" If the Bible is true, than I am Christ"
David was born on August 17, 1959 in Houston Texas. In 1990, he became the leader of the Branch Davidians. His original name was Vernon Wayne Howell but later switched off to David Koresh
In his early twenties he spent time in Los Angeles attempting to become a rockstar
When he returned to Houston he was kicked out of his home church
David, after being kicked out of his former church, joined the Branch Dvidians. He rose in the ranks and became a leader. The original belief was founded in Mt. Carmel, but he gathered followers and created a new sect of the belief in Palestine, Texas. Most members began to forsake their old leader and left for Koresh and his leadership.
The former leader at the Mt. Carmal sect was Louis Roden, and after leaving, conflict arose between Koresh and Louis' son George
They believed the government killed the messiah since they believed Korsh was the messiah and he died in the FBI raid of their compound.
They had an excess of weapons and explosives because they were preparing for the apocalypse.
Koresh targeted teenage girls and had sex with girls as young as 12 years old.
They target people who are disfellowshipped from a Church and try to have them join
Recruiting Practices
He targeted the vulnerable when recruiting the Branch Davidians. He frequently chose to recruit college students who were away from their family and a familiar territory.
1 — extreme child abuse (e.g. physical beatings until child is bruised and bleeding, and isolation).
2 — beatings of disobedient members.
3 — severe food deprivation as punishment.
4 — outside family ties severed.
5 — sleep deprivation of members.
6 — the use of fear and intimidation against members who disagree with Koresh.
7 — isolation from ex-members.
Reasons why the Branch-Davidians were dangerous:
1.) The leader David Koresh had complete obedience over members of the cult.
2.) This complete obedience was a result of brainwashing of the member for them to believe that he was God, which allowed him to make the members partake in acts that were in moral.
3.) He was stock pilling illegal weapons as well as turning legal weapons into illegal weapons by making civilian ar-15s into fully automatic weapons. This lead to the raid by ATF agents and the Texas National Guard.
Waco Seige
There was a 51-day siege in Waco Texas that led to the demise of the cult. The Branch-Davidians were harboring a stock of weapons (preparing for the apocalypse) and th government tried to put a stop to it.
At first they just cut off supply's to the compound, but the siege later became a battleground as weapons started being used
The FBI storm d into the complex and used tanks to tear down some of the walls. In response to this, the Branch-Davidians set fire to their entire complex. 4 members of the FBI were killed during the siege
82 members of the Branch-Davidians were killed because they took a suicide pledge to their "god" David Koresh and after they set fire to the complex they remained inside to parish. Many children were killed as a result
Citations
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