Davidians

The Davidians and Branch Davidians (in English Davidian and Branch Davidians, the latter also known as The Branch/La Rama) are two different religious sects. The traditional Davidians originated in the 1930s and after the death of Victor Houteff, the Branch Davidian arose out of a schism between Davidians and Shepherd's Rod Davidians. The Traditional Davidian Group was led by its founder from 1930 to 1955, while the Branch Group was initially led by Benjamin Roden. This group, later led by David Koresh, was involved in the 1993 Siege of Waco. The Koresh Branch Davidians were one of the major groups that emerged after the Branch Branch Davidians schism over conflicts between David Koresh and Benjamin Roden.

Branch Davidian doctrinal beliefs differ from traditional Branch Davidian teachings such as the Holy Spirit and its nature, the incarnation of Christ in David Koresh, the interpretation of the seven seals, feast days and their requirements between other points. Since their inception in 1930, the Branch Davidians, also known as The Shepherd's Rod, believe they are living in a time when Biblical prophecies of a final judgment are occurring, as a prelude to the Second Coming of Christ.

In the late 1980s, there was a schism among Branch Davidians. The "Koreshians" they were one of the majority groups resulting from the schism of the Davidian movement (who considered David Koresh the reincarnation of Jesus Christ) along with other groups united around George Roden and others independently. After a series of violent shootouts between Roden's group and Koresh, the Mount Carmel compound was eventually taken over by the 'Koreshians'. In 1993, ATF and the United States Army National Guard in Texas entered the facilities of the branch centered around David Koresh, on suspicion of violations and irregularities in the acquisition of firearms and on charges of sexual abuse. The siege ended with a raid that resulted in the death of 4 government agents, Koresh, and 75 of his followers (some of these followers, by friendly fire).

Early history

In 1929, Victor Houteff, a Bulgarian immigrant who was baptized in 1919 into the Seventh-day Adventist Christian Church at a local church in Southern California, claimed he had a new message for the entire church. He presented his views in a book, The Shepherd's Rod: The 144,000-A Call for Reformation. Adventist leaders rejected Houteff's views as contrary to the basic teachings of Adventists. Victor Houteff and his followers were expelled from the Seventh-day Adventist Christian Church in November 1930, creating another group outside that organization.

In 1935, Houteff established his headquarters west of Waco, Texas, and his group became known as The Shepherd's Rod. In 1942 he renamed the group the "Davidians" indicating belief in the restoration of the Davidic Kingdom of Israel. After Houteff's death in 1955, the segment of the group loyal to Houteff continued to be led by his wife Florence. Convinced of an impending apocalypse, intended to be set in the time of Florence Houteff, who was not listed in her husband Victor's original writings, Florence Houteff and her council gathered hundreds of loyal supporters at their Mount Carmel Center near Waco in 1959, for the fulfillment of Ezekiel 9, however, the predicted time arrived without any event.

After this disappointment, Benjamin Roden formed another group called the Branch Davidians and managed to take control of Mount Carmel. This name is an allusion to the "Branch" anointed (mentioned in Zechariah 3:8; 6:12) When Benjamin Roden died in 1978, he was succeeded by his wife Lois Roden. Members of the Branch Davidians were torn apart by loyalty to Ben's wife, Lois Roden, and her son, George. After Lois Roden's death, authority passed to George Roden. But less than a year later, Vernon Howell rose to power and became the leader of the group.

Rise of Koresh

Vernon Howell's arrival at the Waco compound in 1981 was welcomed by almost everyone in the Davidian commune. Howell had an affair with then-Branch Davidian prophetess Lois Roden when he was in his early 20s and she was in her late 60s. Howell wanted to have a child with her, who, according to her understanding, would be her Chosen. When she died, her son George Roden inherited the position of prophet and leader of the commune. However, George Roden and Howell began to have conflicts. Howell soon enjoyed the loyalty of the majority of the community.

In an attempt to regain control, George Roden challenged Howell to raise the dead, going so far as to exhume a corpse to prove his spiritual supremacy. This illegal activity gave Howell the opportunity to try to press charges against Roden, however, he had no proof. This led to the November 3, 1987 raid on the Mount Carmel Center by Howell and 7 of his followers equipped with five.223 caliber semi-automatic rifles, two.22 caliber rifles, two 12 caliber shotguns, and almost 400 rounds of cartridges. ammunition. Their goal appeared to be to retake the land Howell had left three years earlier, although they claim to have been trying to obtain evidence of Roden's illegal activity, but they did not come equipped with a camera. The trial ended when the jury found the followers of Roden. Howell not guilty, but they could not agree on Howell. After the followers were found not guilty, Howell invited prosecutors to Mount Carmel for ice cream.

At the time of the 1993 Waco siege, Koresh had encouraged his followers to see themselves as "students of the Seven Seals" instead of "Branch Davidians". During the confrontation, one of his followers publicly announced that he wanted him to later identify himself with the name & # 34; Koreshians & # 34;.

Howell, having won the role of spiritual leader from Roden, affirmed his spiritual role by changing his name to David Koresh, suggesting ties to the biblical King David and to Cyrus the Great (Koresh is Hebrew for Cyrus). In 1989 Koresh used this power as a spiritual leader to take several "spiritual" as young as 12 years old to create a new lineage of world rulers. This led to allegations of child abuse, which contributed to the ATF siege.

The Waco Massacre and Branch Davidiana

On February 28, 1993 at 9:45 AM, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) attempted to execute a search warrant related to charges of sexual assault and illegal obtaining weapons violations. The ATF attempted to breach the compound for approximately two hours until their ammunition ran out. Four ATF agents (Steve Willis, Robert Williams, Todd McKeehan, and Conway Charles LeBleu) were killed and 16 other agents were injured during the raid. The five Branch Davidians killed in the 9:45 AM raid. m. They were: Winston Blake (British), Peter Gent (Australian), Peter Hipsman, Perry Jones and Jaydean Wendell; two of them at the hands of the Branch Davidians themselves. Nearly six hours after the ceasefire, Michael Schroeder was shot and killed by ATF agents who claimed that he had fired a pistol at the agents as he tried to re-enter at the compound with Woodrow Kendrick and Norman Allison. His wife claimed that he was simply returning from work and had not been involved in the altercation the previous day. Schroeder was shot once in the eye, once in the heart, and five more in the back.

Monte Carmelo remains, the davidians ranch in Waco, Texas.

After the attack, ATF agents made contact with Koresh and others inside the compound. The FBI took command after the deaths of federal agents and managed to facilitate the release of 19 children (without their parents) relatively early in the negotiations. The children were interviewed by the FBI and the Texas Rangers. Supposedly, the children had been physically and sexually abused long before the attack.

On April 19, 1993, the FBI prepared for a final siege of the complex using large-caliber weapons such as.50 caliber (12.7mm) rifles and armored fighting engineering vehicles (CEVs) to combat the Davidians. of the Branch heavily armed. The FBI attempted to use tear gas to drive the Branch Davidians out without bloodshed. Officially, FBI agents were only allowed to return any fire received, not to actively engage Branch Davidians. When several of these opened fire, the FBI's response was to increase the amount of gas being used. Around noon, three fires broke out simultaneously in different parts of the building. The government maintains that the fires were started deliberately by the Branch Davidians. Some survivors of the Branch Davidians maintain that the fires were started accidentally or deliberately by assault. Of the 85 Davidians in the compound when the final siege began, 76 died on April 19 in various ways, from falling debris to the suffocation effects of fire, or by gunshot wounds to other sect members. The siege lasted 51 days.

Repercussions

In all, 4 ATF agents were killed, 16 wounded, and six Branch Davidians killed in the initial raid on February 28. 76 more were killed in the final assault on April 19. The events in Waco spurred criminal prosecution and civil litigation. A federal grand jury indicted 12 of the surviving Branch Davidians with aiding and abetting the murder of federal officers and the unlawful possession and use of various firearms. Eight Branch Davidians were convicted on firearms charges, 5 convicted of manslaughter, and four were acquitted of all charges. As of July 2007, all Branch Davidians have been released from prison.

Several civil lawsuits have been filed against the United States government, federal officials, former Texas Governor Ann Richards, and members of the Texas State National Guard. Most of these claims were dismissed because they were insufficient as a matter of law or because the claimants could not produce material evidence to support them. One case, Andrade v. Chojnacki reached the Fifth Circuit, which upheld an earlier ruling of "take nothing, denied."

Reception of Waco events in popular culture

Progressive metal band Dream Theater apparently make mention of these events, in the song In the name of God from their seventh album Train of Thought. Much of the lyrics of this song can be directly and indirectly related to everything that happened in Waco, Texas.

In addition, the metal group Machine Head, on their first album, Burn My Eyes, dedicates a song to the event. The song is called "Davidian". Its lyrics read: "let freedom ring with a shotgun blast" (let freedom ring with a shotgun blast). His video was censored since the Waco massacre had been very recent and could hurt the sensibilities of the viewers. Alternative rock band Grant Lee Buffalo mentions the Waco massacre in their song Lone Star Song from their 1994 album Mighty Joe Moon.