WACO: MADMAN OR MESSIAH

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Synopsis

Few had ever heard of the Branch Davidians and their leader David Koresh until the events of February 28, 1993 when a bungled raid by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on their center close to Waco, Texas, left four agents and six of the religious sect dead. It led to a 51-day stand-off with the FBI, the longest in US law-enforcement history, ending in a tragic fire which killed a further 76 of the community including 22 children.

Who was David Koresh and why were many Branch Davidians prepared to die for him? Was he just a conman or an anointed messenger of God to warn us of the imminent end of the world? With Koresh’s own voice taken from many previously un-broadcast FBI tapes, now nine Branch Davidians tell their emotional story from the inside.

  • BBC
  • January 2018