The Branch Davidians: Rarely Seen Photos Offer A Rare Glimpse Of The Infamous Christian Cult
For whatever reason, the '90s were an oddly prolific time for cults associated with infamously violent acts. Two years after the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo released deadly sarin gas in a Tokyo subway, the Heaven's Gate cult turned Rancho Santa Fe, California, into a mass grave as the majority of its members took their own lives.
However, both of these infamous incidents were preceded by a disastrous standoff in 1993 that saw a radical sect called the Branch Davidians enter a fatal shootout with ATF and FBI personnel. The carnage and the deadly fires that resulted still wound Waco, Texas, over 30 years later.
His Name Wasn't David And He Didn't Start The Davidians
While the infamy of the incident in Waco, Texas, makes it easy to assume David Koresh was always the leader of the Branch Davidians, that wasn't actually true. Instead, the sect began 25 years before he was even born.
The sect was established by Victor Houteff in 1934 as an offshoot of the Seventh Day Adventist denomination. Koresh also spent most of his life under the name Vernon Wayne Howell, changing his name to David Koresh by 1987.
The Last In A Long Series Of Power Struggles
Houteff attempted to reform the Seventh Day Adventists through a book called The Shepherd's Rod: The 144,000 – A Call for Reformation, but founded the Davidians in Waco after his ideas were rejected and his followers were disfellowshipped.
Following Houteff's death, his wife Florence attempted to seize power over the organization with a doomsday prediction. When that didn't come to pass, another group called the Branch Davidians (started by Benjamin Roden) took over the sect. However, a new power struggle formed after Roden died in 1978.
David Koresh Makes His Move After A Warm Welcome
When Koresh arrived at the Davidian compound in 1981, he made an overwhelmingly positive impression on nearly everyone there. However, he also walked into a delicate situation, as Roden's widow Lois and son George were fighting for control of the Branch Davidians.
Koresh started an affair with Lois and drew George's ire with a an administration building fire that cost the group $500,000 in damages. However, after this recruitment trip in Australia, Koresh would be back after Lois passed away.
Koresh Seizes Power At Last
In 1987, Koresh and seven of his armed followers took the Mount Carmel Center compound by force, installing him as the new leader of the sect with a new name. This remains a sore spot within the sect's remnants, as not all of them consented to his takeover, referring to it as "identity theft."
Once he seized power, Koresh chose a name signifying that he had divine lineage to the ancient Israeli king David and the Persian emperor Cyrus The Great. These delusions of grandeur led him to proclaim he would create a new lineage of world leaders.
Law Enforcement Becomes Concerned
By February 28, 1993, such assertions prompted suspicions from law enforcement organizations like the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that Koresh was violating members of the sect.
They also saw reason to suspect that Koresh was illegally stockpiling weapons, which led them to attempt to execute a search warrant at 4:20 am that morning.
The Aftermath That Still Scars Waco Today
The attempted warrant execution resulted in an unprecedented two-hour shootout that only abated when the ATF ran low on ammo. This was the beginning of a multi-agency siege on the Mount Carmel Center that lasted 51 days.
Both the siege and the shootout were the largest of their respective kinds in American law enforcement history. Four ATF agents and six Branch Davidians were killed in the initial firefight, but the ATF stated that over 70 additional members of the sect died by the time the siege was over.
The FBI Was Not Coordinating Effectively
As the shootout escalated into a siege, the FBI mobilized to support the ATF. However, PBS Frontline noted that the two teams the FBI dispatched often did not get along or agree on how to handle the situation.
While the negotiation team wanted to convince Koresh to surrender, the Hostage Rescue Team preferred to compel his surrender by more forceful maneuvers, such as blasting music and destroying some of the sect's vehicles and guardhouses. The rescue team also believed negotiators should threaten to deny them food, water, and electricity, while the negotiators believed the team was undermining their efforts.
The Branch Davidians Were Aware Of The Eyes On Them
Although FBI recording devices snuck into the Branch Davidian compound revealed that Koresh had his own doubts about his messianic image among his followers, he made a public show of standing up to the siege courageously.
Indeed, that's likely part of why the incident remains so hotly debated today, and why the sect remains a symbol of government overreach for some, rather than a group of extremists involved in an infamously disastrous standoff. This "Rodney King, we understand" banner was a particularly image-conscious move on the sect's part.
The Siege Turns Disastrously Deadly
Although the FBI were able to negotiate the release of 19 children from the compound after they took over the operation, it was clear that they were losing patience with the siege by April 20.
Indeed, they released incendiary tear gas canisters onto the compound as the month went on. While some may blame those canisters for the explosive fires shown here, bugs the FBI snuck into milk cartons reveal audio of Koresh ordering the compound's blazes himself.
The Mystery That Still Goes Unanswered
Although this fact suggests that Koresh had planned this whole debacle as a mass casualty event like Jim Jones before him, medical examiner Dr. Nizam Peerwani told RBS Frontline that it was unlikely that most of the Branch Davidians intended to die when the standoff began.
For Koresh's part, FBI negotiators were hopeful that they could convince him to surrender and hadn't imagined such a self-destructive end. As the FBI's on-site commander Jeff Jamar told PBS Frontline, the tear gas plan wouldn't have been approved if it had been clear that Koresh planned to start the fires.
Most Of The Casualties Came From These Fires
Once the fires started, it took them about a week to die down. Once they did, law enforcers were able to gain access to the compound and uncovered a concrete bunker filled with weapons, ammunition, and the remains of dozens of women and children.
All told, investigators found 75 bodies when they searched the compound.
Searching For Answers After A Bewildering Disaster
The recovered bodies included Koresh's and that of his second-in-command, Steve Schneider. The FBI and the Texas Rangers worked together to search the premises once it was all over.
Although those two had fatal wounds to their heads, at least 50 had died of smoke inhalation. Only nine Branch Davidians escaped after the fires were set. However, other members were not on site when that escalation began, as 12 would eventually be tried for their roles in the standoff.
Doing The Grim But Painstaking Work
By the time this photo was taken on April 22, 1993, at least 40 victims of Koresh's fiery last move had been located. Although they would later discover that was far from the final total, many of their grim discoveries could be tracked in this very photo.
That's because each one of the tiny flags marked in this photo denotes a location where a body was discovered. Although they're hard to see, it's still evident how many of those little flags are in this photo alone.
The Branch Davidians Weren't The Only Ones In Trouble
Although the surviving Branch Davidians were criminally prosecuted, protests like this show that the ATF and FBI's handling of the situation wasn't exactly popular either.
This is partially because it still remains a mystery as to whether the ATF or the Branch Davidians shot first when the search warrant execution escalated into a full-scale firefight.
The Government Faces Lawsuits
The protests shown here took place on March 1 while the standoff was already underway, with opponents believing that the ATF was violently intruding on a religious organization that was minding its own business.
However, the courts felt differently when civil suits against the U.S. government, specific federal officials, then-Texas governor Ann Richards, and specific members of the Texas Army National Guard. All of these lawsuits were eventually dismissed, mostly either as a matter of law or due to a lack of material evidence.
Not Everyone Was There To Protest The ATF
By the following month, the protesters who sided with the Branch Davidians would attract a healthy number of counter-protesters. Indeed, that seems to be the very class of person that this merchandise vendor is catering to.
After all, the hats and T-shirts he's selling bear phrases like "I support ATF" and the mocking "David Koresh thinks he's me." Although the full message of the T-shirt on the furthest left isn't clear in this photos, it's also telling that it addresses Koresh by his birth name.
A Complicated Post-Koresh Branch Davidian Landscape
In the aftermath of the siege, there are several groups claiming the Branch Davidian name. Although one led by Clive Doyle — who died in 2022 — maintain their belief that Koresh was the messiah and will return along with the other deceased members, another group called the Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventists never followed him to begin with.
The group represented here — called The Branch, The Lord Our Righteousness — exists between these two viewpoints on the spectrum of Branch Davidian belief, claiming that Koresh was appointed by God. Nonetheless, they believe he squandered this opportunity and was punished for his sins, particularly his widespread adultery.
A Stark Memorial With Some Clear Delusions
By April 28, 1993, those who had fallen in the shootout and the blaze were buried in this site near Elk, Texas. Yet while each body was tastefully marked with a white cross, that wasn't all that the remaining Davidians left here.
Specifically, this singed wooden frame was likely planted by Doyle's off-shoot group, as it claimed that Koresh was alive and that investigators would not find his bones. Naturally, they had already discovered his body and the fatal — likely gunshot-related — wound on his head by the time this photo was taken.
The Survivors Face Prosecution
After the dust had settled on the blazing conclusion to the standoff, 12 Branch Davidians — including Doyle — were criminally charged for aiding and abetting the murder of federal officers and for unlawful possession of firearms.
In the end, eight of these people were convicted on weapons charges and five of this group were convicted of voluntary manslaughter. Four were acquitted on all charges and everyone who was convicted was released by July 2007.
Some Branch Davidian Groups Think The End Is Coming
Much like the Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventists never followed Koresh, the group is also no more concerned about the manifestation of the "end times" than members of any other of the world's major religions.
However, both the group called The Branch, The Lord Our Righteousness, and the one continued by Doyle seem to believe the end times are imminent, regardless of how they disagree about Koresh's role in their faith.
