Changes

After the death of Benjamin Roden, his wife, Lois Roden, took a leadership role in the Church.  In 1983, she allowed a man named Victor Howell (later known as David Koresh) to study at the Mt. Carmel compound outside Waco, but after attracting followers among the movement, he moved to Palestine, Texas.  In 1987, Howell and followers he had amassed conducted an armed assault on the Mt. Carmel compound, but were rebuffed.  The son of Lois and Ben Roden, George, took control of Mt. Carmel after Lois' death until his arrest for murder, at which time Howell (now David Koresh) took control of the compound.

After the death of Benjamin Roden, his wife, Lois Roden, took a leadership role in the Church.  In 1983, she allowed a man named Victor Howell (later known as David Koresh) to study at the Mt. Carmel compound outside Waco, but after attracting followers among the movement, he moved to Palestine, Texas.  In 1987, Howell and followers he had amassed conducted an armed assault on the Mt. Carmel compound, but were rebuffed.  The son of Lois and Ben Roden, George, took control of Mt. Carmel after Lois' death until his arrest for murder, at which time Howell (now David Koresh) took control of the compound.

==Waco Siege==

==Mt. Carmel Siege==

The Branch Davidians were under siege after a warrant was secured by the U.S. [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms]] for having illegal [[firearm]]s and allegations [[drug]] [[laboratory]] inside their main [[church]] building.

In May of 1992, a UPS driver noticed that a package had broken open on its way to Mt. Carmel, and that the package contained several firearms and grenades. It has been debated whether or not a classified investigation was already under way, as a result of reports of automatic gunfire from Mt. Carmel, but after this incident was reported, there was definitely an ATF investigation of the compound.

The actions of the government resulted in the death of 82 people, including many children.  During the raid, the [[BATF]] started a fire that burnt down the building and killed many inside.  The evidence for this contradicted the longstanding claims by the BATF and [[FBI]] that no [[pyrotechnic]] devices were used at Waco, causing them to retract their claims and leading to Congressional hearings into the Waco siege.

ATF agents place Mt. Carmel under surveillance in June of 1992.  As part of their request for a search warrant, an ATF affidavit claimed there were hundreds of fully automatic weapons in the compound. 

 

On February 28, 1993, ATF agents who had received special forces training attempted to execute the search warrant on the Mt. Carmel property.  Koresh, who had been tipped off to the raid, had secured women and children in the interior of the compound, and instructed able-bodied men to take defensive positions on the perimeter.  ATF agents approached the compound in unmarked pickup trucks, to meet Korseh, who stood in their path outside the compound.  ATF agents opened fire the dogs Koresh had with him, some Davidians heard the shots, and, thinking Koresh was under attack, fired on the ATF agents.  Korseh retreated inside and the agents shot at the defensive positions before retreating.  Four ATF agents and five Davidians were killed in the initial assault.

 

After a friend of Koresh, the sheriff of nearby Waco, negotiated a ceasefire, the Davidians allowed ATF agents to retrieve their wounded and dead from the area immediately surrounding the compound.  Later that day, a Davidian was shot on a patrol around the compound area.

 

A tense standoff ensued for several weeks in which ATF agents prevent any supplies from reaching Mt. Carmel, but did not attempt to attack the compound.

 

Despite some agreements being reached, such as the release of the children without their parents, by April 19, the ATF decided not to continue the siege and attacked on April 19.  Under the cover of assault weapon fire, and in riot vehicles, ATF agents approached the compound and set it on fire, killing almost eighty people, including many children.  Davidians who escaped the fire report being fired at as they fled the flames.

==References==

==References==