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{{Short description|American religious cult leader (1959–1993)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = David Koresh
|
| image_size =
| caption = Photograph of Koresh taken in 1987 by police after his arrest.
| birthname = Vernon Wayne Howell
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1959|8|17|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Houston]], Texas, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1993|04|19|1959|08|17|mf=yes}}
| death_place = [[Mount Carmel Center]]<br />[[McLennan County, Texas|McLennan County]], Texas, U.S.
| death_cause = [[Gunshot wound]] to the head or fire wounds sustained in the [[Waco siege]]
| body_discovered = [[Mount Carmel Center]]<br />McLennan County, Texas, U.S.
| resting_place = Tyler Memorial Park Cemetery, Tyler, Texas
| resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|32.35640|-95.36750|type:landmark|display=inline|name=Memorial Park Cemetery}}
| occupation = Leader of the [[Branch Davidians]] cult
| known_for = *1983 [[List of people claimed to be Jesus#20th century|"the Son of God, the Lamb"]] prophecy
* Shootout on November 3, 1987, with [[George Roden]] for jurisdiction of [[Mount Carmel Center]]
* Branch Davidian leadership 1988–1993
* [[Apocalypticism]], [[millenarianism]], [[Polygamy#Religion|polygamy]]
* [[Waco siege|51-day confrontation and stand-off]] with the [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|ATF]] and [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]], February 28, 1993 – April 19, 1993
| spouse = Rachel Jones
| children = 16<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.wacotrib.com/news/branch_davidians/children-killed-in-fire-howell-s-ex-member-says/article_ec006701-4019-5657-817e-772a6eb2a1d3.html |title=12 children killed in fire Howell's, ex-member says |author=England, Mark|date=September 5, 1993 |publisher=[[Waco Tribune-Herald]] |access-date=March 11, 2020}}</ref>
| parents =
| footnotes =
}}
<!-- THE USE OF THE TERM "cult" IS SUPPORTED BY RELIABLE SOURCES. PLEASE DISCUSS ANY CHANGES TO THIS LABEL ON THE TALK PAGE **BEFORE** CHANGING/REMOVING IT. -->
''' David Koresh''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ə|ˈ|ɹ|ɛ|ʃ}}{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}; born '''Vernon Wayne Howell'''; August 17, 1959 – April 19, 1993) was an American [[cult]] leader<ref name="Johnstone2015 83">{{Harvnb|Johnstone|2015|p=83}}.</ref> and preacher who played a central role in the [[Waco siege]] of 1993.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Burton |first=Tara Isabella |url=https://www.vox.com/2018/4/19/17246732/waco-tragedy-explained-david-koresh-mount-carmel-branch-davidian-cult-25-year-anniversary |title=The Waco tragedy, explained |publisher=[[Vox (website)|Vox]] |date=April 19, 2018 |access-date=April 20, 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tracey |first=Ciaran |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46039014 |title=Why 30 Britons joined the Waco cult |date=October 31, 2018 |website=BBC News |access-date=April 20, 2020 }}</ref> As the head of the [[Branch Davidians]], a religious [[sect]], Koresh claimed to be its final [[prophet]]. His [[Apocalypticism|apocalyptic]] Biblical teachings, including interpretations of the [[Book of Revelation]] and the [[Seven Seals]], attracted various followers.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Staff |title=The Book of Koresh |url=https://www.newsweek.com/book-koresh-194344 |website=Newsweek |date=October 10, 1993 |access-date=November 23, 2021}}</ref>
Coming from a [[dysfunctional family|dysfunctional background]], Koresh was a member and later a leader of the Branch Davidians, a movement originally led by [[Benjamin Roden]], based at the [[Mount Carmel Center]] outside [[Waco, Texas|Waco]], [[Texas]]. There, Koresh competed for dominance with another leader, Benjamin Roden's son [[George Roden|George]], until Koresh and his followers took over Mount Carmel in 1987. In the early 1990s, he became subject to allegations about [[Polygamy#Religion|polygamy]] and [[child sexual abuse]] by former Branch Davidian associates.
Further allegations related to the Branch Davidians' stockpiling of weapons led the [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms]] (ATF) and later the [[FBI]] to launch a raid on the group's Mount Carmel compound in February 1993. During the 51-day siege and violence that ensued, Koresh was wounded by ATF forces and later died of a gunshot wound in unclear circumstances as the compound was destroyed in a fire.
==Early life==
Some details of Koresh's life vary among sources, but he was born Vernon Wayne Howell on August 17, 1959, in [[Houston]], Texas, to unmarried<ref>His parents began the marriage process upon learning of the pregnancy, but the ceremony ultimately never took place; each blamed the other for this. See: {{harvnb|Samples|de Castro|Abanes|Lyle|1994|p=18}}.</ref> parents: 20-year-old Bobby Wayne Howell and 14-year-old Bonnie Sue Clark. Two years after the birth, the relationship broke down.<ref name="SMAL 19 20">{{harvnb|Samples|de Castro|Abanes|Lyle|1994|pp=19–20}}.<br>Koresh would not see his father again until he was 17; see: {{Cite news |title= Portrait Of Koresh Full Of Contradictions – Parents Try To Reconcile Memories As Ex-Followers Paint Other Image |url= https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19930302&slug=1688317 |date= March 2, 1993 |newspaper= Dallas Morning News |access-date= March 16, 2024 }}</ref> Bonnie continued to flounder, with an abusive, first marriage to a Joe Golden quickly ending in divorce.<ref name="SMAL 19 20"/> After this, around 1962, unable to cope with her situation, Bonnie moved away to Dallas.<ref>{{harvnb|Samples|de Castro|Abanes|Lyle|1994|p=20}}.<br>Bonnie herself said ({{harvnb|Haldeman|2007|pp=10 11}}) she moved to Dallas with Roy Haldeman, her future husband, after meeting him when she began working at a bar he part-owned in Houston.</ref> She placed her son in the care of her mother and an older sister: Bonnie's mother would pretend to be Koresh's mother; Bonnie would pose as an aunt when she occasionally visited him.<ref>{{harvnb|Samples|de Castro|Abanes|Lyle|1994|p=20}}.<br>Bonnie herself said ({{harvnb|Haldeman|2007|p=10}}) that she gave Koresh to her mother while she was married to Golden, to protect him from the spankings her husband inflicted on him.</ref>
With her marriage, in 1964, to merchant marine Roy Haldeman, however, Bonnie at last felt in a stable enough position to raise her son herself. The truth about who his real mother was was thus revealed to a five-year-old Koresh, an experience he carried with him his whole life.<ref>{{Harvnb|Breault|King|1993|pp=27 8}}.</ref> To make a tumultuous situation still worse, it was at this time that Koresh said he began to be sexually abused by one of his mother's male relatives.<ref>{{harvnb|Samples|de Castro|Abanes|Lyle|1994|p=21}}.<br>Koresh said the abuse, which included rape, lasted four years, until he was nine, but afflicted him his whole life. He said he never revealed who the perpetrator was to avoid upsetting his mother.</ref> In July 1965, not long before Koresh turned six, a half-brother, Roger, arrived; a few weeks later, the Haldeman family set up home in [[Richardson, Texas]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Haldeman|2007|pp=12–3}}</ref> There developed permanent difficulties between Koresh and his stepfather,<ref>{{harvnb|Samples|de Castro|Abanes|Lyle|1994|p=27}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Haldeman|2007|p=12}}</ref> but the boys got on well.<ref>{{harvnb|Haldeman|2007|pp=14–6}}.</ref>
Koresh described his early childhood as lonely.<ref name="Wilson2000 ???">{{Harvnb|Wilson|2000|p=???}}.</ref> Due to his poor study skills and [[dyslexia]] partially caused by poor eyesight, he was put in [[special education]] classes and bullied by his schoolmates. Matters improved after about the age of 12, when Koresh became interested in sport, which he was good at, and developed his physique.<ref>{{Harvnb|Breault|King|1993|p=31}}.</ref> Despite this turnaround, Koresh dropped out of [[Garland High School]] in his junior year. He tried various jobs, but was either fired from or abandoned each of them.
At the age of 19, Koresh had an [[statutory rape|illegal sexual relationship]] with a 16-year-old girl, who became pregnant. He never saw the resulting daughter: the teenage mother thought him unfit to be a father, so she moved away and refused to see him.<ref>{{Harvnb|Breault|King|1993|p=33}}.</ref> He claimed to have become a [[born-again Christian]] in the [[Southern Baptist Church]] and soon joined his mother's denomination, the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]]. There, Koresh, then 20, and the pastor's daughter, 15-year-old Sandy Berlin, began a two-year relationship.<ref>{{Cite news |title= The Pop Life |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/25/arts/the-pop-life-201170.html |newspaper= The New York Times |date= March 25, 1994 |access-date= March 20, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title= 'Recordings for Deviants': interview of Sandy Berlin |url= https://www.vice.com/en/article/david-v13n10/ |newspaper= Vice |date= 1995 |access-date= March 20, 2024 }}</ref> During their courtship, while praying for guidance one day, Koresh allegedly opened his eyes and found the [[Bible]] open at [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah 34:16]], stating that "none should want for her mate".<ref>{{Harvnb|Breault|King|1993|pp=34–5}}.</ref> Convinced this was a sign from God, Koresh approached the pastor and told him that God wanted him to have his daughter for a wife; the pastor dismissed the suggestion out of hand and forbade him from ever seeing her again, an instruction that Koresh ignored. With the pastor furious at him and the congregation weary of and repulsed by his sex obsession, Koresh was expelled from the church.<ref name="BreKin1993 35">{{Harvnb|Breault|King|1993|p=35}}.</ref>
It was now summer 1981, and Koresh's next move was to [[Waco, Texas]], where he joined the [[Branch Davidians]] (splinter group of [[Shepherd's Rod|Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist]]).<ref>{{Harvnb|Beck|2024|p=36}}.</ref> [[Benjamin Roden]], who died in 1978,<ref name="BreKin1993 38">{{Harvnb|Breault|King|1993|p=38}}.</ref> had originated the Branch group in 1955 with new teachings that were not connected with the original Davidians.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}
==Ascent to leadership of the Branch Davidians==
In 1983, Koresh began claiming the gift of prophecy. {{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} [[David Thibodeau]], in his 1999 book, ''A Place Called Waco'', speculated that he had a sexual relationship with [[Lois Roden]], the widow of Benjamin Roden and leader of the sect, who was then <!--Born August 1916.-->in her late 60s. Koresh eventually began to claim that God had chosen him to father a child by Lois, who would be the [[Messiah|Chosen One]].<ref name="wilson">{{Harvnb|Wilson|2000}}.</ref> In 1983, Lois allowed Koresh to begin teaching his message, "The Serpent's Root", which caused controversy in the group. Lois's son [[George Roden]], intended to be the group's next leader, considered Koresh an interloper. {{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}
When Koresh announced that God had instructed him to marry Rachel Jones (who then added Koresh to her name), calm ensued at the Mount Carmel Center, but it proved only temporary. A fire destroyed a $500,000 administration building and press; George Roden said Koresh started the fire, but Koresh replied that "no man set that fire" and that it was a judgment of God.<ref name="wilderness">{{Cite web |url=https://wacotrib.com/news/branch_davidians/crying-in-the-wilderness-a-religious-commune-sets-up-a-dwelling-place-in-the-woods/article_43b35c71-6563-5c45-baea-cfaa2d2e5cd6.html |title=Crying in the wilderness: A religious commune sets up a dwelling place in the woods amid a struggle between rival prophets|date=January 17, 1988 }}</ref> Roden, claiming to have the support of the majority of the sect, forced Koresh and his group off the property at gunpoint. Koresh and around 25 followers set up camp at [[Palestine, Texas]], {{convert|90|mi|km}} from Waco, where they lived under rough conditions in buses and tents for the next two years. During this time, Koresh undertook recruitment of new followers in [[California]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[Israel]], and [[Australia]]. That same year, he traveled to Israel, where he claimed he had a vision that he was the modern-day [[Cyrus the Great|Cyrus]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=McEvoy |first=Colin |date=2023-03-27 |title=David Koresh: Leader of the Branch Davidians |url=https://www.biography.com/crime/david-koresh |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=Biography |language=en-US}}</ref>
The founder of the Davidian movement, [[Victor Houteff]], wanted to be God's implement and establish the Davidic kingdom in Israel. Koresh also wanted to be God's tool and set up the Davidic kingdom in [[Jerusalem]]. At least until 1990, he believed the place of his martyrdom might be in Israel; however, by 1991, he was convinced that his martyrdom would be in the U.S. instead of in Israel. He said the prophecies of [[Daniel (biblical figure)|Daniel]] would be fulfilled in Waco and that the Mount Carmel Center was the Davidic kingdom.<ref name="valentine">{{Citation |surname=Valentine |given=Carol A. |title=David Koresh and The Cuckoo's Egg – pt. 3 |year=2001 |url=http://www.public-action.com/SkyWriter/WacoMuseum/burial/page/b_kce3.html |access-date=September 7, 2006 |archive-date=April 26, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070426061052/http://www.public-action.com/SkyWriter/WacoMuseum/burial/page/b_kce3.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
After being exiled to the Palestine camp, Koresh and his followers eked out a primitive existence. When Lois died in 1986, the exiled Branch Davidians wondered if they would ever be able to return to the Mount Carmel Center, but despite the displacement "Koresh now enjoyed the loyalty of the majority of the [Branch Davidian] community".<ref>David G. Bromley and Edward D. Silver, "The Davidian Tradition: From Patronal Clan to Prophetic Movement," p.54 in Stuart A. Wright, Armageddon in Waco: Critical Perspectives on the Branch Davidian Conflict (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1995)</ref> In 1987, George Roden [[exhume]]d at least one body from the community cemetery. Roden said he was just moving the cemetery, while Koresh claimed that Roden had issued a challenge to resurrect the body (and that whoever resurrected the body would be the new leader).<ref name= "wilderness"/> Koresh went to the authorities to file charges against Roden for illegally exhuming a corpse, but was told he would have to show proof (such as a photograph of the corpse).
Koresh seized the opportunity to seek criminal prosecution of Roden by returning to the Mount Carmel Center with seven armed followers, allegedly attempting to get photographic proof of the exhumation. Koresh's group was discovered by Roden, and a gunfight broke out. When the sheriff arrived, Roden had already suffered a minor gunshot wound and was pinned down behind a tree. As a result of the incident, Koresh and his followers were charged with attempted murder. At the trial, Koresh explained that he went to the Mount Carmel Center to uncover evidence of criminal disturbance of a corpse by Roden. Koresh's followers were [[acquittal|acquitted]], and in Koresh's case, a [[Trial (law)|mistrial]] was declared.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}
In 1989, Roden murdered Wayman Dale Adair with an axe blow to the skull after Adair stated his belief that he was the true messiah.<ref name="1993book">Marc Breault and Martin King, ''Inside the Cult'', Signet, 1st Printing June 1993. {{ISBN|978-0-451-18029-2}}. (Australian edition entitled ''Preacher of Death'').</ref> Roden claimed the man was sent by Koresh to kill him.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/06/us/a-fight-in-texas-for-the-homeland-of-a-sect.html |title=A Fight in Texas for the Homeland of a Sect |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 6, 1994 |last1=Verhovek |first1=Sam Howe}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ird01 |title=Davidians and Branch Davidians |author1=Pitts, William L |publisher=Handbook of Texas – Texas State Historical Association |access-date=November 25, 2012}}</ref> He was [[insanity defense|judged insane]] and confined to a psychiatric hospital at [[Big Spring, Texas]]. Since Roden owed thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes on the Mount Carmel Center, Koresh and his followers were able to raise the money and reclaim the property. Roden continued to harass the Koresh faction by [[vexatious litigation|filing legal papers]] while imprisoned. When Koresh and his followers reclaimed the Mount Carmel Center, they discovered that tenants who had rented from Roden had left behind a [[meth lab]], which Koresh reported to the local police department and asked to have removed.<ref name="thibodeau">{{Citation |surname=Thibodeau |given=David |title=The truth about Waco |year=1999 |url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/09/09/waco/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010428160353/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/09/09/waco/ |archive-date=April 28, 2001 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="lujan">Thomas R. Lujan, [https://web.archive.org/web/20020924201932/http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/parameters/97autumn/lujan.htm "Legal Aspects of Domestic Employment of the Army"], Parameters US Army War College Quarterly, Autumn 1997, Vol. XXVII, No. 3.</ref>
Koresh was infatuated with American singer [[Madonna]]. God, he claimed, had even said to him, "I will give thee Madonna."<ref>{{Harvnb|Breault|King|1993|p=112}}.</ref>
==Name change==
Vernon Howell filed a petition in California State Superior Court in [[Pomona, California|Pomona]] on May 15, 1990, to [[legal name change|legally change his name]] "for publicity and business purposes" to David Koresh. On August 28, 1990, Judge Robert Martinez granted the petition.<ref>Clifford L. Linedecker, ''Massacre at Waco, Texas'', St. Martin's Press, 1993, page 94. {{ISBN|0-312-95226-0}}.</ref>
His first name, David, symbolized a lineage directly to the biblical [[King David]], from whom the new messiah would descend. Koresh (כּוֹרֶשׁ, Koresh) is the Biblical name of [[Cyrus the Great]], a [[List of monarchs of Iran|Persian king]] who is named a messiah for freeing Jews during the [[Babylonian captivity]]. By taking the name of David Koresh, he was "professing himself to be the spiritual descendant of King David although he had no DNA to connect him with the peoples of the Mediterranean much less King David, a messianic figure carrying out a divinely commissioned errand."<ref>Bromley and Silver, p.57</ref>
==Allegations of child abuse and statutory rape==
Koresh was alleged to have been involved in multiple incidents of [[physical abuse|physical]] and [[child sexual abuse|sexual abuse]] of children.<ref>See Christopher G. Ellison and John Bartkowski, {{"'}}Babies Were Being Beaten': Exploring Child Abuse Allegations at Ranch Apocalypse," pp.111–152 in Stuart A. Wright (ed.), Armageddon in Waco: Critical Perspectives on the Branch Davidian Conflict (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1995)</ref> His doctrine of the House of David<ref>See Bromley and Silver, pp.60–65</ref> did lead to "marriages" with both married and single women in the Branch Davidians.
A six-month investigation of sexual abuse allegations by the Texas Child Protection Services in 1992 failed to turn up any evidence, possibly because the Branch Davidians concealed the spiritual marriage of Koresh to Rachel's younger sister, Michele, when she was 12, by assigning her a surrogate husband ([[David Thibodeau]], who was 10 years younger than Koresh) for the sake of appearances.<ref>David Thibodeau and Leon Whiteson, A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story (New York: Public Affairs, 1999)</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bryce |first=Robert |date=November 12, 1999 |title=Salvation: Former Davidian Tells Survivor's Story |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/1999-11-12/74647/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=The Austin Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref> Regarding the allegations of physical abuse, no evidence was ever found.{{Clarify|date=April 2022}} In one widely reported incident, ex-members claimed that Koresh became irritated with the cries of his son Cyrus and spanked the child severely for several minutes on three consecutive visits to the child's bedroom. In a second report, a man involved in a custody battle visited the Mount Carmel Center and claimed to have seen the beating of a young boy with a stick.<ref>Ellison and Bartkowski, 120–121.</ref>
Finally, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]]'s justification for forcing an end to the 51-day stand-off was predicated on the charge that Koresh was abusing children inside the Mount Carmel Center. Allegations had been made that he had fathered children with underage girls in the Branch Davidians. In the hours that followed the deadly conflagration, [[Attorney General of the United States|Attorney General]] [[Janet Reno]] told reporters, "We had specific information that babies were being beaten."<ref>Sam Howe Verovek, "In Shadow of Texas Siege, Uncertainty for Innocents." New York Times, 1993, March 8</ref> However, [[FBI Director]] [[William S. Sessions|William Sessions]] publicly denied the charge and told reporters that they had no such information about child abuse inside the Mount Carmel Center.<ref>Stephen Labaton, "Confusion Abounds in the Capital on Rationale for Assault on Cult," New York Times, 1993, April 21</ref> A careful examination of the other child abuse charges found the evidence to be weak and ambiguous, casting doubt on the allegations.<ref>Ellison and Bartkowski, 1995</ref>
The allegations of child abuse largely stem from detractors and ex-members.<ref>John R. Hall, "Public Narratives and the Apocalyptic Sect," pp.205–235 in Stuart A. Wright (ed.), Armageddon in Waco (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1995); Stuart A. Wright, "Construction and Escalation of a 'Cult' Threat: Dissecting Moral Panic and Official Reaction to the Branch Davidians," pp.75–94 in Stuart A. Wright (ed.), Armageddon in Waco</ref> The 1993 [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] report cites allegations of child sexual and physical abuse. Legal scholars{{who|date=April 2024}} point out that the [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms]] (ATF) had no legal jurisdiction in the matter of child protection, and these accounts appear to have been inserted by the ATF to inflame the case against Koresh. {{citation needed|date=April 2024}} For example, the account of former Branch Davidian Jeannine Bunds is reproduced in an ATF [[affidavit]]. She said that Koresh had fathered at least 15 children with various women and girls, and that she had personally delivered seven of these infants. Bunds also says that Koresh would annul all marriages of couples who joined the group and had exclusive sexual access to the women and girls.<ref name="dpmt_justice">{{Citation |surname=U.S. Department of Justice |year=1993 |chapter=Evidence of Historical Child Sexual and Physical Abuse |title=Report to the Deputy Attorney General on the Events at Waco, Texas February 28 to April 19, 1993 (From ATF Affidavit in Support of Arrest of Koresh, taken from ATF Special Agent Aguilera's interview of former compound resident Jeannine Bunds, included in Agent Aguilera's affidavit in support of the Koresh arrest warrant "Davy Aguilera, Special Agent Bureau of ATF, Subscribed and sworn to before me this 25th day of February 1993 Dennis G. Green United States Magistrate Judge Western District of Texas – Waco" |edition=Redacted |publisher=U.S.DoJ |place=Washington, D.C. |chapter-url=http://www.usdoj.gov/05publications/waco/wacotocpg.htm#toc |access-date=February 4, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070124190128/http://www.usdoj.gov/05publications/waco/wacotocpg.htm#toc |archive-date=January 24, 2007}}</ref><ref>Ellison and Bartkowski, 1995; Wright, "Construction and Escalation of a 'Cult' Threat," 1995</ref> Thibodeau, a student of Koresh and one of the few to escape the fire that destroyed the compound, stated in 2018 that while he considered Koresh a friend, he "certainly was guilty of something. He was either a polygamist or he was guilty of [[statutory rape]]. Probably both."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Skinner |first1=Paige |title=Waco Siege Survivor Behind New Miniseries Tells Us What TV Has Gotten Wrong |url=https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/david-thibodeau-survivor-of-waco-siege-talks-paramount-network-miniseries-and-david-koresh-10255922 |website=Dallas Observer |access-date=November 23, 2021}}</ref>
In his book, James Tabor states that on a videotape that was sent out of the compound during the siege, Koresh acknowledged that he had fathered more than 12 children by several "wives".<ref name="tabor">{{Citation |surname1=Tabor |given1=James D. |surname2=Gallagher |given2=Eugene V. |title=Why Waco?: Cults & the Battle for Religious Freedom in America |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |place=Berkeley, California |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-520-20899-5}}</ref> On March 3, 1993, during negotiations to secure the release of the remaining children, Koresh advised [[hostage negotiator]]s that: "My children are different than those others," referring to his direct lineage versus those children whom he had previously released.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}
[[Bruce D. Perry|Bruce Perry]], the chief of psychiatry at [[Texas Children's Hospital]] who led the team that cared for the twenty-one children who survived the siege of the Davidian compound, wrote after a two-month investigation that "the children released from Ranch Apocalypse do not appear to have been victims of sexual abuse."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Boyer |first=Peter J. |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/waco/childrenofwaco1.html |title="The Children of Waco" |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date=May 15, 1995 |access-date=February 20, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> However, in an article published May 4th, 1993, Perry started that "the kids became increasingly open about 11 and 12-year-old girls being David's wives." He additional stated that it was clear that the status of wife included having sex.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1993-05-04 |title=Growing Up Under Koresh: Cult Children Tell of Abuses (Published 1993) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/04/us/growing-up-under-koresh-cult-children-tell-of-abuses.html |access-date=2025-07-26 |language=en}}</ref>
While Perry's reports about the Children of Waco experiencing physical abuse are contradictory, he reported that they were "likely exposed to inappropriate concepts of sexuality," and subject to "a whole variety of destructive emotional techniques ... including shame, coercion, fear, intimidation, humiliation, guilt, overt aggression and power."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rimer |first=Sarah |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/04/us/growing-up-under-koresh-cult-children-tell-of-abuses.html |title=Growing Up Under Koresh: Cult Children Tell of Abuses |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 4, 1993 |access-date=February 20, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Perry has reiterated this view as late as 2018.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wilking |first=Spencer |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/branch-davidian-childrens-drawings-foretold-deadly-waco-fire/story?id=52122314 |title=Branch Davidian children's drawings foretold deadly Waco fire, psychiatrist says |publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=January 4, 2018 |access-date=February 20, 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
==Raid and siege by federal authorities==
{{Main|Waco siege}}
[[File:Mountcarmelfire04-19-93-n.jpg|thumb|FBI photo of the Mount Carmel Center engulfed in flames on April 19, 1993]]
The Waco siege began on February 28, 1993, when the ATF raided Mount Carmel Center. The ensuing gun battle resulted in the deaths of four ATF agents and six Branch Davidians. Shortly after the initial raid, the FBI [[Hostage Rescue Team]] took command of the federal operation because the FBI has jurisdiction over incidents involving the deaths of federal agents. The negotiating team established contact with Koresh inside the compound. Communication over the next 51 days included telephone exchanges with various FBI negotiators. {{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}
Koresh himself had been seriously injured by a gunshot. As the standoff continued, he and his closest male associates negotiated delays so that he could write religious documents, which he said he needed to complete before his surrender. Koresh's conversations with the negotiators were dense and they also included biblical imagery. The FBI negotiators treated the situation as a [[hostage crisis]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}
The siege of the Mount Carmel Center ended on April 19, 1993, when U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno approved recommendations of FBI officials to proceed with a final advance in which the Branch Davidians would be removed from the Mount Carmel Center by force. In an attempt to flush Koresh out of the stronghold, the FBI resorted to pumping [[CS gas]] into the compound with the aid of an [[M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle]], which was equipped with a battering ram.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://libertyunderfire.org/2013/04/remembering-waco-and-the-branch-davidian-church-twenty-years-latter/|title=Remembering Waco and the Branch Davidian Church 20 years later.|date=April 30, 2013|newspaper=Liberty Under Fire|access-date=December 14, 2016}}</ref> In the course of the advance, the Mount Carmel Center caught fire. Barricaded inside the building, 79 Branch Davidians perished in the ensuing blaze; 21 of these victims were children under the age of 16.<ref name="Frontline/PBS">{{cite web| url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/waco/topten.html| title=Frequently Asked Questions about Waco| publisher=Frontline/PBS| access-date=February 27, 2015}}</ref>
Coroner reports showed many Davidians died from single gunshot wounds to the head – Koresh, then 33, was one of them.<ref>{{Harvnb|Samples|de Castro|Abanes|Lyle|1994|pp=15–6}}.</ref> A postmortem on his badly burned remains could not determine whether he died by suicide or was killed.<ref name="Wapo FBI">{{Cite news |title= Koresh's Top Aide Killed Cult Leader, FBI Official Says |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/09/05/koreshs-top-aide-killed-cult-leader-fbi-official-says/0a8bedd4-460d-4061-96eb-d527d2832c1b/ |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= September 4, 1993 |access-date= March 17, 2024}}</ref> One FBI official speculated that [[Steve Schneider (Branch Davidian)|Steve Schneider]], Koresh's right-hand man, "probably realized that he was dealing with a fraud" and so shot and killed Koresh before turning the gun on himself.<ref name="Wapo FBI"/> The medical examiner reported 20 people, including five children under the age of 14, had been shot, and a three-year-old had been stabbed in the chest.<ref>{{Cite news |title= Autopsies: Children At Waco Were Shot |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/07/14/autopsies-children-at-waco-were-shot/175dafab-59be-4712-a654-561628dcab5a/ |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= July 4, 2000 |access-date= March 17, 2024 }}</ref>
==Legacy==
Koresh is buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, [[Tyler, Texas]], in the "Last Supper" section. Several of his albums were released, including ''Voice of Fire'', in 1994. In 2004, Koresh's 1968 [[Chevrolet Camaro]], which had been damaged during the raid, sold for $37,000 at auction. It is now owned by ''[[Ghost Adventures]]'' host [[Zak Bagans]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/09/26/MNGGP8VDP51.DTL | work=The San Francisco Chronicle | title=Puny market for avid Koresh's pride and joy fails to excite many bidders | first=Lianne | last=Hart | date=September 26, 2004}}</ref>
[[Timothy McVeigh]] and [[Terry Nichols]] cited the Waco siege as their motivation for the [[Oklahoma City bombing]] of April 19, 1995, which was timed to coincide with the second anniversary of the Waco assault.<ref name="buff">{{cite web |last1=Michel, Herbeck |first1=Lou, Dan |title=How Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh changed the fringe right |url=https://buffalonews.com/2020/04/19/25-years-later-how-oklahoma-city-bomber-mcveigh-changed-the-fringe-right/ |website=Buffalo News.com |date=April 19, 2020 |publisher=Buffalo News |access-date=June 21, 2020}}</ref>
Three documentary films have been made about the siege, including different versions of ''[[Waco: The Rules of Engagement]]'', ''Waco: A New Revelation'', and ''[[Waco: Madman or Messiah]]''. In 2018, [[BBC Radio 5 Live]] created a radio podcast titled ''End of Days'', which was about the death and life of Koresh, his involvement in the [[Waco siege]], and the recruitment of people who lived in [[Nottingham]], [[Manchester]], and [[London]] into the Branch Davidians. The Court TV (now [[TruTV]]) television series ''Mugshots'' released an episode about Koresh.<ref>{{cite web|title=MUGSHOTS: David Koresh|url=http://filmrise.com/mugshots-david-koresh/|website=FilmRise|access-date=November 8, 2017|date=December 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108094427/http://filmrise.com/mugshots-david-koresh/|archive-date=November 8, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> A Mexican movie was made entitled "Tragedia en Waco" or "Tragedia: Sucedio en Monte Carmelo Waco Texas", 1993, written by [[Ulf Kjell Gür]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0329693/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_165|title=Tragedia en Waco, Texas (1993) – IMDb|website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref> aired by EstrellaTV in April 2021.
Koresh is portrayed by [[Taylor Kitsch]] in the 2018 [[miniseries]] ''[[Waco (miniseries)|Waco]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2016/08/waco-series-michael-shannon-taylor-kitsch-weinstein-company-1201811328/|title=Michael Shannon & Taylor Kitsch Topline Weinstein Co. Series 'Waco', Based on 1993 Siege|last=Pedersen|first=Erik|publisher=Deadline Hollywood|date=August 30, 2016|access-date=May 16, 2017}}</ref> However, in the sequel series ''[[Waco: The Aftermath]]'' he is portrayed by [[Keean Johnson]]. He was also one of the sources of inspiration used to create the fictional cult leader [[Joseph Seed]] in the 2018 [[Action-adventure game|action-adventure]] video game ''[[Far Cry 5]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2018/03/02/far-cry-5-cult-adviser-reveals-how-these-fanatics-thrive-follow-the-money/|title=Far Cry 5 cult adviser reveals how these fanatics thrive: Follow the money|last=Wilson|first=Jason|website=[[VentureBeat]]|date=March 2, 2018|access-date=April 1, 2018}}</ref> In 2011, British [[indie rock]] band The Indelicates released a [[concept album]], ''[[The Indelicates#David Koresh Superstar|David Koresh Superstar]]'', about Koresh and the Waco siege.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/music/a295865/indelicates-announce-imminent-new-album/|title=Indelicates announce 'imminent' new album|author=Mayer Nissim|date=January 4, 2011|access-date=October 30, 2020|website=[[Digital Spy]]}}</ref><ref name=popkor>{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/141328-the-indelicates-david-koresh-superstar-2496027082.html|title=The Indelicates: David Koresh Superstar|date=May 21, 2011|access-date=October 31, 2020|website=[[PopMatters]]}}</ref> He was also one of the sources of inspiration used to create the fictional cult leader Salem Koresh in the 2021 [[Action-adventure game|action-adventure]] video game ''[[Outriders (video game)|Outriders]]''.
A [[Netflix]] series called ''[[Waco: American Apocalypse]]'', was released in March 2023. The series encompasses three episodes and features real and never-before-released footage and interviews with surviving cult members and others involved.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ihorror.com/netflixs-trailer-for-waco-american-apocolypse-is-terrifying-and-sobering/|title=Netflix's Trailer for 'Waco: American Apocolypse' is Terrifying and Sobering|website=ihorror |date=March 23, 2023 }}</ref>
==See also==
* [[List of messiah claimants]]
* [[List of people claimed to be Jesus]]
* [[List of Seventh-day Adventists]]
* [[Messiah complex]]
* [[Twelve Tribes Communities]]
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
==References==
*{{Cite journal
|last= Beck |first= Richard
|year= 2024
|title= I will give thee Madonna
|url= https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n06/richard-beck/i-will-give-thee-madonna
|journal= [[London Review of Books]]
|volume= 46 |number= 6
|pages= 35–36 }}
*{{Cite book
|last1= Breault |first1= Marc
|last2= King |first2= Martin
|year= 1993 |title= Inside the Cult
|url= https://archive.org/details/insidecultmember0000brea/mode/1up
|___location= New York, NY |publisher= Signet
|isbn= 978-0-451-18029-2 }}
*{{Cite book
|last= Haldeman |first= Bonnie |year= 2007
|title= Memories of the Branch Davidians: The Autobiography of David Koresh's Mother
|___location= Waco, TX |publisher= [[Baylor University Press]]
|isbn= 978-1-932-79298-0 }}
*{{Cite book
|last= Johnstone |first= Ronald L.
|year= 2015
|title= Religion in Society: A Sociology of Religion
|___location= Abingdon |publisher= Routledge
|isbn=978-1-317-34454-4 }}
*{{Cite journal
|last1= Rifkind |first1= L. J.
|last2= Harper |first2= L. F. |year= 1994
|title= The Branch Davidians and the Politics of Power and Intimidation
|volume= 17 |number= 4
|journal= Journal of American Culture |pages= 65–72
|doi= 10.1111/j.1542-734X.1994.t01-2-00065.x }}
*{{Cite book
|last1= Samples |first1= Kenneth R. |last2= de Castro |first2= Erwin M. |last3= Abanes |first3= Richard |last4= Lyle |first4= Robert J.
|year= 1994 |title= Prophets of the Apocalypse: David Koresh & Other American Messiahs
|___location= Grand Rapids, MI |publisher= Baker Books
|isbn= 0-8010-8367-2 }}
*{{Cite book
|last= Wilson |first= Colin
|author-link= Colin Wilson |year= 2000
|title= The Devil's Party: A History of Charlatan Messiahs
|___location= London |publisher=[[Virgin Books]]
|isbn= 978-1-852-27843-4 }}
==Further reading==
*{{Cite book
|last= Cook |first= Kevin |year= 2024
|title= Waco Rising: David Koresh, the FBI, and the Birth of America's Modern Militias
|___location= New York, NY |publisher= Holt |isbn= 978-1-250-84051-6 }}
*{{Cite book
|last= Guinn |first= Jeff |year= 2023
|title= Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and a Legacy of Rage
|___location= New York, NY |publisher= Simon & Schuster
|isbn= 978-1-982-18610-4 }}
* Lewis, J. R. (ed.), ''From the Ashes: Making sense of Waco'' (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 1994).
* Newport, Kenneth G. C. ''[[The Branch Davidians of Waco: The History and Beliefs of an Apocalyptic Sect]]'' (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2006).
* Reavis, Dick J. ''The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation'' (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995). {{ISBN|0-684-81132-4}}
* Shaw, B. D., "State Intervention and Holy Violence: Timgad/Paleostrovsk/Waco," ''Journal of the American Academy of Religion'', 77,4 (2009), 853–894.
*{{Cite book
|last1= Tabor |first1= James
|last2= Gallagher |first2= Eugene
|year= 1995 |title= Why Waco? Cults and the battle for religious freedom in America
|___location= Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA |publisher= University of California Press
|isbn= 978-0-520-20186-6 }}
*{{Cite book
|last= Talty |first= Stephan |author-link= Stephan Talty
|year= 2023 |title= Koresh: The True Story of David Koresh and the Tragedy at Waco
|___location= London |publisher= Apollo
|isbn= 978-1-801-10267-4
}}
*{{Cite book
|editor-last= Wright |editor-first= Stuart A. |year= 1995
|title= Armageddon in Waco: Critical Perspectives on the Branch Davidian Conflict
|___location= Chicago, IL |publisher= University of Chicago Press }}
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{wikisource|works=or}}
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Find a Grave|6610999|Vernon Wayne Howell ''aka'' David Koresh|work=Branch Davidians Religious Leader|date=July 16, 2002}}
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