 1993, the
New Alliance Party, its presidential candidate Dr. Lenora
Fulani, and other members of the party sued the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, Janet Reno, and other officials.
Referring to "cult," the party is "seeking a declaratory
judgment that defendants' description as the predicate or
justification for investigative activities, use of force,
criminal prosecution, or governmental regulation is a
violation of the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the
Constitution of the United States." The suit also claims
the FBI excused its "virtual liquidation of the" Branch
Davidians as "appropriate law enforcement action to take
against a `cult'." And the suit attacks the FBI's having
"consulted with one or more persons associated with a
Chicago-based organization, the Cult Awareness Network."
THE HISTORY OF THE BRANCH DAVIDIANS
To provide a fuller perspective on government action
against the Branch Davidians, we present a history of the
group and analyze former members' most damning non-weapon
related allegations. The Branch Davidians are an offshoot
of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Like the church, they
believe in the "advent" or "Second Coming" of Jesus Christ,
complete with the end of the world in a fiery apocalypse,
the death of all sinners and the salvation of true
believers.[34] In 1935 Seventh Day Adventist Victor Houtoff
declared himself a prophet, formed the Shepherd's Rod Church
and established the first Mount Carmel Center in Waco. In
1955 Houtoff died and his wife Florence took over and
established the current Mount Carmel further outside Waco.
When the Second Coming of Christ did not occur on April 22,
1959, as she predicted, the group split. The largest
contingent followed another "prophet," Ben Roden, who
changed the Church's name to the Branch Davidians.
In 1978 Ben Roden died and his wife Lois Roden, a
woman well-known in evangelical circles because of her
pronouncement that the Holy Spirit was female, became the
new Branch Davidian prophet. However, she soon found
herself in power struggles with her son George Roden, whom
most Branch Davidians considered too poorly versed in
Scriptures and too erratic to lead the group. In
1981, after being "disfellowed" from the Seventh Day
Adventist Church for proclaiming himself a prophet, rock
musician and handyman Vernon Howell joined the Branch
Davidians. His knowledge of Scripture and personable manner
quickly gained him the confidence of Lois Roden and many
Branch Davidians. It also earned him the enmity of George
Roden, who saw Howell as his prime rival for Branch Davidian
leader and prophet. In 1984 Howell married 14-year-old
Rachel Jones. The battle between Roden and Howell escalated
until finally, in 1985, a gun-toting George Roden drove
Howell and his followers out of Mount Carmel. They
established a community in shacks and buses on property they
purchased in Palestine, Texas.
Howell visited Israel in 1985 and studied the Bible
with several rabbis. There he had, as he explained in a
February 28, 1993, KRLD radio interview, "an encounter" or,
as he told FBI negotiators, "a miraculous meeting with God,"
(TDR:43) which instructed him to study and fulfill the
prophecies of the Seven Seals of the Book of Revelation.
The rivalry with the paranoid and gun-obsessed Roden
heated up after Lois Roden's death. In late 1987 Roden dug
up the coffin of a long-dead Branch Davidian and challenged
Howell to raise her from the dead. Howell complained to
authorities about "corpse abuse," but they demanded proof of
a crime. When Howell and seven armed followers snuck onto
the property to photograph the coffin, Roden caught them and
a gunfight ensued. All eight were tried for attempted
murder of Roden; seven were acquitted and Howell's trial
ended in a hung jury.
By now George Roden had lost most of his followers,
was in debt, and was renting out Mount Carmel's ramshackle
houses, including to at least two drug traffickers.[35]
After writing threatening letters to a Texas Supreme Court
Justice, Roden was jailed for six months. Howell took this
opportunity to encourage the county to put a lien on Mount
Carmel for 16 years of unpaid taxes. Howell paid the taxes
in 1989, thereby gaining control of Mount Carmel. By this
time he also had full use of a follower's large house in
LaVerne, California and travelled back and forth between the
two locations. George Roden continued to threaten Howell
and his followers. In 1989 Roden murdered a man with an ax
and was incarcerated in a mental institution. Nevertheless,
Branch Davidians feared he would return and attack them and
therefore remained armed and alert. Roden did escape
briefly in late 1993.
In early 1990 Vernon Howell legally changed his name
to David (for King David) Koresh (Hebrew for Cyrus, the
Persian king who freed the Jews from Babylon). Koresh
collected even more followers, almost half of whom were of
African, Hispanic or Asian descent. They all believed that
he was a prophet--the "Lamb of God"--destined to unlock the
secrets of the Seven Seals, show the way of repentance to
society and thereby hasten the return of Jesus Christ. And
they concurred with his view that he must create a "House of
David" where his many wives would bear him children who
would become the rulers of a purer new world.
During the siege Wayne Martin, a Harvard-educated
African-American attorney, told negotiators his view of
Koresh's importance. The Justice report describes it
thusly: "America's political system was in decay and in
conflict with God's law, and that Koresh had been chosen by
God as `the Lamb' to rule over his kingdom on earth. Martin
claimed that America and the world were witnessing the birth
of a new nation founded on the Seven Seals." (JDR:41)
Koresh asserted his prophetic greatness would inevitably
attract evil authorities--the "Babylonians" or "Assyrians"--
who would try to crush him. If the Branch Davidians died
defending Koresh's prophecies, they would be resurrected and
return to conquer the Babylonians and rule the world.
Some have said that Koresh's first prophesizing the
government would come to attack him and then collecting a
lot of weapons--including allegedly illegal ones--just
"invited" a government attack. They call it a "self-
fulfilling prophecy." However, intelligent law enforcement
should be able to deal with such situations without violence
and without massive loss of innocent lives.
At the November 22, 1993, American Academy of
Religion panel Jamaican Branch Davidian Janet McBean
summarized David Koresh's appeal: "We are spiritual people.
And we feel that God is watching what happens to this world.
That's the reason why David protected his people and David
felt the way he did. . .He felt compelled to give us the
revelation as he did. And you can't blame him for that.
And we studied it for ourselves. Now if you people study
revelations and you see something different, then it is your
responsibility to show it to the nation and show it to the
world. . .David could speak to anyone on any level, from
fourth grade to doctorate."
In 1989 Koresh began having troubles with breakaway
members, especially Marc Breault, a follower from 1984 to
1989, who left and joined his wife in Australia. Breault
claims that he became disillusioned because power had
corrupted Koresh. He charged Koresh manipulated members
through fear of hellfire, physically abused adults and
children for minor infractions of capricious rules, seduced
and impregnated young girls, took other men's wives, and
demanded a willingness to die for him and his
prophecies.[36]
Branch Davidians admit Koresh devised various "tests"
of his followers' faith in God and his prophecies--from long
study sessions, to communion twice a day, to food
deprivation, to relinquishing wives to Koresh. However,
they assert Breault's claims are exaggerations or lies and
that he had challenged Koresh for control of the group.
Breault replied to such charges in November, 1993. "If I was
trying to take over the group I wouldn't have gone to the
authorities. I wouldn't have tried to have justice done and
had the group dismantled."[37] In his book Breault admits
he "became a cult buster." For the next three years Breault
devoted himself to the destruction of the Branch Davidians.
Breault's often confused, contradictory or emotionally
dishonest statements, in his book and elsewhere, reinforce
the view that his motives were less than pure.
During 1990 Breault managed to convince a dozen or so
discontented Branch Davidians in Australia, New Zealand,
England and the United States to join his efforts. The
Australians hired a private detective, Geoffrey Hossack, and
signed affidavits alleging that Koresh was guilty of the
statutory rape of two teenage girls, tax fraud, immigration
violations, harboring weapons, child abuse, and exposing
children to explicit talk about sex and violence. However,
Hossack's visits to California and Texas local police, the
Texas Department of Public Safety, the Immigration and
Naturalization Service, and the Internal Revenue Service
resulted in no action. Breault and his wife's visits to
California and Waco in 1991 were also fruitless. He laments
that McLennan County Sheriff Gene Barber said that
"Breault's complaints, along with the others, stemmed from
`sour grapes.'"[38]
Linedecker writes in Massacre at Waco, Texas that in
October, 1990, Robyn Bunds told Koresh she was leaving the
group with their son. They were in LaVerne, California at
the time and he immediately sent the child back to Waco.
She reported the child missing to LaVerne Police who gave
Koresh 48 hours to bring the child back, which he did.
Bunds also told police that Koresh was having sex with the
underage Aisha Gyarfas, but when they returned to
investigate, Gyarfas and Koresh had returned to Texas.[39]
(Bunds also instigated an INS investigation of illegal
immigrants, as Breault later did in Texas, but neither
investigation led to government action.) In September,
1991, Jeannine Bunds, who like her daughter Robyn Bunds was
Koresh's lover, left the Branch Davidians, claiming that she
was upset that Koresh had asked her if she was "capable of
killing her children."[40] Her husband Donald Bunds
remained a member of the group.
Breault brought his allegations about Koresh and the
Branch Davidians to the Australian television producers of
"Current Affair." Reporter Martin King, who co-wrote
Breault's book, visited Mount Carmel and interviewed Koresh
in January of 1992. The program that eventually aired
portrayed Koresh as a sex-crazed, gun-loving religious
fanatic. Breault alleges Koresh saw it and was furious.
Breault also informed Kiri Jewell's father, David Jewell,
that Kiri was slated to become one of Koresh's wives.
Jewell sued for custody and in January, 1992, Breault and
other former Branch Davidians testified at the custody
hearing in Michigan. Kiri's mother Sherri relinquished
primary custody and promised to keep Kiri away from Koresh
during visitations. (As we shall see, Jewell used his
daughter in continuing attacks on the Branch Davidians.)
Breault claims that the custody trial "panicked" Koresh and
that he began planning for mass suicide over Easter
weekend.[41] Breault and Jewell wrote Michigan
Representative Frederick Upton with this allegation and
Breault contacted the U.S. consulate in Melbourne which sent
warning wires to Washington, D.C.
According to Linedecker, when Kiri Jewell told her
father that two other young girls were also slated to become
Koresh's brides, Jewell called the Texas Department of Human
Services, which instigated the February-April, 1992, child
abuse investigation.[42] Many of the Branch Davidian
"defectors" eagerly cooperated with BATF and FBI
investigators in 1992 and 1993.
That a number of former members were willing to make
these allegations certainly suggests that there were
problems with Koresh's leadership of the Branch Davidians.
However, most of these individuals were influenced by either
amateur cult buster Marc Breault or by professional cult
busters Rick Ross and Patricia Coates, individuals committed
to turning former members' genuine concerns or personal
disappointments into action by law enforcement to destroy
the alleged "cult."
NON-WEAPONS ALLEGATIONS AGAINST DAVID KORESH
The allegations against Koresh have been so
sensationalized that Koresh's alleged crimes seem to excuse
the massacre of 86 or more Branch Davidians. The use of the
most damning allegations to demonize the group necessitates
that the allegations be explored. As we shall see, there is
much truth in Dr. Gordon Melton's statement to the American
Academy of Religion panel on the Branch Davidians: "As I
examined the evidence of all the horrible things that Koresh
had allegedly done, those horrible things began to melt
away; they were unsubstantiated charges from witnesses who
were biased and whose credibility was very low. The various
accusations made had no foundation in fact. . .The question
shifted to why did the government misuse its power in such a
horrendous way?"
Child Abuse: The Justice Department report quotes
just two 1990 affidavits by former members. Ian and Allison
Manning alleged that Koresh insisted disobedient children be
spanked with a wooden paddle and that such beatings
sometimes severely bruised the children's bottoms. Michelle
Tom alleged that Howell spanked her eight-month-old daughter
for forty minutes because she would not sit on his lap and
once threatened to kill a child if her mother gave her a
pacifier. (JDR:224-226)
On February 27, 1992, Texas Department of Human
Services social worker Joyce Sparks visited Mount Carmel
with two other Human Services employees and two McLennan
County Sheriff's deputies. They made two more visits and
Koresh visited their offices. The case was closed on April
30, 1992. The Department offered this summary of the nine-
week investigation: "None of the allegations could be
verified. The children denied being abused in any way by
adults in the compound. They denied any knowledge of other
children being abused. The adults consistently denied
participation in or knowledge of any abuse to children.
Examinations of the children produced no indication of
current or previous injuries."[43]
Dr. Bruce Perry, who interviewed children released
from Mount Carmel during the siege, told the FBI on March
26, "these children had a number of strict behavioral and
verbal prohibitions. Violations of these resulted in
punishment, sometimes severe. The children, for example,
expected to be hit when they spilled. The style of
discipline often involved being beaten with what these
children labeled `the Helper'. . .some variation on a wooden
spoon. Other forms of discipline included restrictions of
food, sometimes for a day. . ." (JDR:224) Steve Schneider's
attorney Jack Zimmerman says that members never used the
word "beatings" to describe the discipline. "The term they
used was `Christian discipline'. . .Discipline is not
abuse."[44] At a May, 1993, press conference Perry
confessed: "We can't say, `Aha, physical abuse,' that's the
crux of the issue. President Clinton and Janet Reno say
`child abuse.' Child protective services say, `Well, we
didn't see any.'. . .It's very complicated. It is an
ongoing dilemma for what is the threshold for saying what is
abuse."[45]
Sex with Minors: According to Daniel Wattenberg,
Texas statutory rape laws are rather confusing, since the
age of consent is 14 if the girl is promiscuous, but 17 if
she is not. Nationwide, because so many young girls are
having sex today, statutory rape laws frequently are not
enforced; when they are, the sentences are usually light,
assuming the girl fully consented. Hillary Rodham Clinton
herself has criticized "the so-called status offenses,"
including for "sexual precociousness".[46] There are, of
course, serious moral questions about the authenticity of a
14-year-old girl's consent to sex with an adult in any small
community which considers sex with the leader to be a
privilege. Government agencies found that Koresh's alleged
victims were unwilling to cooperate and therefore they did
not have enough evidence to convict Koresh of sex with
minors. More importantly, civilized societies do not deal
with sexual abuse of minors by attacking the perpetrator and
his victims with heavily armed officers and then burning
them to death when they refuse to surrender!
BATF agent Davy Aguilera's February 25, 1993
affidavit, which was used to secure search and arrest
warrants against Koresh, states: "Mrs. [Jeannine] Bunds also
told me that Howell had fathered at least fifteen (15)
children from various women and young girls at the compound.
Some of the girls who had babies fathered by Howell were as
young as 12 years old. . . He also, according to Mrs. Bunds,
has regular sexual relations with young girls there. The
girls' ages are from eleven (11) years old to adulthood."
There are no other allegations he had children with girls
that young.
Mrs. Bunds herself had made love to Koresh and told
Newsweek that being chosen by Koresh was an eagerly sought
honor. Koresh "wouldn't do it unless you wanted it. . .It
wasn't about sex, but he was a very appealing, sexual
person." Robyn Bunds, who first slept with Koresh when she
was 17, said, "he's perfect, and he's going to father your
children. What more can you ask for?"[47] According
to 1990 affidavits by former members Ian and Allison
Manning, and Marc Breault in his book, Koresh had bragged in
Bible study about having sex with Michelle Jones and Aisha
Gyarfas when they were 14. (JDR:219-221) However, even Marc
Breault admitted that Aisha Gyarfas was "completely
captivated by Vernon. She was like his little puppy dog
tied to his leash. Aisha would do anything for Vernon."[48]
Both girls, then ages 17 and 18, died with their children in
the April 19th fire.
According to the Justice report, on February 22, 1993,
a young girl told Texas Child Protective Services social
worker Joyce Sparks "that on one occasion, when she was ten
years old, her mother left her in a motel room with David
Koresh. He was in bed and he told [her] to come over to
him. She got into the bed. David had no pants on. He took
off her panties and touched her and got on top of her. . .We
talked about how she was feeling when this happened and she
responded. . .scared. . .scared but privileged." (JDR:219)
The Justice report concedes, "This evidence was insufficient
to establish probable cause to indict or prove beyond a
reasonable doubt to convict." (JDR:215)
Evidently this is the same girl the Treasury Department
report states was "unwilling to testify about what
happened." (TDR:64) Similarly, the Washington Post reported
that a LaVerne, California sergeant said that "one of the
underage girls alleged as a victim was out of the cult, in
her father's custody. . .she eventually confirmed she had
sex with Koresh." The sergeant also admitted that while
he'd garnered enough evidence to arrest Koresh, he doubted
he had enough to convict him.[49]
Both reports and the sergeant are probably talking
about the same young girl--who may be Kiri Jewell.
According to Linedecker, in mid-February David and Kiri
Jewell flew to Texas at the BATF's expense to speak to
agents.[50] Kiri had been given over to her father's
custody. And David Jewell was in constant contact with Marc
Breault who, according to his book, had been working closely
with a LaVerne, California sergeant. If this is indeed Kiri
Jewell, one wonders if Mr. Jewell had joined the "cult
busters" committed to destruction of the group and even was
using his daughter in that effort. He even exposed her to
public scrutiny by allowing her to appear on a March, 1993
"Donahue" show to talk about her experiences with the Branch
Davidians.
Polygamy: In 1879, Reynolds vs. United States, the
U.S. Supreme Court ruled that polygamy could not be
protected by freedom of religion because it was "subversive
of the public order" due to mobs rioting against hated
polygamous Mormons. It is questionable whether
criminalizing bigamy and polygamy would stand such a
questionable court ruling today. Nevertheless, individuals
are still prosecuted for bigamy and polygamy, be they
liberals promoting plural marriage as a more fulfilling
lifestyle or Christian, Mormon and Muslim fundamentalists,
citing Scriptures. Further, those who practice "plural
marriage" are open to the charge they are abusing children
exposed to the lifestyle.
Koresh and Branch Davidian Paul Fatta have admitted
publicly that Koresh was a polygamist. On February 28,
1993, Koresh told CNN, "There are a lot of children here.
I've had a lot of babies these past two years. It's true
that I do have a lot of children and I do have a lot of
wives."[51] On the same day he told KRLD radio, "I'm a
polygamist. Which is not according to your laws, I
understand that, but according to the laws of God."
Paul Fatta told reporters that Koresh did believe he
had a right to take any consenting Branch Davidian woman as
wife. "Mr. Fatta said that Mr. Koresh presented this
behavior as a test of faith for the men who had lost their
wives."[52] However, Branch Davidians deny that Koresh
controlled the sex lives of the members. Ruth Riddle told
an interviewer, "No. Not true. It was totally up to the
couples what they wanted to do." She said she and her
husband were planning to have children.[53] Stan Sylvia,
who was forced to go through a parental training course to
regain custody of his son, calls the allegations that his
daughter Holly was really Koresh's child "government and
tabloid lies."[54] Involuntary Servitude: Davy
Aguilera's February 25, 1993 affidavit contends that Poia
Vaega alleged that in June, 1991, Koresh and Stan Sylvia
"falsely imprisoned" and physically and sexually abused Mrs.
Vaega's sister, Doreen Saipaia, for three and a half months.
Despite this allegation, Ms. Saipaia's relatives Neal and
Margarida Vaega remained at Mount Carmel and died in the
April 19th fire. Moreover, the FBI opened and closed a
possibly-related investigation on "involuntary servitude"
during 1992 but did not press charges. (TDR:Appendix D:4)
Charges of "involuntary imprisonment" or "involuntary
servitude" are frequently made by those influenced by cult
busters. The fact that BATF and FBI failed to make this
allegation to the media indicates even they questioned it.
Mass Suicide: As mentioned above, Marc Breault
claims that Koresh planned mass suicide during Easter, 1992.
In his book, he asserts that members began calling families
to say goodbye, selling assets, and returning to Mount
Carmel. Linedecker writes that David Jewell wrote
Representative Upton that Steve Schneider had told his
family goodbye and that a young woman fled the group with
her children because of her fear of a slaughter.[55]
Surviving Branch Davidians who heard these allegations at
the time say those at Mount Carmel laughed them off as
absurd (private communication). And Koresh told Waco
Tribune-Herald reporter Mark England, "I'm not ready to die.
It's all lies. Every year we've gathered for Passover.
Every year. Look, the place is being built up. We're
spending lots of money. A lot of people are putting time
and effort in. . .I've got the water-well man coming in. I
mean, two weeks in a row we're supposed to be committing
suicide. I wish they'd get their story straight."[56]
The Treasury Department report states that a child had
told a California police officer that she had been trained
by Koresh and his advisers "to commit suicide in several
different ways, including placing the barrel of a handgun in
her mouth and pulling the trigger." (TDR:46) Edward Dennis
identified this child as Kiri Jewell. (JDR:Dennis:37)
(Reportedly, she said the same thing on the Donahue
television show.) According to Edward Dennis, after the
fire, former member Dana Okimoto alleged that "Koresh's
biggest fear was someone would take his wives away and that
he felt that rather than letting someone take his wife, the
wife should kill herself and if she could not do so one of
the `Mighty Men' should do it, since this was one of their
duties." (JDR:Dennis:34)
Despite the statements of some former members that the
Branch Davidians might commit suicide, the FBI had collected
statements from many more Branch Davidians that they would
not. FBI spokesperson Bob Ricks said after the April 19th
fire: "We went thought the world and interviewed former cult
members, associates of cult members, the number that I last
checked was 61 people. The vast bulk, the substantial
majority of those believed that they would not commit
suicide."[57]
Propensity Towards Violence: During the siege,
numerous neighbors and acquaintances of the Branch Davidians
were interviewed. Most made statements like that of A.L.
Dreyer, an 80-year-old farmer living near Mt. Carmel: "I've
never had no trouble with them people. . .I have no fear of
those people."[58] McLennan County Commissioner Lester
Gibson was shocked that Branch Davidian Wayne Martin was
involved in any violence. "He was very friendly and quiet.
It was common knowledge that he was a Davidian, but he never
talked religion."[60]
Nevertheless, Koresh and the Branch Davidians, like
many Christian fundamentalists, firmly believed that the
"advent" or "Second Coming" of Jesus Christ would be
accompanied by violence. Millions have studied the Book of
Revelations and believe that 144,000 devout Christians will
be called up into heaven just before the end of the world
and that the sinful remainder of humanity will die horrible
deaths. Millions believe that before Jesus appears there
will be natural, economic and political disasters for which
Christians should be prepared with food stocks and weapons
to fight off the "Babylonians"--government agents, evil
doers and hungry hordes from the cities.
A reporter who interviewed Lonnie Kliever, professor
of religion at Southern Methodist University wrote: "Koresh
was typical of the leaders of the millennarian sects who use
their ability to interpret Biblical prophecy to gain power
and influences. But Koresh's style also should be familiar
to millions of Americans, Kliever said after listening to
the 58-minute message broadcast the first week of the siege.
`I listened to the tape,' Kliever said. 'I grew up in a
fundamentalist Baptist church. I heard that preaching all
my childhood. You can hear that same sermon in thousands of
churches any Sunday or Wednesday night in this
country.'"[61]
Koresh was convinced that he was the "Lamb of God" who
would "break" the Seven Seals and bring on the Apocalypse
and the Second Coming of Christ, as prophesized in the Book
of Revelation. These prophecies are very bloody and
violent. As the Lamb breaks each of the Seals, the Book of
Revelation prophesizes, in summary: 1--a rider on a white
horse rides forth to conquer; 2--a rider on a red horse
takes away peace so men may slaughter; 3--a rider on a black
horse is holding a pair of scales; 4--a rider of a pale
horse named death has power over a quarter of the earth to
kill by sword, famine, pestilence and wild beasts; 5--those
slaughtered for God's word are told to rest a little longer
until all brothers in Christ's service are put to death; 6--
after a violent earthquake the great day of wrath comes; 7--
"now when the Lamb breaks the seventh seal, there was
silence in heaven for about half an hour."[62] When BATF
raided Mount Carmel and killed six Branch Davidians, Koresh
and his followers were convinced that they had to wait a
little longer, and then they too would be put to death, as a
fulfillment of the Fifth Seal.
Former Branch Davidians claimed that Koresh was
obsessed with members proving their loyalty to him and his
prophecies by promising to kill or die for them. David
Block told BATF agents that he "left the cult group because
[Koresh] would always remind them that if they were to have
a confrontation with the local or federal authorities, that
the group should be ready to fight and resist." (TDR:45)
Branch Davidian Kathryn Schroeder, who has agreed to
testify for the prosecution to obtained reduced charges,
claims that Koresh "told his followers that soon they would
have to go into the world, turn their weapons on individual
members of public, and kill those who did not say they were
believers. As he explained to his followers, `you can't die
for God if you can't kill for God.' Koresh later canceled
the planned action, telling his followers that it had been a
test of their loyalty to him."[62] Some former members
claim Koresh had a "hit list to eliminate former members who
were complaining to law enforcement authorities and the
media." (TDR:28) Breault, Jeannine and Robyn Bunds and Dana
Okimoto also alleged that Koresh believed "law enforcement
officers have to be the vehicle for his death in order for
his prophesies to come true." (JDR:Dennis:38)
It is true that after the raid and during the siege
Koresh several times challenged negotiators to fight and
even claimed that he and his followers had been preparing
for battle with authorities since 1985. (JDR:51) If
Koresh's statements had been merely "all talk" before the
February 28, 1993 BATF raid, they certainly began to appear
much more threatening once he and his followers vigorously
defended themselves against the raid. Nevertheless, it was
government action that prompted their violent reaction.
These allegations of (non-defensive) violence
certainly would be alarming to the public if made by a
criminal or a radical political group--even though the First
Amendment protects such "alarming" speech. However, these
statements must be viewed differently when made within a
Christian apocalyptic framework. In her recommendations to
the Justice Department, Nancy Ammerman wrote that
authorities responsible at Waco "should have understood that
new or dissident religious groups are often `millennialist'
or `apocalyptic.' That is, they foresee the imminent end of
the world as we know it and the emergence of a new world,
usually with themselves in leadership roles."
"They should have understood that new groups almost
always provoke their neighbors. . .They defy the
conventional rules and question conventional authorities. .
.Not surprisingly, then, new groups often provoke
resistance. . .organized `anti-cult' response that make
predictable charges (such as child abuse and sexual
`perversion') against groups that are seen as threatening. .
.The corollary to their provocation of neighbors is that
they themselves are likely to perceive the outside world as
hostile. This almost always takes the form of rhetoric
condemning the evil ways of non-believers, and that rhetoric
can sometimes sound quite violent. It may also be
supplemented by rituals that reinforce the group's
perception that they are surrounded by hostile forces. . .as
the [Branch Davidians] talked about the evils of the federal
government and went through the ritual motions of rehearsing
a confrontation with their enemies, they may have been
reinforcing their own solidarity more than they were
practicing for an anticipated actual confrontation. The
irony, of course, is that their internal group rhetoric did
eventually come true." (TDR:Ammerman:5-6)
Branch Davidian Stan Sylvia expresses the duty
incumbent on all of us to study the massacre of the Branch
Davidians. "Let's have mercy for the people who died there.
Let's examine what really happened there. Regardless of
what your opinion of us is. Whether we were bizarre.
Whether we were inhumane. Whatever you think of us. It
doesn't give anybody a right to come in and kill helpless
women and children."[63]
THE BRANCH DAVIDIANS
Outside Mount Carmel
February 28*:
Donald Bunds
Paul Fatta, 35
Janet McBean
Janet Kendrick
Stan Sylvia
Arrested on Feb 28, 1993:
Delroy Nash, 29
Woodrow Kendrick, 63
Left Mount Carmel
During Siege:
Brad Branch, 34
Livingston Fagan, 34
Nahara Fagan, 4
Renae Fagan, 7
Oliver Gyarfas, 19
Victoria Hollingsworth, 59
Heather Jones, 10
Kevin Jones, 11
Mark Jones, 3
Margaret Lawson, 75
James Lawten, 70
Christyn Mabb, 8
Jacob Mabb, 10
Scott Mabb, 12
Daniel Martin, 7
Jaime Martin, 11
Kimberly Martin
Sheila Judith Martin, 46
Catherine Matteson, 77
Natalie Nobrega, 11
Gladys Ottman, 67
Anita Richards, 64
Rita Fay Riddle, 35
Ophelia Santoya, 62
Bryan Schroeder, 3
Kathryn Schroeder, 34
Angelica Sonobe, 6
Crystal Sonobe, 3
Joshua Sylvia, 7
Jaunessa Wendel
Landon Wendel, 4
Patron Wendel, 1
Tamara Wendel, 5
Kevin Whitecliff, 31
Survived April 19th Fire
Renos Avraam, 29
Jamime Castillo, 24
Graeme Leonard Craddock, 31
Clive Joseph Doyle, 52
Misty Ferguson, 17
Derek Lloyd Lovelock, 37
Ruth Ottman Riddle, 29
David Thibodeau, 24
Marjorie Thomas, 30
Died February 28, 1993:
Winston Blake, 28
Peter Gent, 24
Peter Hipsman, 28
Perry Jones, 64
Michael Schroeder, 29
Jaydean Carnwell Wendel, 34
Died April 19th, 1993**:
Katherin Andrade, 24
Jennifer Andrade, 19
Aldrick Bennett, 35
Susan Benta, 31
Mary Jean Borst, 49
Pablo Cohen, 38
Yvette Fagan, 34
Doris Fagan, 60
Lisa Marie Farris, 26
Ray Friesen, 76
Dayland Gent, 3
Diana Henry, 28
Paulina Henry, 24
Phillip Henry, 22
Stephen Henry, 26
Vanessa Henry, 19
Zilla Henry, 55
Novellette Hipsman, 36
Floyd Houtman, 61
Cyrus Howell, 8
Rachel Howell, 23
Star Howell, 6
Sherri Lynn Jewell, 43
David Michael Jones, 38
Michelle Jones, 18
Serenity Sea Jones, 4
Bobbie Lane Koresh, 16 months
David Koresh, 33
Jeffery Little, 31
Nicole Elizabeth Gent Little, 24
Livingston Malcolm, 26
Douglas Wayne Martin, 42
Lisa Martin, 13
Sheila Martin, 15
Abigail Martinez, 11
Audrey Martinez, 13
Juliete Santoyo Martinez, 30
Crystal Martinez, 3
Joseph Martinez, 30
Jillane Matthews
Alison Bernadette Monbelly, 31
Melissa Morrison, 6
Rosemary Morrison, 29
Sonia Murray, 29
Theresa Noberega, 48
James Riddle, 32
Rebecca Saipaia, 24
Judy Schneider, 41
Mayanah Schneider, 2
Steve Schneider, 48
Laraine B. Silva, 40
Floracita Sonobe, 34
Scott Kojiro Sonobe, 35
Aisha Gyarfas Summers, 17
Gregory Allen Summers, 28
Startle Summers, 1
Isiah Martinez, 4
Hollywood Sylvia
Lorraine Sylvia, 40
Rachel Sylvia, 13
Doris Vaega
Joanne Vaega, 4
Margarida Joanna Vaega, 47
Neal Vaega, 37
Martin Wayne, 20
Mark H. Wendell
This is not a complete list.
* Several dozen more Branch Davidians lived elsewhere or
were temporarily outside Mount Carmel on February 28, 1993.
** Most of those not named were children, including two
unborn children.
Source: Associated Press, Justice Department Report and
other sources.