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Also called the Waco massacre, the siege served as a law enforcement siege associated
with the Branch Davidians, a well-known religious sect. In collaboration with federal and state
security agencies such as the U.S military and Texas law enforcement became instrumental in
the siege. The occurrence of the Waco siege occurred from February 28 to April 19, 1933. At
the time, David Koresh headed the religious sect and had established a major headquarters at
Mount Carmel Center ranch, Texas. The religious sect was believed to stockpile illegal
weapons, which influenced the above security agencies to obtain a search warrant under the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). The outcome included the arrest of Koresh
and other members of the group. The siege originated from previous months' investigations on
Ruby Ridge, which were highly influential in catalyzing the group's operations in promoting the
Oklahoma City bombing. The event's implications saw an assault and initiation of a tear gas
attack on the Davidians' ranch, causing a fire that killed more than 76 members of the group.
Twenty-five children and two pregnant women also lost their lives to the fire. David Koresh
also died as a result. Therefore, an evaluation of the Waco siege, alongside Ruby Ridge and
Jonestown Massacre, is a significant event that reveals how the law enforcement in the United
States will go at any length to reduce the influence of cults on citizens.
The difficulties associated with the Waco siege created an embroilment involving a 51-
day standoff. Koresh mainly influenced the standoff at the ranch. During the period,
negotiations were used to release 35 Branch Davidians. These Davidians also comprised 21
children. A critical analysis of the siege shows that agents used extreme measures to lure
Koresh and his followers out of the compound where the religious sect held their operations in
1993 (Newton). The decisive actions involved approaches such as ramming the building with
tanks. They also assaulted those in the compound with tear gas. The situation led to a great fire
among the structures, and no one knew where it originated. The interesting nature of the
situation is that more deaths were caused compared to the intended objective, which was
focused on Koresh and few individuals. Also, no one knows how Koresh died because some
believe that he lost his life to either a gunshot wound to the head or the fire. Thus, the main
issue surrounding the implications of the siege can be traced back to how it began.
The Brach Davidian served as a religious group with its origin from Schism in 1955. The
main focus of the group included prophesizing about the apocalypse that involved Jesus Christ's
Second Coming. It also involved a need to defeat the evil armies of Babylon. The group had
gained many followers, making it move to Waco, Texas (naming the region Mount Carmel
similarly to Israel's mountain mentioned in Joshua 19:26). The cult's origin was also respected
throughout the country, with many others being formed alongside it. However, the increasing
number of cults saw individuals becoming chaotic with unreasonable actions such as increased
mass suicidal acts among members (Wright 167). An excellent example to explain such an
occurrence include the Jonestown massacre (Newton). It had over 900 members under the
American cult "Peoples Temple" dying due to mass suicide murder. Jim Jones, who was the cult
leader, was at the center of the mass suicide. The organization of the massacre was the
Jonestown settlement in Guyana. Jones came up with the Peoples Temple in Indiana during the
1950s.
Less than a decade later, the congregation had moved to California. Due to the societal
role in stopping his ridiculous beliefs, he moved to the Guyanese jungle with 1,000 followers.
The followers believed in him because he promised to seclude them from sin and build a
utopian community based on righteousness (Newton). Also, the group became violent in
protecting its beliefs by killing Leo Ryan, a U.S representative, in 1978. The same day saw Jones
ordering his followers to ingest a poison-laced punch. The process occurred with armed guards
standing by to shoot anyone who did not consume the punch. Outrightly, this was considered
terrorism because of the innocent lives that were lost.
To stop such an occurrence from affecting American citizens, the U.S government
launched a war against the cult, which led to the Waco Siege. The whole ordeal associated with
the Davidian Branch began with publishing the “Sinful Messiah” through several articles by Mark
England. The articles suggested that Koresh was physically abusing children on the ranch. Also,
he had raped several underage brides. Additionally, Koresh was considered to have married
over 140 wives with dozen children. The wives were between 12 and 13 years old (Miller).
Apart from this, Koresh and his followers were believed to stockpile weapons. The situation
attracted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) to look into the situation after a
local pol
ice officer reported to the agency about a driver’s report regarding a suspic
ious
package. The package had inert grenade casings, firearms, and a more dangerous substance-
black powder. The outcome included an establishment of a formal investigation with its
classification considered sensitive. Reports of automatic gunfire from the ranch were what
created the outcome of the siege.
The Ruby Ridge incident had occurred in 1992 and had affected individuals from Idaho
(Utter and Spitzer). The event involved the apprehension and arrest of Randy Weaver after he
failed to appear in court on firearms charges. Also, he refused to surrender as he collaborated
with his immediate family members, leading to the siege. The situation involved a shootout
between those involved. The result included the death of two law enforcement agencies in the
first two days of the operations, leading to civil negotiators engaged in handling the issue
(Clifton 40). The next day, Weaver had to surrender due to the heat that was placed on him.
Weaver was arraigned on the first-degree murder of Degan. However, Weaver was acquitted
of all charges. The only criminal charge included his bail condition violation. He was sentenced
to one year and six months in prison. The relationship between the Waco siege and the
Weaver Ruby Ridge incident resulted from the same agencies under HRT and FBI participating
in its occurrence (Utter and Spitzer). The two also involved deadly forces, which continue to
increase public rage and controversies to date. The two incidents also led to the death of
several individuals, including innocent lives that should not have occurred if the law
enforcement agencies had been careful in handling the matters around them.
In conclusion, the Waco siege, the Jonestown massacre, and the Ruby Ridge are
important events in American history. They are vital because they provide a picture of the
dangers associated with extremism created by cults. Cults should be discouraged among
societal members because they lead to irrational thinking and outcomes such as mass suicide
murders. The example of the above can be obtained from the position of Weaver and Jones,
who caused the deaths of innocent people. Despite their negative position in historical books,
law enforcement agencies also used force, equating them to the above leaders. Hence, the law
should be considered in handling such occurrences.
Sources
Clifton, Jonathan. “A Membership Categorization Analysis of the Waco Siege: Perpetrator
-
Victim Identity as a Moral Discrepancy Device
for ‘Doing’ Subversion.”
Sociological
Research Online
, vol. 14, no. 5, 2009, pp. 38
–
48., doi:10.5153/sro.2002.
Miller, Wilbur R. “Waco Siege”.
The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America: An
Encyclopedia
, Sage Publications, 2012.
Newton, Michael. "Jonestown Massacre".
The Encyclopedia of Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theories
,
1st edition, 2005.
Utter, Glenn and Spitzer, Robert J. "Ruby Ridge
”
.
The Gun Debate: An Encyclopedia of Gun Control
& Gun Rights
, edited by Grey House Publishing, 3rd edition, 2016.
Wright, S
tuart. “Deconstructing Media Framing of the Waco Siege and Standoff on the 25th
Anniversary.”
Theory in Action
, vol. 13, no. 2, 2020, pp. 164
–
177., doi:10.3798/tia.1937-
0237.2034.
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