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Why Waco? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America

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Why Waco? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America Why Waco? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=ft196n99ws&chunk.id=0&doc.... Preferred Citation: Tabor, James D., and Eugene V. Gallagher Why Waco?: Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1995 1995. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft196n99ws/ Why Waco? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America James D. Tabor and Eugene V. Gallagher UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley · Los Angeles · Oxford © 1997 The Regents of the University of California For David P. Efroymson in friendship and gratitude for a quarter century of intellectual guidance and for Jonathan Z. Smith, who taught both of us the importance of seeing ourselves in the light of the other and the other in the light of ourselves Preferred Citation: Tabor, James D., and Eugene V. Gallagher Why Waco?: Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1995 1995. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft196n99ws/ For David P. Efroymson in friendship and gratitude for a quarter century of intellectual guidance and for Jonathan Z. Smith, who taught both of us the importance of seeing ourselves in the light of the other and the other in the light of ourselves Preface So thoroughly negative is the public perception of groups labeled as "cults" that any attempt to balance the picture may be seen as misguided, if not downright threatening, to the best interests of society. In the case of the Branch Davidians, the news media were saturated with reports of gun stockpiling, sexual misconduct, and child abuse. Despite the alarm and hostility provoked by such reports and by popularly accepted notions of "cults" in general, we believe that an accurate, truthful portrayal of David Koresh and his followers and of the events surrounding the siege of their community in Waco is essential for understanding contemporary religious life in our country. We must confront our fascination with and fear of "cults" if we are to view them in the wider context of our national commitment to religious tolerance-after all, the United States was founded by estranged minorities seeking religious freedom. Our intent is to examine with honesty and objectivity the questions raised by its title: Why did Waco happen and how can this American tragedy be avoided in the future? ― xiii ― Acknowledgments Writing this book was not an easy task, intellectually, emotionally, or physically. But we do think it was an important one. Without the help of many individuals we would not have been able to complete our research and writing, especially within the relatively short time allotted. We are particularly grateful to Clive Doyle, Wally Kennett, Sheila Martin, Janet McBean, Catherine Matteson, Woodrow and Janet Kendrick, and Rita Riddle for taking the time to relive painful memories and to enlighten us about the history, beliefs, and practices of 1 of 101 7/14/2006 1:31 AM Why Waco? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=ft196n99ws&chunk.id=0&doc.... the Mount Carmel community. We also thank Livingstone Fagan for having allowed us to read the early installments of his own exposition of Branch Davidian theology. David Thibodeau, who was inside Mount Carmel throughout the siege, gave us many unselfish hours of his time, trying to communicate to us what it was like. Marc Breault, even when we disagreed with him on specific matters, has been a gracious and extremely helpful source of information as well as a stimulating discussion partner. Mark Swett kindly shared with us his extensive collection of tapes and transcriptions of David Koresh's biblical material. Phillip Arnold of the Reunion Institute in Houston, Texas, has been a valued conversation partner since the dramatic events at the Mount Carmel center began in February 1993. He has been particu- ― xiv ― larly helpful in clarifying many difficult points of Branch Davidian theology and has contributed to the commentary in our appendix. James Trimm has also provided many theological insights and clarifications. Dick Reavis, who is writing his own book on Waco, graciously shared insights and material with us. We also thank our colleagues who have encouraged us in many ways in our work on this book, particularly Gordon Melton, Timothy Miller, Stuart Wright, and Catherine Wessinger. The library of the Waco Tribune-Herald helpfully provided us with a full set of its stories about Mount Carmel from just before the initial BATF attack through its first anniversary. Morris Bowen, the court reporter at the trial of the eleven Branch Davidians charged with conspiracy to commit murder, was especially helpful in making transcripts of the trial available nearly as soon as he completed them. Diane Monte, Walter Kritemeyer, and Ashley Hanson assisted in tracking down some elusive bits and pieces that helped us put together our own mosaic of David Koresh and the Branch Davidians. We gratefully acknowledge our extraordinary good fortune in having Douglas Abrams Arava as our editor at the University of California Press. His suggestions for revisions invariably made our presentation clearer, tighter, and more forceful. His sharp mind, good humor, and passionate interest made working with him a rare pleasure. We thank Marilyn Schwartz, our managing editor at the press, for seeing us through the long process from manuscript to final copy, and Rachel Berchten, our highly skilled copyeditor who worked so tirelessly to correct and improve our efforts. Finally, we thank the readers for the University of California Press who made many helpful suggestions, most of which we have tried to incorporate. Jennifer Gallagher, Maggie Gallagher, and Cindy Driscoll in Noank, along with Lori Woodall and Eve and Seth Tabor-Woodall in Matthews-all conspired both to protect our time so that we could work in peace and to provide the necessary welcome distractions when we most needed them. December 1, 1994 JAMES D. TABOR, MATTHEWS, NORTH CAROLINA EUGENE V. GALLAGHER, NOANK, CONNECTICUT ― 1 ― One What Might Have Been The FBI agents called to Mount Carmel center outside Waco, Texas, on February 28, 1993, can hardly be expected to have packed their Bibles. In retrospect, it would not have been such a bad idea. The news of the bloody shoot-out between agents of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) and an obscure religious group known as the Branch Davidians, on the peaceful Sunday morning had been flashed around the world.[1] For months the BATF had planned a "search and arrest" assault on the group based on allegations that they possessed illegal firearms materials and were possibly converting AR-15 semiautomatic rifles into machine guns. At 7:30 A.M. an eighty-vehicle convoy, including two cattle trailers pulled by pickup trucks loaded with seventy-six heavily armed BATF agents, had made its way to a staging area a few miles from the rural Mount Carmel property. Shortly after 9:00 A.M. the assault began. The two cattle trailers drove rapidly up to the property, halted in front, and the BATF agents stormed the center. Over head two Blackhawk helicopters arrived simultaneously. Local newspaper and television people, who had been alerted to the raid, watched and filmed from a distance. On Saturday, the previous day, the Waco Tribune-Herald had begun to publish a dramatic front- ― 2 ― page series called "The Sinful Messiah," which alleged that the "cult" and its leader, David Koresh, were guilty of bizarre sexual practices, child abuse, and paramilitary activities.[2] Who fired the first shot that morning is disputed. David Koresh, the leader of the Branch Davidians, claimed that he went to the front door and shouted to the arriving agents, "Get back, we have women and children in here, let's talk," only to be cut off by a burst of gunfire.[3] The BATF claims that they tried to identify themselves, shouting to Koresh that they had a warrant, but were met with a hail of bullets.[4] Later, in the 1994 San Antonio trial of eleven Branch Davidians on charges of conspiracy to murder, it came out that the BATF had planned a "dynamic entry" with no realistic contingency for a peaceful serving of the search warrant.[5] A few minutes into the raid, the Branch Davidians called their local 911 number, demanding that the attack cease. By noon a cease-fire had been arranged. The BATF claims they were ambushed and outgunned by the Branch Davidians, who had known they were coming. The Branch Davidians maintain that their resistance was minimal and in self-defense, and that their 911 call demonstrated their nonconfrontational stance on that day. A standoff ensued, with Koresh and his followers inside refusing to surrender. Within hours the major television and print media had arrived, and the FBI was called in. For the next fifty-one days the situation at Waco dominated the news. David Koresh had instantly become a household name, and the public was hungry for information about this obscure thirty-three-year-old Bible-quoting Texan and his followers. It all ended on Monday, April 19. Just after 6:00 A.M., two specially equipped M-60 tanks began to strategically punch holes into the Mount Carmel structure and insert CS gas in an effort to force the Davidians out. The wind was high that day, and most of the tear gas seemed to blow away. Over the next six hours the operation was stepped up, and four Bradley vehicles joined the tanks, firing 40 mm canisters of gas through the windows. A loudspeaker blared, "David, you have had your 15 minutes of fame.
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