The Siege of Waco

The Waco siege is one of the most well-known catastrophes caused by the deadly combination of the US government and religious cults. The Branch Davidians are a religious group started in 1955 by a schism in the Shepherd’s Rod after the death of the found Victor Houteff. Houteff started the Davidians based on his prophecy that the apocalypse was imminent and involved the Second Coming of Jesus and the defeat of the evil armies of Babylon. The original group was located in a church on a hilltop east of Waco called Mount Carmel.

A few years later, they moved to a larger site. In 59, Victor’s widow, Florence Houteff, announced that Armageddon was nigh, and members were told to gather in the center to await the event. Many built houses, while others stayed in old buses, trucks, or tents, and most sold everything they owned.

When the prophecy never came true, control of Mount Carmel fell to Benjamin Roden, founder of the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Association. He had a different belief set to Victor; when he died, control fell to his wife, Lois. She didn’t think their son, George, was fit to assume the position of prophet. Instead, she groomed Vernon Wayne Howell to be the successor. He would become known as David Koresh.

In 1984, a meeting led to a division within the group. Howell was leading one faction, the Branch Davidians, and George Roden was leading the other faction. After their split, George ran Howell and his followers off of Mount Carmel at gunpoint. The group relocated to Palestine, Texas.