“The Legacy of Waco: How a Cult Siege Still Inspires Far-Right Extremists Today”

The bloody siege of a cult ranch near Waco in Texas was 30 years ago. But radical opponents of the government still admire the resistance at the time – including the alleged originator of the Pentagon leaks.

Jack T. is just 21 years old. The national guard, who is said to have leaked US secret documents, is a religious gun fan – one who does not trust the government, according to his arrest a few days ago.

His suspicions were shaped by an event that took place years before he was born: the bloody government storming of a ranch near Waco, Texas 30 years ago.

“What happened in Waco showed many people who believe strongly in gun rights that the government is determined to take your guns away from you,” said Kevin Cook, author of the new book Waco Rising. The government will kill you if you don’t cooperate, so the logic goes.

Illegal Weapons and a “Messiah”

The drama begins at the end of February 1993. The law enforcement agency ATF wants to search the “Branch Davidians” sect’s property near Waco. It’s illegal gun ownership. More than a hundred men, women and children live there with their self-proclaimed “Messiah” David Koresh.

They resist the raid and kill four officers. Six cult members also die. Their leader is badly injured – which doesn’t stop him from quoting from the Bible over the phone during the exchange of fire.

51 day siege

Koresh, 33 years old, considers himself a prophet. He has bound his followers to himself with apocalyptic forecasts of the imminent end of the world. He claims all the women in the group for himself and makes them pregnant – including young girls.

Kiri Jewell, a young cult member, later tells a Senate hearing about a friend who became Koresh’s “wife” when she was 14 and had a baby. Under US law, that was rape of a minor. She was therefore hidden during her pregnancy.

The FBI wants to arrest the Davidians for killing the four agents. The siege lasted 51 days. Koresh lets a few kids go, but the rest of the community refuses to come out.

Deadliest day in FBI history

For author Cook, this is the “clash between more than a hundred serious, religious people, led by a monster, and a government that made a series of horrific decisions.”

On April 19, the FBI fired tear gas into the building to force people out – which didn’t work. A fire broke out hours later, killing 76 people, including many children. It’s the deadliest day in FBI history.

Joe Biden, then a senator, later denies all responsibility. Koresh and the Davidians would have infected themselves and committed suicide. That was not the government of the Democratic US President Bill Clinton.

Inspiration for “Oklahoma Bomber” and Storming of the Capitol

Far-right government critics, gun-rights supporters, and other self-proclaimed patriots take a different view. For them, Waco was and is a call to arms against the government.

Timothy McVeigh, a young ex-military man, detonated bombs outside a government building in Oklahoma City on the second anniversary of the Waco tragedy. 168 people died, including many children.

Author Cook draws the line even further: from Waco via Oklahoma City in 1995 to Washington in 2021. Thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol there on January 6 to stop what they believe to be election fraud by a corrupt elite.

Trump’s campaign began in Waco

Far-right militias such as the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys played an important role in this. Then-President Donald Trump, who continues to spread the lie about the stolen election to this day, has consistently courted these groups.

His first major campaign rally for the upcoming elections took Trump to Waco at the end of March – just before the 30th anniversary. He did not address the Davidian drama. But with his choice of location he showed which of his followers he does not want to do without.