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The Cult Dossier · No. 069 · Apocalyptic / Doomsday

Branch Davidians

Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists; Mount Carmel Center

1955 (from 1929 roots) – 19 April 1993 · Waco, Texas

VII. THE 1980s — SIEGE AND SCANDAL

Fully religious — Adventist apocalyptic offshoot

Who led it

Lineage: VICTOR HOUTEFF founded the Shepherd's Rod in 1929; his widow FLORENCE HOUTEFF predicted the Kingdom for 22 April 1959, and its failure gutted the group; BENJAMIN RODEN, then LOIS RODEN, then their son GEORGE RODEN; finally DAVID KORESH (born Vernon Wayne Howell, 1959–1993), who took the name from Koresh, the Hebrew for Cyrus, the anointed one of Isaiah 45.

What it worshipped and taught

The Seven Seals of Revelation. Koresh taught that he was the Lamb who alone could open them — not Christ returned, but a sinful messiah whose role was to inaugurate the end. Practice: marathon Bible studies of 12 to 15 hours, memorisation of scripture, and communal living at Mount Carmel. THE NEW LIGHT doctrine of 1989 annulled all marriages in the community, made Koresh the husband of every woman, and required male members to be celibate; Koresh fathered at least 12 children, several by girls as young as 12 and 14. THE ARMS BUSINESS IS OFTEN DESCRIBED IMPRECISELY. From 1991 the Davidians studied armaments and both BOUGHT AND SOLD weapons at gun shows as their principal income — 'inventory' is a more accurate word than 'stockpile'. Deliveries to a metal building known as THE MAG BAG included 45 AR-15 UPPER RECEIVERS AND FIVE M-16 UPPER RECEIVERS, shipments worth more than 10,000 dollars, INERT GRENADE CASINGS and a quantity of black powder — NONE OF WHICH WAS ILLEGAL IN ITSELF. THE ILLEGAL ACTS WERE SPECIFIC: converting semi-automatic weapons to fully automatic for resale at profit, and assembling live grenades from the casings and powder. THE ENTIRE ATF INVESTIGATION BEGAN BECAUSE A UPS DRIVER DROPPED A PACKAGE ADDRESSED TO THE GROUP AND SAW EMPTY GRENADE HULLS SPILL OUT.

Who was in it

David Koresh (Vernon Howell); Rachel Jones Koresh; Judy Schneider; Steve Schneider, his second in command; Wayne Martin, a Harvard-trained lawyer and member; George Roden, whom Koresh displaced after a 1987 gunfight over a corpse-resurrection contest; Marc Breault, the defector who first alerted authorities; ATF agents Conway LeBleu, Todd McKeehan, Robert Williams and Steve Willis, killed on 28 February; FBI negotiator Byron Sage; Attorney General JANET RENO; the survivors Clive Doyle, David Thibodeau and Ruth Riddle; the independent counsel John Danforth.

How it ended, or where it stands

Destroyed by fire during a federal assault; a tiny remnant continues near the site.

The dead

82 Davidians — 76 on 19 April and 6 on 28 February — plus 4 federal agents. Of the 76, the number who were children is reported variously as 21, 25, or 20–28; no single figure is authoritative. A further 168 died in the Oklahoma City bombing carried out in its name

Of note

The most consequential single event in modern American domestic politics involving a religious group. It produced the militia movement's founding grievance, the Oklahoma City bombing, and a permanent shift in how federal agencies approach barricade situations involving believers. Note the striking contrast with Island Pond (063).

Its timeline

  1. 1929 Victor Houteff founds the Shepherd's Rod after expulsion from the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
  2. 22 April 1959 Florence Houteff's predicted Kingdom fails to arrive; roughly 900 gathered followers disperse.
  3. 1981–1987 Vernon Howell joins; power struggle with George Roden culminating in a November 1987 shootout over a challenge to resurrect a corpse. Howell is tried and the jury hangs.
  4. 1990 Howell legally changes his name to David Koresh.
  5. 1989 The New Light doctrine.
  6. 1992 Marc Breault's allegations and a McLennan County child welfare investigation, which closes without charges. The ATF opens a firearms investigation.
  7. 28 FEBRUARY 1993 THE ATF RAID. About 76 agents attempt a dynamic entry on a Sunday morning to serve a warrant, having lost the element of surprise. A gunfight lasting roughly two hours kills FOUR ATF AGENTS and FIVE DAVIDIANS, with a sixth, MICHAEL SCHROEDER, shot dead by agents hours later. Sixteen agents are wounded, as is Koresh.
  8. 28 February – 19 April 1993 THE SIEGE — 51 days. The FBI's Hostage Rescue Team surrounds the building; electricity is cut; floodlights and amplified sound (Tibetan chants, rabbits being slaughtered, Nancy Sinatra) are played through the nights. PEOPLE LEAVE DURING THE SIEGE, AND THE COUNT IS GIVEN DIFFERENTLY: Wikipedia records 19 children released without their parents and 11 adults leaving later, who were arrested as material witnesses; the figure most often quoted is 35 in all, including 21 children. Koresh negotiates for time to complete a written exposition of the Seven Seals.
  9. 19 APRIL 1993 THE FINAL ASSAULT. From about 05:55 FBI combat engineering vehicles begin punching holes in the building and injecting CS gas. THREE PYROTECHNIC TEAR GAS ROUNDS ARE FIRED AT 08:08, the only military-grade rounds used that day, at a concrete bunker away from the building. At around 12:07 fires break out in at least three places. The building, of thin wood construction with no fire-resistant materials, burns in under an hour. 76 PEOPLE DIE. THE ADULT TOTAL OF 76 IS CONSISTENT ACROSS SOURCES; THE CHILD COUNT IS NOT — it is variously given as 21, as 25, and as a range of 20 to 28, depending on the source and on where the age line is drawn. Two of the dead were pregnant. Nine escape. Koresh and Steve Schneider die of gunshot wounds.
  10. 1994 TWELVE SURVIVORS TRIED. All are acquitted of murder and four acquitted outright; FIVE are convicted of VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER and eight of firearms offences, with sentences running up to 40 years.
  11. JULY 2000 THE DANFORTH REPORT — CONFIRMED AND MORE SPECIFIC THAN USUALLY SUMMARISED. It found that government agents DID NOT START THE FIRE, DID NOT SHOOT AT THE DAVIDIANS on 19 April, DID NOT improperly use the military, and DID NOT engage in a conspiracy or cover-up, and that responsibility for the deaths lay primarily with the Davidians themselves and particularly with Koresh.
  12. JULY 2000 THE PYROTECHNIC QUESTION, RESOLVED ON THE TIMELINE. Agents did fire THREE pyrotechnic tear gas rounds at 08:08 — but AT A CONCRETE BUNKER AWAY FROM THE BUILDING, ALMOST FOUR HOURS BEFORE THE FIRE BEGAN. That gap is why the rounds could not have caused it, and it is the detail most often omitted from accounts on both sides.
  13. JULY 2000 THE FINDING AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT WAS NOT ABOUT THE FIRE BUT ABOUT CONCEALMENT. Danforth concluded that certain members of the Department of Justice trial team KNEW ABOUT THE PYROTECHNIC ROUNDS IN 1993 AND CHOSE NOT TO DISCLOSE THEM — to the Davidians’ defence lawyers, to Congress, or to others inside the Department. He found no evil acts, but held that the failure of candour had done untold damage to public confidence in government, at a cost of some 12 MILLION DOLLARS to investigate. NOTE: the report refers to 80 deaths; other counts give 76 on 19 April and 82 Davidians overall, and the totals are not stated consistently across sources.
  14. 19 April 1995 TIMOTHY McVEIGH bombs the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 including 19 children, explicitly on the second anniversary of Waco and citing it as his motive.

Its people

David Koresh

Vernon Wayne Howell

Leader, the Branch Davidians · 17 August 1959 – 19 April 1993 · active 1987–1993

A dyslexic high-school dropout with a near-total recall of scripture. He took the name Koresh — Hebrew for Cyrus, the anointed one of Isaiah 45 — and taught that he was the Lamb who alone could open the Seven Seals of Revelation, not Christ returned but a sinful messiah whose role was to inaugurate the end. He ran Bible studies of twelve to fifteen hours. His 1989 New Light doctrine annulled every marriage in the community, made him the husband of all the women, and required male members to be celibate. He fathered at least twelve children, several by girls aged 12 and 14. He died of a gunshot wound during the fire; by the FBI's account his aide Steve Schneider shot him and then himself.

Before the law. Tried in 1988 over the Roden shootout; jury hung and charges were dropped. A 1992 child welfare investigation closed without charges. NEVER CONVICTED OF ANYTHING.

Where things stand. Deceased 19 April 1993, aged 33.

  1. 1981 Joins the Branch Davidians at Mount Carmel.
  2. November 1987 Gunfight with George Roden over a corpse-resurrection contest; jury hangs.
  3. 1989 The New Light doctrine.
  4. 1990 Legally changes his name to David Koresh.
  5. 28 February 1993 ATF raid; four agents killed, five Davidians killed and a sixth shot dead by agents hours later.
  6. 19 APRIL 1993 Dies during the fire along with 75 others; the number of children among them is reported variously as 20 to 28.

Checked 2026-09-26

Victor Houteff

—

Founder, the Shepherd's Rod (Davidian Seventh-day Adventists) · 2 March 1885 – 5 February 1955 · active 1929–1955

A Bulgarian immigrant and Seventh-day Adventist Sabbath school teacher whose 1929 book The Shepherd's Rod argued that the church had fallen away and that a remnant of 144,000 must be gathered. Expelled from the Adventist church, he founded Mount Carmel outside Waco in 1935. He is the root of the lineage that runs, four leaders later, to David Koresh — and the reason Mount Carmel existed at all.

Before the law. None.

Where things stand. Deceased 1955.

  1. 1929 Publishes The Shepherd's Rod; expelled from the Adventist church.
  2. 1935 Establishes Mount Carmel near Waco, Texas.
  3. 5 February 1955 Dies; his widow Florence takes over.

Checked

Florence Houteff

—

Leader, Davidian Seventh-day Adventists · 1919 – 2008 · active 1955–1962

Victor Houteff's widow, who took over in 1955 and made the prediction that nearly destroyed the movement: that the Kingdom of God would be established on 22 April 1959. Around 900 believers sold their homes and gathered at Mount Carmel to wait. Nothing happened. The collapse that followed emptied the community and created the vacuum into which the Rodens, and eventually Koresh, moved. She left the movement entirely and lived quietly for another 46 years.

Before the law. None.

Where things stand. Deceased 2008, having left religion behind decades earlier.

  1. 1955 Takes over on her husband's death.
  2. 1959 Predicts the Kingdom for 22 April; ~900 gather at Mount Carmel.
  3. 22 APRIL 1959 Nothing occurs. The movement disintegrates.
  4. 1962 Formally dissolves the association and leaves.
  5. 2008 Dies.

Checked

Lois Roden

—

Prophetess, Branch Davidians · 1916 – 10 November 1986 · active 1978–1986

Took over after her husband Benjamin Roden's death and taught a genuinely unusual doctrine: that the Holy Spirit is FEMININE, and that the Messiah's second coming would be in female form. She published a magazine, SHEkinah, and lectured widely on feminist theology. She brought Vernon Howell into the community in 1981 and, according to multiple accounts, took the 22-year-old as a lover when she was in her sixties — which set off the succession war with her son George.

Before the law. None.

Where things stand. Deceased 1986.

  1. 1978 Becomes leader after Benjamin Roden's death.
  2. 1980 Begins publishing SHEkinah on the femininity of the Holy Spirit.
  3. 1981 Vernon Howell (Koresh) joins the community.
  4. 1984 Driven out by her son George; the community splits.
  5. 10 November 1986 Dies of cancer.

Checked

George Roden

—

Rival claimant, Branch Davidians · 1938 – 21 December 1998 · active 1984–1989

Son of Benjamin and Lois Roden, who seized Mount Carmel by force in 1984, renamed it Rodenville, and drove Howell's faction out at gunpoint. In 1987 he exhumed the corpse of a woman who had been dead twenty years and challenged Howell to a contest to resurrect her, to prove who was the true prophet. Howell went to the police, who wanted photographic evidence of the corpse; the attempt to obtain it produced the 1987 gunfight. Roden was later committed to a mental hospital after killing a man, and died there.

Before the law. Found NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY of murder, 1989. Died committed.

Where things stand. Deceased 1998.

  1. 1984 Seizes Mount Carmel at gunpoint; renames it Rodenville.
  2. 1987 Exhumes a corpse and challenges Howell to a resurrection contest.
  3. 3 November 1987 Gunfight with Howell's group; Howell is tried and the jury hangs.
  4. 1989 Kills a man he believed was an assassin sent by Koresh; found not guilty by reason of insanity.
  5. 21 December 1998 Dies of a heart attack in a Texas mental hospital.

Checked

Steve Schneider

—

Second in command, Branch Davidians · 1949 – 19 April 1993 · active 1986–1993

A theology graduate with a master's degree who was Koresh's chief lieutenant and the principal negotiator during the 51-day siege — most of the FBI negotiation tapes are conversations with him. Koresh took his wife Judy under the New Light doctrine and fathered a child by her, and Schneider accepted it. He argued with Koresh repeatedly in the final days. He died of a gunshot wound to the head; investigators concluded it was most likely self-inflicted, possibly after shooting Koresh.

Before the law. Died before any charge.

Where things stand. Deceased 19 April 1993.

  1. 1986 Joins the Branch Davidians with his wife Judy.
  2. 1989 Judy Schneider becomes one of Koresh's wives under the New Light doctrine.
  3. 28 Feb – 19 Apr 1993 Chief negotiator with the FBI throughout the siege.
  4. 19 APRIL 1993 Dies of a gunshot wound during the fire.

Checked

Marc Breault

—

Branch Davidian defector who first warned authorities · born 1963 · active 1986–1989

A legally blind Hawaiian with a theology degree who was one of Koresh's most trusted lieutenants and his chief scriptural interpreter. He broke with him in 1989 over the New Light doctrine and the marriages to underage girls, moved to Australia, and spent the next four years trying to get someone — Texas child welfare, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Australian authorities, journalists — to act. He assembled affidavits from other defectors and hired a private investigator at his own expense. The 1992 McLennan County investigation closed without charges. Everything he warned about was true, and he could not get it stopped.

Before the law. Never charged.

Where things stand. Living in AUSTRALIA with his wife ELIZABETH BARANYAI, by his own description leading an ordinary life. He has continued to speak in documentaries, among them WACO: THE LONGEST SIEGE and WACO UNTOLD: THE BRITISH STORIES (2023). He remains the clearest case in this dossier of a whistleblower who was right and was not acted upon.

  1. 1986 Joins the Branch Davidians; becomes Koresh's chief interpreter.
  2. 1989 Breaks over the New Light doctrine and the marriages to girls of 12 and 14.
  3. 1990–92 Campaigns for four years to get authorities to act; gathers affidavits from other defectors.
  4. 1992 A Texas child welfare investigation closes without charges.
  5. 1993 The ATF raid and the fire. He co-authors Inside the Cult that year.

Checked 2026-08-24 · living: health details are kept at home

David Thibodeau

—

Branch Davidian survivor of the fire · born 1969 · active 1990–1993

A drummer from Maine who joined after meeting Koresh through music and was one of only nine people to escape the burning building on 19 April 1993. He was tried with the other survivors and acquitted. His memoir A Place Called Waco is the fullest insider account of the siege, and it does something unusual: it neither excuses Koresh nor absolves the federal agencies, and it insists on the ordinariness of the people who died.

Before the law. TRIED AND ACQUITTED, 1994.

Where things stand. LIVING AND ACTIVE — giving interviews as recently as APRIL 2025. He is a Los Angeles-based rock musician and runs WACOSURVIVORS.COM, archiving media on the siege. His account was published as A PLACE CALLED WACO, later reissued as WACO: A SURVIVOR’S STORY, and he maintains that the full truth of what happened has still not been told.

  1. 1990 Joins the Branch Davidians.
  2. 28 February 1993 Present during the ATF raid.
  3. 19 APRIL 1993 One of nine people to escape the fire.
  4. 1994 Tried with other survivors; acquitted.
  5. 1999 Publishes A Place Called Waco.
  6. 2018 His account is the basis of the Paramount series Waco.

Checked 2026-08-24 · living: health details are kept at home

John Danforth

—

Special Counsel, the Waco investigation · born 5 September 1936 · active 1999–2000

A former US Senator and ordained Episcopal priest appointed Special Counsel in 1999 to investigate the government's conduct at Waco, after the revelation that the FBI had used pyrotechnic tear gas rounds despite years of denials. His report, issued in November 2000, concluded that government agents did not start the fire and did not fire shots at the Davidians on 19 April, while criticising the FBI for failing to disclose the pyrotechnic rounds. The report is treated as authoritative by most historians and rejected by a persistent minority; the debate has never fully closed.

Before the law. Special Counsel with full investigative authority.

Where things stand. Living.

  1. 1999 Appointed Special Counsel after the pyrotechnic tear gas disclosure.
  2. 1999–2000 Investigates with subpoena power; re-examines physical evidence and FLIR footage.
  3. November 2000 THE DANFORTH REPORT concludes the Davidians started the fires and that agents did not shoot at them, while criticising FBI non-disclosure.
  4. 2004–05 Serves as US Ambassador to the United Nations.

Checked 2026-08-24 · living: health details are kept at home

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