As of this month, it will have been 30 years since the start of the Waco Siege. A siege that went on for 51 days and resulted in 86 casualties, many of which were children.
The events that took place at the Branch Davidian Compound at Mount Carmel were extreme to say the least. Starting with the Davidian beliefs, the stockpiling of weapons, and the polygamy involving girls as young as 14. It seems as though Vernon Howell, better known as David Koresh was leading his followers on their journey to The End Times. The focus was on the Seven Seals. Koresh taught that the Bible was not only referencing Biblical time, but that most of the events could be translated into the modern world as well. David Koresh had such unthinkable control over his followers, all because they truly believed him to be The Lamb of God.
CPS, ATF, and FBI all got involved with cases surrounding the Branch Davidian's around the same time. CPS was called in to investigate after reports of child abuse within the compound, however their case was closed shortly after their initial visits. ATF was alerted that men living at Mount Carmel may be illegally converting semiautomatic firearms to fully automatic firearms without the correct legal documentation to do so. FBI got involved shortly after the initial siege on February 28, 1993.
The tactics used by ATF were infuriating. The PA system, the constant lights, the thinly veiled threats, the tanks, the tear gas.....there's no way they expected that to end peacefully when bringing in such extreme reinforcements. The lack of accountability within the leadership at Waco and at Ruby Ridge blows my mind. Not to mention the trial of the 9 individuals who survived. Did you guys know they were all acquitted of murder charges but the judge decided not to follow the jury's decision and sentenced them to 40 years instead?
There's just so much about the Waco Siege makes me angry.
The siege may have lasted 51 days, but everything went up in flames in a matter of minutes.
For what?
Looking for other books that mention Waco?
No comments:
Post a Comment