Waco: 25 years onWaco: how the siege became a symbol of government oppression

By Andrew Crome

Published 19 April 2018

A 51-day confrontation between the FBI and the Branch Davidians – a small offshoot of the Seventh Day Adventists – came to a tragic end outside Waco, Texas on 19 April 1993. Controversy still rages over whether the Davidians started the fire in order to commit mass suicide, or if it was the FBI’s assault which was responsible for the inferno. Researchers have described the siege as a “critical incident” – an event that highlights and exacerbates existing fault lines in society. “Waco” has therefore become cultural shorthand for expressing tensions within American politics and culture.

A 51-day confrontation between the FBI and the Branch Davidians – a small offshoot of the Seventh Day Adventists – came to a tragic end outside Waco, Texas on 19 April 1993. The trouble started on 28 February as agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) attempted to storm the Davidians’ “Mount Carmel” compound in a search for illegal weapons. A firefight ensued, in which six ATF agents and five Davidians were shot dead. The raid transformed into a tense standoff, with the FBI taking control.

The authorities’ patience finally ran out in April. After puncturing holes in the walls of the Davidians’ building using tanks, CS gas was fired into the compound, hoping to flush group members out. Instead, smoke began to billow from the building, which was quickly engulfed in flames. At least 76 group members, including 24 children, lost their lives in the conflagration. The heat was so intense that bodies melted together.

Controversy still rages over whether the Davidians started the fire in order to commit mass suicide, or if it was the FBI’s assault which was responsible for the inferno. Conflict researcher Jayne Seminare Docherty has described the siege as a “critical incident” – an event that highlights and exacerbates existing fault lines in society. “Waco” has therefore become cultural shorthand for expressing tensions within American politics and culture.

A complex theology
Much of the scholarship on the siege has focused on the failure of the FBI to take the Davidians’ religious positions seriously. The group held to a complex theology, in which the prophecies of Revelation played a key role. Their leader, David Koresh, viewed himself as the Lamb of God, predicted to open the seven seals that would lead to God’s judgement. The group believed they were fated to be involved in an apocalyptic confrontation with “Babylon” – a term Koresh applied to the US authorities.

As the political scientist Michael Barkun and others have noted, by assaulting the group directly, the government confirmed their prophecies and reinforced their beliefs.