1 00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you should know, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 2: Hey, and welcome into the podcast. I'm Josh and there's 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:16,279 Speaker 2: Chuck and Jerry's here too, and this is stuff you 4 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 2: should know. And if you're gonna do it, do it right? 5 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 3: Do it with us? Is that a song? 6 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:29,400 Speaker 2: It's a George Michael song. Okay, I don't remember the song. 7 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 2: He's like, Babe, Babe, I'm your man. Don't you know 8 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:35,559 Speaker 2: why I am? 9 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:37,559 Speaker 3: I think that's wham, isn't it? 10 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:46,200 Speaker 2: Maybe could be they're virtually interchangeable. Sorry, Andrew, Oh my goodness. Yeah. 11 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:50,600 Speaker 2: Did you know George did everything with last Christmas? I 12 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:53,199 Speaker 2: mean he wrote it all, he composed it, He's sang it. 13 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 2: Andy played the instruments. 14 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 3: Uh No, I didn't know that. I didn't know he 15 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 3: played instruments. And I even saw a document him. 16 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:02,640 Speaker 2: I didn't either, but I saw that somewhere. I didn't 17 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:05,199 Speaker 2: follow up about it. Now I'm sweating that it's not true. 18 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 3: Well, hopefully at the end of this episode, no one 19 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 3: more remembered George Michael's Christmas song. 20 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 2: Great point, Chuck, because this episode is much more serious 21 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 2: than George Michael's heart that he gave away. Foolishly last Christmas. 22 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 2: This is about one of the darkest moments in American 23 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 2: law enforcement history. Yeah, and very maddeningly one that the 24 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:35,680 Speaker 2: federal government just basically walked away from, like just kind 25 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 2: of dusting off his hands, like, yeah, we got out 26 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 2: of that one. There hasn't really ever been any real 27 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:45,080 Speaker 2: accountability for Waco, despite attempts, Like there are tons of 28 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:48,320 Speaker 2: like hearings and stuff like that, but really, like overall, 29 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 2: there just wasn't any huge reckoning over it, and there 30 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 2: should have been because it was an American tragedy, even 31 00:01:55,440 --> 00:02:02,160 Speaker 2: if in some ways the Branch to Vidian group were, 32 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 2: you know, at least partially responsible for sure, they're part two. 33 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, Like I hope that comes across in this episode 34 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 3: because I know we're going to get a little probably 35 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 3: riled up here and there about like how it was handled. 36 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 3: But I'll go ahead and just say my takeaway at 37 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:22,239 Speaker 3: the beginning. You know, you can't you can't hole up 38 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 3: and be a pedophile in a house, and you can't 39 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 3: illegally like collect and sell and modify guns into machine 40 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:34,079 Speaker 3: guns and sell those Like no one's disputing that stuff, right. 41 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 3: I think the issue is the way this all went 42 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 3: down in the end when it could have probably gone 43 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 3: down with the loss of zero lives, ye, much less 44 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:47,519 Speaker 3: the loss of what was at eighty six. 45 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:50,000 Speaker 2: People total, Yeah, including twenty kids. 46 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:52,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, So that that's sort of the issue at hand 47 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:53,799 Speaker 3: for me personally. 48 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that that hits it on the nose. 49 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 3: Well, let's talk about the Branch Davidians. A. Yeah, because 50 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:07,639 Speaker 3: I up until two days ago, I thought that Davidians 51 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 3: came from David Koresh. I thought they got that name 52 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 3: from him as their leader, just because I didn't know 53 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 3: a ton about it aside from, you know, kind of 54 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:18,560 Speaker 3: following it as it happened when I was in college 55 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 3: on the news. But the Branch Davidians, they got that 56 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 3: name because in nineteen fifty five, a guy named Benjamin 57 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 3: Roaden started a branch, a new sect of Seventh day Adventists, 58 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 3: a Davidian sect, which had, you know, to do with 59 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 3: the monarchy of Israel under King David. It had nothing 60 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 3: to do with David Koresh as David. 61 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 2: Right, he retrofitted his name. He was actually born Vernon 62 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 2: Wayne Howell, and he's like, yeah, you know, I could 63 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 2: probably get a lot further trying to become the leader 64 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:52,520 Speaker 2: of this sect, if I changed my name to the 65 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 2: same name as the name of the sect, yeah, so yes, 66 00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 2: they actually split. They were a branch, but then they 67 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 2: split fully from the Adventist Church because they started to 68 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 2: predict the date of you know, end times, started to 69 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 2: follow leaders as prophets, and the Seventh day Adventists are like, 70 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 2: we did that like a century ago. We don't do 71 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:20,839 Speaker 2: that anymore. You guys, go away. And so the teachings 72 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 2: though of the people before David Koresh. When he came in, 73 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,640 Speaker 2: there was a woman named Lois Rodent. They attracted dozens 74 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:30,159 Speaker 2: of people at any given time. They were probably somewhere 75 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:36,000 Speaker 2: around one hundred people who were living and working in worshiping. 76 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:38,840 Speaker 2: I guess at the what was called Mount Carmel, their 77 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:44,719 Speaker 2: compound outside of Waco. The branch Davidians were pretty well 78 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 2: suited for the Waco, Texas area. They were into guns, 79 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,479 Speaker 2: they were into religion. They interacted with the rest of 80 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:54,880 Speaker 2: the community. They were free to come and go. They 81 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:59,200 Speaker 2: didn't believe that David Koresh was God like. It wasn't 82 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 2: like a cult in the way that it's often portrayed 83 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:04,599 Speaker 2: or that we generally think of cults, but at the 84 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 2: same time, they were millennialists. They thought that end times 85 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 2: was coming, and that essentially what they were doing and 86 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,840 Speaker 2: what the ATF was doing to them was bringing about 87 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:16,679 Speaker 2: judgment day. That's what was going on with these guys, 88 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 2: and they were such believers that they were willing to 89 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 2: dig in and sacrifice their own lives to help bring 90 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:26,040 Speaker 2: judgment day sooner, I guess. 91 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, but some of them fully believed he was the Messiah. 92 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:33,039 Speaker 3: By the way, that's really huh. Yeah, did you watch 93 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 3: the documentary? 94 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 2: No, I didn't see the documentary. I saw just the 95 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 2: stuff I read, basically, was that they believed he was 96 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 2: the Lamb, which is the person who can interpret the 97 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 2: seven seals that will bring about judgment Day. But beyond that, 98 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:50,839 Speaker 2: he wasn't like God or anything like that. He was 99 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 2: a prophet of sorts, but not like a Messiah. That's 100 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 2: what I saw. 101 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:57,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, Well, he said with his own mouth, I am 102 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:01,719 Speaker 3: the Messiah, and there are Davidians that are still alive 103 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:03,360 Speaker 3: that believe he was a Messiah. 104 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 2: So well, there goes me. 105 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 3: Another thing I didn't know is that that Mount Carmel 106 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 3: had been active since nineteen thirty five, so it had 107 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:15,119 Speaker 3: been around a long long time. It's about thirteen miles 108 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 3: northeast of Waco, Texas, And so they had been around 109 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:20,680 Speaker 3: for a long long time, and in fifty five is 110 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:24,599 Speaker 3: when that official split came, and then fifty nine was when. 111 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:26,719 Speaker 3: And I think that's why they were like, hey, don't 112 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:29,960 Speaker 3: predict these second comings, because when they don't happen, you 113 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:32,719 Speaker 3: end up looking kind of dumb, exactly, And that happened 114 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:35,880 Speaker 3: in nineteen fifty five. The second coming did not happen, 115 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:38,919 Speaker 3: and so they ended up there with that last group, 116 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:41,600 Speaker 3: Like you said, about one hundred people. Koresh had been 117 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 3: around since he was in his early twenties. He got 118 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:47,679 Speaker 3: off to a kind of a rocky start there because 119 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:50,359 Speaker 3: he had had an affair with Lois Roden, who I 120 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:54,320 Speaker 3: guess was Benjamin Roden's wife, Yes, if the math checks out. 121 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:57,280 Speaker 3: She was in her sixties and he was in his twenties, 122 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:00,600 Speaker 3: and he got into a squabble with her son about 123 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 3: who was going to become leader and ended up shooting him, 124 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 3: and like he was arrested and everything, and it was 125 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 3: a hung jury, so he never he never had to 126 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 3: serve time for that shooting. 127 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 2: Right, So he took over like after that he was 128 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:18,200 Speaker 2: pretty much the undisputed leader. One of the first things 129 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:20,920 Speaker 2: he did was he married a fourteen year old member 130 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 2: of the church, and her parents consented and said, yeah, sure, 131 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:29,560 Speaker 2: be married to our fourteen year old daughter who you're 132 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:33,000 Speaker 2: ten years older than, which made it legal in Texas 133 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:36,880 Speaker 2: at the time. That was you know, sign number one. 134 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,040 Speaker 2: But if you rewind a little bit before he showed 135 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:43,560 Speaker 2: up at the branch Davidian compound, he had actually been 136 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 2: d fellow shipped is what it's called where the Adventists 137 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 2: kick you out, because he had seduced, Yeah, which I 138 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 2: think means that he sexually assaulted and actually successfully sexually 139 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:57,000 Speaker 2: assaulted a fifteen year old daughter of one of the 140 00:07:57,080 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 2: church's elders. 141 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 3: Yeah. You know, he had a pretty rough upbringing before that. 142 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 3: Like you said, he was born in Houston. He was 143 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 3: reportedly had suffered sexual abuse of his own at the 144 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 3: hands of older boys. He had dyslexia and did not 145 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:16,400 Speaker 3: do well in school. I think he failed first grade 146 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 3: a couple of times and was a dropout by the 147 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 3: time he was in middle school. And yeah, so you 148 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 3: know that was his sort of rough childhood. 149 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 2: For sure, and over the years he kind of got 150 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:32,920 Speaker 2: into guns. He really got into the Bible like that 151 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 2: was one of the things that I think people were 152 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:39,200 Speaker 2: drawn to about him at the Branch Davinians sect was 153 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:42,320 Speaker 2: like he knew what he was talking about. He was 154 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:48,080 Speaker 2: also very charismatic, and he could essentially run Bible studies 155 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:51,840 Speaker 2: that ran, you know, ten twelve hours at a length, 156 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:54,760 Speaker 2: and people weren't getting fatigued, like they were still just 157 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:57,880 Speaker 2: jazz the whole time. So he definitely knew what he 158 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:00,240 Speaker 2: was talking about. He wasn't just making stuff up the 159 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 2: top of his head, like he very much understood the 160 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 2: Book of Revelations in particular. 161 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:09,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure. One of the first things he did 162 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 3: once he was in charge was he said, God has 163 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 3: told me that I need to bear a lot of children, 164 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 3: and I need to have multiple wives in order to 165 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 3: do that. I think he was supposed to God told 166 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:24,760 Speaker 3: him to have or at least he said, God told 167 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:27,560 Speaker 3: him to have twenty four children and they would be 168 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:30,600 Speaker 3: sort of the rulers in the future kingdom. And so 169 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:34,320 Speaker 3: at first he started with the single women of the group, 170 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:36,719 Speaker 3: and then that wasn't enough and he was having a 171 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:39,079 Speaker 3: lot of kids. I think he had seventeen in the end. 172 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 3: Then he moved on to the married women and separated 173 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 3: the couples out and said, all right, you can no 174 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:47,640 Speaker 3: longer be with your husband. I'm the only one here. 175 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:50,800 Speaker 3: I'm the only male here who was allowed to have intercourse. 176 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:53,720 Speaker 3: All the other guys have to remain celibate. And they 177 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:56,079 Speaker 3: all went along with it. And you know this included 178 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:59,960 Speaker 3: taking children up girls. That was this one woman, Cathy Schrow, 179 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:04,200 Speaker 3: who was very disturbing because she still believes all this stuff. 180 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:06,800 Speaker 3: But she was interviewed who said that they were all 181 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:09,040 Speaker 3: trying to stay awake, all the girls at the end 182 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 3: of these marathon Bible studies, even though they were exhausted, 183 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:14,920 Speaker 3: so he would pick them to go back to his 184 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:18,880 Speaker 3: room and have sex with them. And she also it 185 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:21,640 Speaker 3: was really hard to watch, but she still to this 186 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:25,719 Speaker 3: day was like, they weren't children. We weren't children. They 187 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 3: sure some of them were as young as ten, but 188 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:31,439 Speaker 3: they were adults in our culture. Yeah. 189 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:35,120 Speaker 2: Man, you know how the world found out about that too? 190 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:37,480 Speaker 3: Chuck about which part. 191 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:42,319 Speaker 2: Well about him sexually abusing minors children. It was a 192 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:46,120 Speaker 2: current affairs show. Well, first the Way Tribune Harald did 193 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:50,120 Speaker 2: a series of articles on it, so that caught the 194 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 2: local attention. But a current affairs show called a Current Affair, 195 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:57,680 Speaker 2: the Australian version, back in nineteen ninety two went and 196 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:02,400 Speaker 2: interviewed David Koresh. And this is before anybody knew who 197 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 2: David Koresh was, so they had a lot of foresight 198 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:07,960 Speaker 2: and they went and investigated it because this is a 199 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 2: I mean, obviously it's a really big deal that there's 200 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:13,560 Speaker 2: a yeah, essentially what everyone thought of at the time 201 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,240 Speaker 2: and still do in a lot of ways. A cult 202 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:19,320 Speaker 2: leader who is sexually abusing the children of his sect, 203 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 2: that's definitely worth investigating. That's not what the ATF investigated 204 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:25,640 Speaker 2: him for them. 205 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:29,160 Speaker 3: No, they're the ATF. They don' dabble in that kind 206 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,520 Speaker 3: of stuff. What they do dabble in is guns and firearms, 207 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:35,160 Speaker 3: and that is what got them. You know, I mentioned 208 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:40,319 Speaker 3: early on they were illegally collecting and buying and selling 209 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:45,320 Speaker 3: and retrofitting basically making machine guns and then selling those 210 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:49,840 Speaker 3: illegally at gun shows, and so that's what caught their attention. 211 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:54,560 Speaker 3: And you know, they were collecting these guns and supposedly 212 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:57,640 Speaker 3: like more than like close to two million rounds of ammunition, 213 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:03,079 Speaker 3: training everyone in there to use, like including the kids. 214 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:07,120 Speaker 3: To use these weapons. They were preparing for the end days. 215 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:10,400 Speaker 2: Yeah exactly, and they were going to go out with 216 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:11,280 Speaker 2: guns blazing. 217 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:14,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, well, well, which is what they did allegedly. 218 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:19,640 Speaker 2: The thing that initially caught the ATF's attention. They were 219 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:21,760 Speaker 2: already aware that there was such a thing as the 220 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:24,640 Speaker 2: Branch Davidians and that they had a business selling guns 221 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:27,200 Speaker 2: at gun shows. But the thing that really caught their 222 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:31,920 Speaker 2: attention was apparently a UPS driver was delivering a box 223 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,520 Speaker 2: and I guess the box fell open and a bunch 224 00:12:34,559 --> 00:12:39,439 Speaker 2: of grenade shells fell out, and the UPS driver thought 225 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:42,560 Speaker 2: that's odd, like who gets fifty grenade shells delivered to 226 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:46,920 Speaker 2: their compound? And I guess alerted the federal authorities, and 227 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:51,440 Speaker 2: that's when they really started investigating the Branch Davidians. I say, 228 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:53,200 Speaker 2: we take a break and talk about how well that 229 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:55,280 Speaker 2: investigation was conducted. How about that? 230 00:12:56,240 --> 00:13:16,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, we'll be right back, all right. I think I 231 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:20,600 Speaker 3: snickered when we left because you Riley said, we'll talk 232 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:23,440 Speaker 3: about how that went, because it did not go well 233 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:26,079 Speaker 3: for a while. In fact, none of this went well 234 00:13:26,559 --> 00:13:29,160 Speaker 3: before the raid ultimately happened. There were a lot of 235 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:34,280 Speaker 3: just kind of stupid moves from the ATF one time, 236 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:36,880 Speaker 3: they were like, hey, we need to keep an eye 237 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:40,400 Speaker 3: on this. So there's a house sort of nearby. I 238 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:42,760 Speaker 3: think it was like seventy acres the whole compound, but 239 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:44,680 Speaker 3: there was a house about a half a mile away, 240 00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:47,160 Speaker 3: and they said, let's pose this college students. They're like 241 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:51,040 Speaker 3: renting this house, but they come in there. I feel 242 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:54,320 Speaker 3: like anytime like these people try to go undercover like that, 243 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:57,840 Speaker 3: like let's pose as kids out having a good time, 244 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:00,560 Speaker 3: and it just never goes well. And it didn't. They 245 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:04,920 Speaker 3: had suitcases, they had rental cars, like new rental cars. 246 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:08,200 Speaker 3: They eventually were like, I think they're onto us, so 247 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:10,959 Speaker 3: let's have a party. And one of the branch Davidians 248 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,520 Speaker 3: came to the party and I'm sure they were like, hey, 249 00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 3: would you like a Bruski and the branch Davidian went 250 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:19,240 Speaker 3: back on like, by the way, those are definitely not college. 251 00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:23,440 Speaker 2: Students, right right. Don't you hate mortgages too, fellows, Yes, 252 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 2: young person. I saw they also carried briefcases as well, 253 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:30,480 Speaker 2: rather than backpacked and stuff. So yeah, it wasn't the 254 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:35,760 Speaker 2: best undercover operation. They sent another undercover agent to pose 255 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:38,720 Speaker 2: as a UPS employee, and he did all sorts of 256 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:41,480 Speaker 2: stuff that ups employees don't do, Like he insisted that 257 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 2: they Branch Davidians let him use the phone in a bathroom, 258 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:48,280 Speaker 2: and then he went to another part of the compound 259 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:50,640 Speaker 2: and tried the same thing, and they met him at 260 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:54,040 Speaker 2: the door with a roll of toilet paper, and then 261 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:59,040 Speaker 2: another guy, Robert Rodriguez. He actually managed to successfully embed 262 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:02,120 Speaker 2: himself in the Branch Davidians. He showed up as a 263 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:07,560 Speaker 2: student and a follower and started attending Bible studies and 264 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:10,600 Speaker 2: it was successful in that, like he was never kicked out, 265 00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:13,360 Speaker 2: but it was unsuccessful in that they knew that he 266 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 2: was a federal agent almost from the outset, and later on, 267 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:21,800 Speaker 2: I think during these negotiation talks, the FBI was like, well, 268 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:23,560 Speaker 2: if you knew he was undercover, why didn't you kick 269 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:26,520 Speaker 2: him out? And I don't remember who said it. One 270 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:29,400 Speaker 2: of them said, we liked him, like we saw it 271 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:31,400 Speaker 2: as core. He was a good guy and we liked 272 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:33,840 Speaker 2: being around and we came to like him, so why 273 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:37,280 Speaker 2: would we kick him out? So it was really weird, 274 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:39,880 Speaker 2: like they were almost toying with the Feds because they 275 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:41,880 Speaker 2: knew the Feds were investigating them, And it was so 276 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:47,200 Speaker 2: clumsy that they didn't feel particularly threatened at this point, 277 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:49,920 Speaker 2: but the whole thing started in May nineteen ninety two, 278 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:52,840 Speaker 2: and by February nineteen ninety three, I guess the ATF 279 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:55,840 Speaker 2: was like, we have enough information that we're going to 280 00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:58,400 Speaker 2: we're going to carry out a raid. We're not just 281 00:15:58,400 --> 00:15:59,680 Speaker 2: going to show up and ask him to come out. 282 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,560 Speaker 2: We're going to carry a hard hitting raid. And why 283 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:03,200 Speaker 2: did they do that? 284 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:06,840 Speaker 3: Chuck Well, I mean, they got a warrant, so they 285 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:08,960 Speaker 3: had enough information to at least get a like a 286 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:14,120 Speaker 3: legal warrant to search everything. Their goal initially was to 287 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:18,240 Speaker 3: just get those illegal weapons. Arrest David Koresh, who, by 288 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,040 Speaker 3: the way, and I think you found this was that 289 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 3: like he had a relationship with the local sheriff, and 290 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,680 Speaker 3: at any point the local sheriff could and I think 291 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:28,520 Speaker 3: did say like hey man, once you come in and 292 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:31,480 Speaker 3: like talk to us about what's going on, and that happened, 293 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:35,440 Speaker 3: so like none of this seemed to have been completely necessary. 294 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:37,520 Speaker 3: I think they also were the und of the impression 295 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,520 Speaker 3: that like they were bunkered in and like he never 296 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:45,040 Speaker 3: left the compound, But upon further investigation, they found that 297 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:47,760 Speaker 3: he kind of regularly would leave the compound and they 298 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:50,960 Speaker 3: probably could have lured him out, but they you know, 299 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:53,000 Speaker 3: they were kind of bungling this from the beginning, so 300 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:58,800 Speaker 3: they planned a surprise kind of raid warrant serving where 301 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:01,640 Speaker 3: they would force entry, and they were like, we're going 302 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 3: to catch them off guard, they won't have time to 303 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:06,720 Speaker 3: arm themselves, and it's going to go great. 304 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:08,959 Speaker 2: They had a lot of bad intelligence too, that this 305 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:11,880 Speaker 2: raid was based on. One. I don't know where they 306 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:14,120 Speaker 2: got this, but they were under the impression that all 307 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:16,800 Speaker 2: of the weapons were kept under lock and key and 308 00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:21,400 Speaker 2: that you only access those with Koresh's direct permission. That's 309 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:23,439 Speaker 2: not true at all. The weapons were all over the 310 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:26,600 Speaker 2: compound and basically everybody walking around the compound knew how 311 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:30,080 Speaker 2: to use them and was prepared to right. That's a 312 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:34,000 Speaker 2: really big intelligence failure when you're planning a raid. Another 313 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 2: is there was a pit that they assumed that most, 314 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:39,080 Speaker 2: if not all, of the men would be working in, 315 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:43,400 Speaker 2: and apparently during the surveillance the most bend that had 316 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:45,560 Speaker 2: ever been seen there at one time was thirteen. So 317 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:48,359 Speaker 2: that was a bad assumption. And then, like you said, 318 00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:51,359 Speaker 2: they were like, he never leaves the compound, so we 319 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:55,680 Speaker 2: have to raid them there's one other thing about the raid. 320 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:58,639 Speaker 2: So the ATF was conducting the raid at the time. 321 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:03,440 Speaker 2: The ATF reported to the Treasury Department, and they planned 322 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:07,240 Speaker 2: this raid based on the element of surprise, right, The 323 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:10,680 Speaker 2: whole thing was supposed to have the element of surprise, 324 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 2: And later on there would be a lot of disagreement 325 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 2: about whether this was said or not. But supposedly the 326 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:18,359 Speaker 2: higher ups of Treasury were like, if there's no element 327 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,399 Speaker 2: of surprise anymore, if you lose it, yeah, don't do 328 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:23,720 Speaker 2: the raid. And that's not what happened. 329 00:18:25,119 --> 00:18:27,040 Speaker 3: No, And you know, part of this makes me wonder 330 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:31,639 Speaker 3: if they were feeding that informant bad information too. Oh yeah, 331 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 3: I didn't ever see anything about that, but like I've 332 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,439 Speaker 3: seen enough movies to know if they kept inviting this 333 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 3: guy back to Bible study, then they may have been saying, like, 334 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:41,000 Speaker 3: you know, all the guns here are under lock and 335 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:44,760 Speaker 3: key or whatever. But who knows. That is chuck speculations. 336 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:46,239 Speaker 3: Don't quote me on it. 337 00:18:46,119 --> 00:18:47,119 Speaker 2: It seems like it could be. 338 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:55,400 Speaker 3: But yeah, so the raid is blown because of another 339 00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:59,600 Speaker 3: just this wasn't so much a blunder by the ATF. 340 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:02,720 Speaker 3: It was just a blunder by the media. Yeah, because 341 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:05,639 Speaker 3: it was a cameraman named Jim Peeler and a reporter. 342 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:10,080 Speaker 3: He was he's all over this documentary. He stopped on 343 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:12,560 Speaker 3: the way out there because he was tipped off. They 344 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:14,600 Speaker 3: don't know who. Maybe a shriff, steput or somebody tipped 345 00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:15,960 Speaker 3: him off that this is going to be going down. 346 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:19,040 Speaker 3: So he wanted to scoop so he couldn't find the compound, 347 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:22,800 Speaker 3: and he stops a mail truck, a friendly mail carrier. 348 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:26,040 Speaker 3: It's like, hey, where's this Branch Davidian compound. I think 349 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:28,520 Speaker 3: there's a raid going on and I want to cover it. 350 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:31,320 Speaker 3: And that mail carrier was a Branch Davidian. So he 351 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:33,840 Speaker 3: high tailed it back there and was like, we're about 352 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:34,760 Speaker 3: to get raided, you guys. 353 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:37,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, And so when he tells David Koresh this, we're 354 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:42,160 Speaker 2: about to get raided. Robert Rodriguez, the undercover student who 355 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:45,080 Speaker 2: had embedded himself as a follower who they knew was 356 00:19:45,119 --> 00:19:48,080 Speaker 2: a fed, he's standing right there talking to David Koresh 357 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:50,640 Speaker 2: when the mail carrier, David Jones, runs up and tells 358 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,760 Speaker 2: him they're about to get raided. So, knowing that the 359 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:57,120 Speaker 2: element of surprise has been blown, Robert Rodriguez runs back 360 00:19:57,160 --> 00:19:59,879 Speaker 2: to the safe house to call his superiors, gets int 361 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:03,800 Speaker 2: such of them and apparently is like, the surprise is blown, 362 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:06,600 Speaker 2: we need to call off the raid, and the I 363 00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:09,280 Speaker 2: guess the speers were like, oh, bad, bad connection, I 364 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:11,480 Speaker 2: can't hear you, see you. We're gonna go rate them now, 365 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:15,200 Speaker 2: And that's essentially what happened. They carried on with the raid, 366 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:18,840 Speaker 2: knowing full well that koresh knew they were coming, and 367 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:22,919 Speaker 2: that apparently gave them a sense of urgency that hadn't 368 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:25,680 Speaker 2: even been there before. And then on top of that, 369 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,240 Speaker 2: one of the reasons why they planned the raid in 370 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:32,359 Speaker 2: the first place, this big, whizbang fourth century raid with 371 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:36,160 Speaker 2: like like a tactical team going in, was that they 372 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:39,840 Speaker 2: were up for a budget review, congressional budget review, and 373 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:44,200 Speaker 2: they wanted something splashy to get the attention of Congress 374 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:46,280 Speaker 2: and be like, see, this is what you give us 375 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:49,560 Speaker 2: money for. So they had every incentive to go in 376 00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 2: unnecessarily roughly. 377 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:56,639 Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure. So on February twenty eighth, there were 378 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:00,200 Speaker 3: seventy six armed agents that came up from Fort Hood. 379 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:04,480 Speaker 3: They were obfuscated and cattle trucks. They had canvas thrown 380 00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:08,359 Speaker 3: over the back of these trucks hiding. Of course h 381 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:10,520 Speaker 3: and them knew they were coming anyway, so it's not 382 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:13,359 Speaker 3: like that mattered. And at the very beginning of this thing, 383 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:16,440 Speaker 3: David Koresh comes to the front door, and it's on video, 384 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:19,880 Speaker 3: like all the stuff you can watch happen, and eventually 385 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:22,040 Speaker 3: you were watching it in real time as it played out. 386 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:24,680 Speaker 3: But it's it's all over this documentary. Like Koresh comes 387 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:27,360 Speaker 3: to the front door and opens it and says, hey, man, 388 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:30,879 Speaker 3: there's a bunch of women and kids in here. You 389 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:33,000 Speaker 3: don't want to you don't want to do this kind 390 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,440 Speaker 3: of quickly shuts the door and goes back in and 391 00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:39,720 Speaker 3: all hell breaks loose. And from the descriptions I saw 392 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:43,080 Speaker 3: and and just sort of watching it like rewatching it, 393 00:21:43,119 --> 00:21:46,480 Speaker 3: I guess it was. It was a war, like thousands 394 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:48,879 Speaker 3: and thousands of rounds being exchanged. 395 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:54,000 Speaker 2: Yes, And there is a lot of disagreement still today. 396 00:21:54,119 --> 00:21:55,960 Speaker 2: Who was the first one to shoot? Right? 397 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,280 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean that's the thing is. And again later 398 00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 3: with the fire, you still get two completely conflicting stories 399 00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:03,760 Speaker 3: from each side. 400 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:07,120 Speaker 2: Right, So the Branch Davidians say that the Feds fired first, 401 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:10,520 Speaker 2: and the Feds obviously say the Branch Davidians fired first. 402 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 2: The thing that supports the Branch Davidians claim is that 403 00:22:16,359 --> 00:22:18,200 Speaker 2: there was an ATF agent who was part of the 404 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:21,880 Speaker 2: raid who apparently told an investigator right after the raid 405 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:24,480 Speaker 2: that they may have shot first because one of the 406 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:27,240 Speaker 2: agents shot a dog as they were coming into the 407 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:29,679 Speaker 2: compound and that that would have set off all of 408 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:34,720 Speaker 2: the shooting in general. He apparently later retracted that when 409 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:38,920 Speaker 2: asked about it. But apparently the Branch Davidians also say 410 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:42,639 Speaker 2: that their dogs were shot too, So it's entirely possible 411 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:45,879 Speaker 2: that that's when the shooting started. It's also possible the 412 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:48,040 Speaker 2: Branch Davidians started shooting first. 413 00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:52,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, because in their on their side, at least, this 414 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:55,399 Speaker 3: is what they say. They said that the first rounds 415 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:58,199 Speaker 3: that they heard as the ATF speaking, were from an 416 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:01,720 Speaker 3: M six and a fifty cow rifle, and those are 417 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:05,400 Speaker 3: guns that they didn't have. And I'm just reminded, didn't 418 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 3: they shoot the dogs at Ruby Ridge too? 419 00:23:07,359 --> 00:23:11,160 Speaker 2: Yeah? Yeah, So, like you said, this was like a war. 420 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:17,320 Speaker 2: People died here, Like I think four four agents died 421 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:21,320 Speaker 2: during this raid. I mean, the Branch Davidians had like 422 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:27,399 Speaker 2: massive firepower, and I think six Branch Davidians were killed 423 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:30,960 Speaker 2: in the exchange as well. A bunch more were wounded. 424 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:36,280 Speaker 2: David Koresh was wounded, and all of a sudden, this 425 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:40,880 Speaker 2: raid had been so thoroughly botched that it became day 426 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:45,720 Speaker 2: one of a fifty one day siege where the atf 427 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:51,080 Speaker 2: and then eventually the FBI surrounded Mount Carmel and we're 428 00:23:51,119 --> 00:23:53,159 Speaker 2: trying to get the Branch Davidians to come out, and 429 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 2: the Branchavidians were like, no, we're not coming out, you guys, 430 00:23:56,359 --> 00:23:56,879 Speaker 2: go away. 431 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:00,960 Speaker 3: Yeah. And you know, they also had the superior ground. 432 00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:03,760 Speaker 3: I think one of the guys that was like, you know, 433 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:07,199 Speaker 3: when we pulled up on this place, we were all 434 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 3: of a sudden a little shaken. He said it was 435 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:11,280 Speaker 3: full of windows. He said it was the high ground. 436 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:14,200 Speaker 3: And he said, this is not the kind of like 437 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:18,480 Speaker 3: like we were immediately at the oh what do you 438 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:21,800 Speaker 3: call it. When you're at a disadvantage, that's the worst. 439 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:25,639 Speaker 2: Yeh yeah, yeah, like a siege of a castle up 440 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:28,280 Speaker 2: on a cliff. You're not in the best position unless 441 00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:29,040 Speaker 2: you're in the castle. 442 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:31,800 Speaker 3: Yeah. And it also had a tower that's where Koresh's 443 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:32,320 Speaker 3: bedroom was. 444 00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:37,800 Speaker 2: Oh yeah. It was also made almost entirely of like plywood. Right, 445 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:41,040 Speaker 2: there was some concrete to it, but wasn't the most part, 446 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:41,919 Speaker 2: wasn't it wood? 447 00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:44,920 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean it was huge, but it was definitely 448 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:47,080 Speaker 3: one of those things that was kind of built by 449 00:24:47,119 --> 00:24:50,879 Speaker 3: hand over many years. Yeah, for sure. I think it 450 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:53,440 Speaker 3: was a three hour gun battle, and eventually there was 451 00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:57,119 Speaker 3: a call from the inside to the outside where David 452 00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:00,320 Speaker 3: Koresh gets on the phone with an Officer Lynch and 453 00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:02,640 Speaker 3: he says, he says, he's Officer Lynch, and Koresh says, 454 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:04,720 Speaker 3: that's kind of a funny name. And then he says, 455 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:07,080 Speaker 3: this is David Koresh, the Notorious, And he said, what'd 456 00:25:07,119 --> 00:25:07,879 Speaker 3: you guys do that for? 457 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's the I think that's the thing, Chuck, Like, 458 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:13,679 Speaker 2: I'm so conflicted about this is like he was genuinely 459 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:18,240 Speaker 2: a bad person for sexually abusing kids. They were preparing 460 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 2: for the end of days, but at the same time, 461 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:23,040 Speaker 2: he was aware enough of what they must have looked 462 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:26,399 Speaker 2: like to outsiders, like a crazy cult or something like that, 463 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:28,919 Speaker 2: that he wasn't just like, he wasn't out of his mind. 464 00:25:29,119 --> 00:25:32,359 Speaker 2: It seems like at any given point in time, he 465 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:36,560 Speaker 2: was just kind of like an average dude who had 466 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:40,560 Speaker 2: kind of worked his way into this really unique situation 467 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:45,240 Speaker 2: and then abused it in many, many different ways. But 468 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:48,240 Speaker 2: he wasn't crazy. He wasn't some relig It wasn't like 469 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:51,560 Speaker 2: talking to Charles Manson, Like imagine trying to negotiate with 470 00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:53,919 Speaker 2: Charles Manson. It was nothing like that. It was like 471 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:58,320 Speaker 2: negotiating with somebody who had different views with you than 472 00:25:58,359 --> 00:26:03,480 Speaker 2: you that were so far out as far as religious. Yeah, 473 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:08,959 Speaker 2: this goes that even a religious negotiator wouldn't have common 474 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:12,919 Speaker 2: ground in that sense. Right, So they seemed crazy to 475 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:18,320 Speaker 2: the FBI, even though they weren't crazy people. It's really 476 00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:20,920 Speaker 2: hard to get that across and not sound like an 477 00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:23,040 Speaker 2: apologist or like I'm crazy myself. 478 00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:26,159 Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure. We should point out that Koresh was 479 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:31,199 Speaker 3: wounded in this initial gunfight, and the religious imagery was 480 00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:34,160 Speaker 3: not lost on his followers because he was shot through 481 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:37,840 Speaker 3: the wrist and he was shot through the side. You know, 482 00:26:38,040 --> 00:26:40,520 Speaker 3: those were the wounds Jesus suffered on the cross and 483 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:44,640 Speaker 3: he was thirty three at this point, and I think 484 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:47,680 Speaker 3: most people think that's how Jesus was when he was crucified, 485 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:51,320 Speaker 3: so they all think this is like, you know, supreme 486 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:55,359 Speaker 3: like religious symbolism. Happening, right, Do. 487 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:56,639 Speaker 2: You want to take a break and come back and 488 00:26:56,680 --> 00:26:59,560 Speaker 2: start talking about the siege and the negotiation attempts. 489 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:19,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, sure, okay, okay, Chuckley. 490 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:22,400 Speaker 2: So, like I said, the raid very quickly turned into 491 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:25,800 Speaker 2: a fifty one day siege, which makes it very ironic 492 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:29,080 Speaker 2: that one of the ATF agents was so confident that 493 00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:32,560 Speaker 2: the raid would be over and done with very quickly. 494 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:35,120 Speaker 2: He had set up a tea time for the same 495 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:39,879 Speaker 2: afternoon as the raid, and he missed the tea time obviously, because, 496 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:42,960 Speaker 2: like I said, it turned into a siege at first. 497 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:45,760 Speaker 2: So the FBI was on the scene almost immediately, because 498 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:49,119 Speaker 2: when a federal agent is killed, the FBI investigates and 499 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:51,120 Speaker 2: they're like, well, we might as well stick around, since 500 00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:53,200 Speaker 2: this is now a siege, we're going to take over 501 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:57,000 Speaker 2: from the ATF. So basically, on day one, the FBI 502 00:27:57,119 --> 00:28:00,879 Speaker 2: took over this and their negotiators started to getting to work. 503 00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:05,120 Speaker 2: Apparently they had trouble finding the phone number for the compound, 504 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,639 Speaker 2: but I think the branch Davidians called them first. Is 505 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:09,280 Speaker 2: that correct? 506 00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:15,000 Speaker 3: I mean, I know that during the shootout they called out, 507 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:16,400 Speaker 3: but I'm not sure about afterwards. 508 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:19,639 Speaker 2: Okay, Well, at any rate, they were in communication on 509 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:21,879 Speaker 2: the phone very very quickly, I think maybe even the 510 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:23,040 Speaker 2: same day. 511 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:26,560 Speaker 3: Yeah, and things were going pretty well, like negotiations were 512 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:30,800 Speaker 3: going well at first, I mean, I think for front 513 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:34,160 Speaker 3: and everyone's mind was let's get these kids out of here, 514 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:36,120 Speaker 3: because they knew there were a lot of children inside, 515 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:39,120 Speaker 3: and so they were trying to get you know, Korresh 516 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:41,720 Speaker 3: to agree to get the kids out. He said, yep, 517 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,480 Speaker 3: we can do the do this two by two is 518 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:47,120 Speaker 3: what he said. And he said in return, I want 519 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:53,280 Speaker 3: to broadcast this hour long sermon on the Christian Broadcasting 520 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:57,560 Speaker 3: Network and that'll be the swap for the kids. And 521 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:01,080 Speaker 3: so they're working on this. They're trying to get everybody 522 00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:04,400 Speaker 3: out basically and surrendering. And on March second, it was 523 00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:08,239 Speaker 3: almost there, like everybody was about to come out and 524 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:11,080 Speaker 3: they were relenting, and then Koresh said, no, I got 525 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:14,240 Speaker 3: a message from God and he told me to wait. 526 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:17,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, and I'm sure the FBI negotiator pinched the bridge 527 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:20,320 Speaker 2: of his nose harder than he ever has in his life. Yeah, 528 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:24,400 Speaker 2: for sure, So that that kind of did that. I 529 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:27,960 Speaker 2: think more children were released after that, twenty one total 530 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:32,800 Speaker 2: between the first day and the fifth of March that 531 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:37,040 Speaker 2: left about twenty still remaining in there, and they started 532 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:42,280 Speaker 2: negotiating for milk. I guess Kathy Schroeder, who you mentioned earlier, 533 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:45,680 Speaker 2: she was on the phone with the FBI negotiator saying, Hey, 534 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:47,080 Speaker 2: we need a bunch of milk for the kids, and 535 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:48,800 Speaker 2: they're like, all right, you send out some kids and 536 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:50,880 Speaker 2: we'll give you some milk. And she's like, what are 537 00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 2: you talking about. Our little kids need some milk. Just 538 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:56,800 Speaker 2: give us some milk. This isn't a bargaining chip. They 539 00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:59,080 Speaker 2: ended up bringing them I think six gallons of milk 540 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:03,600 Speaker 2: three times. And I guess the branch Davidians gave them 541 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:08,480 Speaker 2: proof of health and wellness by sending videotapes of the kids. 542 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:11,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, And I think the other thing those videotapes did 543 00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:15,800 Speaker 3: was it sort of sent a chill through the FBI 544 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,480 Speaker 3: because it was really clear when you watch these videotapes 545 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 3: that no one was being held hostage, nobody was being 546 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:25,680 Speaker 3: held against their will. They all were believed that what 547 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:29,520 Speaker 3: they were doing was right and was God's plan in 548 00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:34,000 Speaker 3: the end, Like Janet Reno never saw those tapes, so 549 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:36,960 Speaker 3: there's a lot of speculation on what information she was 550 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:38,760 Speaker 3: being fed because she'd ha been on the job for 551 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:39,720 Speaker 3: like a week or two. 552 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:41,280 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, that's right, I forgot about that. 553 00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:44,520 Speaker 3: And so they are basically saying, like, no, they kept 554 00:30:44,560 --> 00:30:48,040 Speaker 3: those tapes from her because it showed a different picture 555 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:51,200 Speaker 3: of what was going on inside. And he was painted 556 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:54,120 Speaker 3: to her as like, you know, a sex offender illegally 557 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:57,200 Speaker 3: selling guns. They killed four of ours, and it's a 558 00:30:57,280 --> 00:30:59,320 Speaker 3: cult that's holding like he's kind of holding all these 559 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:02,320 Speaker 3: people hostage, yeah, which apparently was never the case. 560 00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:04,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, And that was the general consensus among law enforcement. 561 00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:06,560 Speaker 2: This is a crazy cult, just like all the other 562 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:09,080 Speaker 2: crazy cults, and that just did not fit into that 563 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:13,280 Speaker 2: whole paradigm, right, And so that kind of undermines a 564 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:16,040 Speaker 2: lot of what you're trying to do. And there was 565 00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:21,600 Speaker 2: a lot of undermining going on within the FBI itself 566 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,440 Speaker 2: because essentially it was almost like two different branches of 567 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:30,120 Speaker 2: the multiverse that were this event layered over one another 568 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:33,480 Speaker 2: at once in one reality, because you had the FBI 569 00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:37,840 Speaker 2: negotiators who were trying to negotiate and get this resolve peacefully, 570 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:41,360 Speaker 2: and simultaneously you had the FBI's hostage Rescue Team, which 571 00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:44,880 Speaker 2: is like the FBI's version of the swat team. Yeah, like, 572 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:47,520 Speaker 2: let's just go in there and get this guy and 573 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:50,480 Speaker 2: we'll just end it like that. And they kept there, 574 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:53,640 Speaker 2: was like just this tension, like the negotiators would would 575 00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:56,480 Speaker 2: make some progress and then the hostage rescue team would 576 00:31:56,520 --> 00:31:59,200 Speaker 2: do something to take off the branch of idiots and 577 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:02,480 Speaker 2: so that would put a kaibash on those recent negotiations. 578 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:03,760 Speaker 2: And it just kept going like that. 579 00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:07,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, it was. They weren't communicating well either. It was 580 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:11,120 Speaker 3: just a real mess. At one point, they a very 581 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:16,320 Speaker 3: sort of legendary criminal defense attorney in Texas was called 582 00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:19,239 Speaker 3: by Koresh's mom and said, I need you to go 583 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:21,640 Speaker 3: get my son out of there and like do this 584 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:25,200 Speaker 3: in court. And so he went out there. He managed 585 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:28,400 Speaker 3: to talk to the FBI and to letting him walk 586 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:31,479 Speaker 3: up and knock on the front door, and he went inside. 587 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:34,200 Speaker 3: He's the only one who ever got inside and met 588 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:35,800 Speaker 3: with Koresh and was like, hey, listen, man, I'm a 589 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:38,880 Speaker 3: criminal defense attorney. My job is to look after you 590 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:41,320 Speaker 3: and see that you and everyone here gets out alive 591 00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:44,200 Speaker 3: and that we handle this in court. He said, because 592 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:47,800 Speaker 3: between you and me, they haven't done this right. And like, 593 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:50,080 Speaker 3: you know, you've got a lot going in your favor, 594 00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:54,000 Speaker 3: and Koresh was like, all right, I trust you, but 595 00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:56,120 Speaker 3: what I need to do is stay in here until 596 00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:59,240 Speaker 3: I write. God told me to write my own version 597 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:02,920 Speaker 3: of like an up book of Revelation basically, and when 598 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:05,680 Speaker 3: I delivered that manuscript, I'll willingly come out. 599 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:09,160 Speaker 2: Yeah. And that was thanks to two Bible scholars, Philip 600 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:12,800 Speaker 2: Arnold and James Taber, who had been following this like 601 00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:15,400 Speaker 2: the everybody else, at least in the United States, on 602 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:19,760 Speaker 2: CNN and every news network. It was just constant, wall 603 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:21,680 Speaker 2: the wall coverage. You could just get up in the 604 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:23,600 Speaker 2: middle of the night and watch what was going on 605 00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:27,520 Speaker 2: at the siege in Waco for weeks. Right, these guys 606 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:29,440 Speaker 2: had seen it, and they it became clear to them 607 00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:33,720 Speaker 2: that like the FBI had no idea, no touch point 608 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:37,440 Speaker 2: with what the Branch Davidians believed, and that they were 609 00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:40,480 Speaker 2: just talking over each other. They just couldn't grasp who 610 00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:43,000 Speaker 2: they were dealing with. And these guys are like, we can, 611 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:45,760 Speaker 2: We're Bible scholars, we understand what's going on. So I 612 00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:48,200 Speaker 2: guess they went on TV and we're talking about what 613 00:33:48,240 --> 00:33:51,960 Speaker 2: the Branch Davidians believed. Koresh saw it and he That's 614 00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:53,560 Speaker 2: when he was like, I need to write down my 615 00:33:53,600 --> 00:33:56,520 Speaker 2: interpretation of revelations and give it to these two who 616 00:33:56,560 --> 00:33:59,400 Speaker 2: can actually do something with it that are trustworthy for 617 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:02,680 Speaker 2: safe keep. Yeah, so that lawyer, like you said, negotiated 618 00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:06,160 Speaker 2: that and Koresh was like, sure, I will come out. 619 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:09,000 Speaker 2: And there I read a transcript of him talking to 620 00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:11,040 Speaker 2: negotiators and they're like, what does that mean though, what 621 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:12,279 Speaker 2: does it mean you're going to come out? Like you 622 00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:14,640 Speaker 2: can come out guns blazing, you can come out two weeks, 623 00:34:14,640 --> 00:34:16,960 Speaker 2: ten days, one day, Like when are you going to 624 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:18,640 Speaker 2: come out? And he's like, I'm going to come out 625 00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:19,480 Speaker 2: right after I'm done. 626 00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:20,920 Speaker 1: What is that like? Two weeks? 627 00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:22,480 Speaker 2: What does it mean you're going to come out? It's 628 00:34:22,480 --> 00:34:24,480 Speaker 2: like I'm going to come out and go into a 629 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:27,960 Speaker 2: jail house. So it was very clear that he was 630 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:30,960 Speaker 2: willing to come out after this. The FBI was like, 631 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:33,760 Speaker 2: we don't believe you, Like we've already you've already missed 632 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:36,880 Speaker 2: deadlines left and right. This is just a stalling tactic. 633 00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:40,920 Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure. So they're hearing one thing from the 634 00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:44,080 Speaker 3: FBI negotiators like trying to get them out peacefully. In 635 00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:46,360 Speaker 3: the meantime on the news and with their own eyeballs 636 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:51,000 Speaker 3: out the windows. They see them pulling up with Bradley 637 00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:54,560 Speaker 3: fighting vehicles, like clearing obstacles and setting up a perimeter. 638 00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:57,439 Speaker 3: So they see some of the kids get let out 639 00:34:57,560 --> 00:35:01,440 Speaker 3: and immediately like our kind of jumped on and having 640 00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:04,480 Speaker 3: all their stuff searched right in front of them. They 641 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:07,680 Speaker 3: see Kathy Schroeder leave and get arrested, and like see 642 00:35:07,719 --> 00:35:10,719 Speaker 3: her in an orange jumpsuit on the news, and so 643 00:35:10,719 --> 00:35:15,600 Speaker 3: they're getting all these mixed messages. Eventually they see two 644 00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:21,279 Speaker 3: Abrams tanks pull up. That's the mother of all as 645 00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:23,720 Speaker 3: I think it's the largest war vehicle in the US 646 00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:27,879 Speaker 3: fleet is an Abrams tank, and they at one point 647 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:29,600 Speaker 3: one of the guys is Bragg and he's like, you know, 648 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:32,560 Speaker 3: I could take one of these tanks and drive through 649 00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:36,200 Speaker 3: this house from one end to the other. And the 650 00:35:36,239 --> 00:35:39,759 Speaker 3: FBI negotiators said, why would you do that? Yeah, like 651 00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:41,759 Speaker 3: what are you even talking about? So it just kind 652 00:35:41,760 --> 00:35:45,400 Speaker 3: of puts a pin on like how in conflict they were. 653 00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:48,440 Speaker 2: Right and the FBI in general was just treating this 654 00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:52,280 Speaker 2: like a normal hostage situation. But again, the Branch Davidians 655 00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:56,399 Speaker 2: weren't hostages. They were there on purpose and I guess 656 00:35:56,440 --> 00:36:00,839 Speaker 2: when you have a normal hostage situation, you have demands, 657 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:04,400 Speaker 2: and then you also are slowly or maybe even not 658 00:36:04,480 --> 00:36:08,759 Speaker 2: that slowly increasing like your tactical presence, like showing up 659 00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:11,600 Speaker 2: with tanks. I think there were fourteen other combat vehicles 660 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:14,960 Speaker 2: on site, basically showing like there's no way out of 661 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:17,160 Speaker 2: this except you coming out if you want to do 662 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:21,600 Speaker 2: this peacefully. And they also did a lot of tactics 663 00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:25,120 Speaker 2: that had been used before in normal hostage situations, which 664 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:28,440 Speaker 2: was basically, you keep everybody inside from being able to sleep, 665 00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:31,360 Speaker 2: from being able to think, from being able to hear themselves, 666 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:34,479 Speaker 2: and you do that with really bright lights all night 667 00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:37,680 Speaker 2: and loud speakers playing all sorts of annoying stuff. 668 00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:41,399 Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure, like they were. I think on March 669 00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:45,920 Speaker 3: twenty first, they were close to having this resolved again. 670 00:36:46,719 --> 00:36:49,200 Speaker 3: I think Koresh was in the final stages of his 671 00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:53,439 Speaker 3: book of revelation, and they were negotiating, like fairly successfully 672 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:55,600 Speaker 3: to get more people out. I think they got five 673 00:36:55,640 --> 00:36:58,440 Speaker 3: people out of March twenty first. The guy in the 674 00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:01,880 Speaker 3: documentary said a two dozen more were set to be released, 675 00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:09,080 Speaker 3: and that's when the hostage the HRT team started unilaterally 676 00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:12,480 Speaker 3: just making decisions like playing that music they played, these 677 00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:14,759 Speaker 3: boots are made for walkin twenty four hours a day. 678 00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:21,200 Speaker 3: They just as a complete like show of power, they 679 00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:26,480 Speaker 3: ran a tank over David Koresh's antique Ford Ranchero vehicle 680 00:37:27,320 --> 00:37:29,880 Speaker 3: in full view of everybody. So they're doing this stuff 681 00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:34,640 Speaker 3: to like they're purposely agitating them these people that are 682 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:37,120 Speaker 3: already And one of the Davidians is like, we were 683 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:41,080 Speaker 3: already Like like you think this is going to solve anything? 684 00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:43,919 Speaker 3: To agitate us further with this music and by keeping 685 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:46,680 Speaker 3: us a week awake, He's like, this could only lead 686 00:37:46,680 --> 00:37:47,200 Speaker 3: to tragedy. 687 00:37:47,280 --> 00:37:51,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, And so since the FBI started buying the idea 688 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:54,480 Speaker 2: that his agreement, Koresh's agreement to come out after he 689 00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:59,680 Speaker 2: finished this book of revelations interpretation was just stalling. They 690 00:37:59,719 --> 00:38:01,520 Speaker 2: went to Jane Reno and they're like, look, we have 691 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:05,360 Speaker 2: this plan to go in with gas. It's not lethal gas. 692 00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:07,719 Speaker 2: They're not going to like it, but it'll make them 693 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:12,000 Speaker 2: come out and just sign off on this. But that 694 00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:16,040 Speaker 2: was essentially like the premise of them going in, and 695 00:38:16,320 --> 00:38:18,560 Speaker 2: they basically did. But you said that one guy was 696 00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:22,160 Speaker 2: talking about they drove a tank through the wall at 697 00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:25,520 Speaker 2: least one wall of the compound for sure. 698 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:29,560 Speaker 3: But yeah, they called in and said, hey, we're not shooting, 699 00:38:29,719 --> 00:38:32,400 Speaker 3: we're not coming in, but we're placing tear gas in 700 00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:34,239 Speaker 3: the house. Like that's what we're doing. I know, you 701 00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:36,480 Speaker 3: see it's coming to the house. All we're doing is 702 00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:39,640 Speaker 3: placing tear gas in there. It's not going to kill you. 703 00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:42,759 Speaker 3: It'll just irritate your eyes and skin. Because we're trying 704 00:38:42,760 --> 00:38:44,400 Speaker 3: to get you guys out so we can get this 705 00:38:44,480 --> 00:38:47,719 Speaker 3: resolved without any more bloodshed. So they fully announced they 706 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:50,560 Speaker 3: were doing this. They filled the house up with tear gas. 707 00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:53,239 Speaker 3: There were a lot of high winds, so they think 708 00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:55,040 Speaker 3: it was like kind of blowing the tear gas away. 709 00:38:55,120 --> 00:38:57,400 Speaker 3: So that's when they rammed the tank through because they 710 00:38:57,400 --> 00:38:59,600 Speaker 3: thought they were kind of huddled in this bunker where 711 00:38:59,640 --> 00:39:01,279 Speaker 3: the tear guests couldn't get to them, and they also 712 00:39:01,320 --> 00:39:04,680 Speaker 3: had gas masks. So they're ramming this thing with the 713 00:39:04,719 --> 00:39:08,279 Speaker 3: tank at this point, and all of a sudden, you know, 714 00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:10,080 Speaker 3: hell kind of breaks loose again. 715 00:39:10,680 --> 00:39:15,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, the place starts to catch on fire. Very importantly, 716 00:39:15,680 --> 00:39:20,240 Speaker 2: this was about four hours after the tear gas was used, right, 717 00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:25,040 Speaker 2: So just remember that once the place caught fire, that 718 00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:28,000 Speaker 2: was that was essentially it. We kind of talked about 719 00:39:28,040 --> 00:39:30,560 Speaker 2: how it was made mostly of wood and it was 720 00:39:30,640 --> 00:39:34,359 Speaker 2: kind of made slipshod, it was, and it went up 721 00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:37,040 Speaker 2: really fast, not just because it was made of wood, 722 00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:40,280 Speaker 2: but also they had like blocked entrances with hay bales 723 00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:43,080 Speaker 2: and mattresses and stuff like that. So yeah, there were 724 00:39:43,080 --> 00:39:46,520 Speaker 2: Coleman lanterns everywhere. There was a lot of fuel and 725 00:39:46,640 --> 00:39:50,680 Speaker 2: accelerant for the fire, so it went up pretty quick. 726 00:39:52,160 --> 00:39:54,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, And I think what I took from listening to 727 00:39:54,520 --> 00:39:57,680 Speaker 3: the people, like all the agents and everyone was they 728 00:39:57,760 --> 00:40:00,759 Speaker 3: all to a person said we thought, all right, they 729 00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:03,080 Speaker 3: got to come out now, Like they just kept waiting, 730 00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:05,720 Speaker 3: like any second now, people are going to come pouring 731 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:07,279 Speaker 3: out of there and we're not going to lose any 732 00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:10,640 Speaker 3: more life. And that didn't happen. I mean, I think 733 00:40:11,040 --> 00:40:16,320 Speaker 3: a handful of people came out, but everyone basically stayed 734 00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:19,760 Speaker 3: in there, and it's sort of anyone's guess what happened 735 00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:23,239 Speaker 3: in there. I know Koresh was found dead from a 736 00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:27,239 Speaker 3: single bullet to the head and forehead, and there's a 737 00:40:27,280 --> 00:40:31,160 Speaker 3: lot of speculation that his number two, Steve Schneider, kind 738 00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:32,759 Speaker 3: of realized he was a fraud and shot him in 739 00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:36,080 Speaker 3: the head and then killed himself, but no one knows 740 00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:38,640 Speaker 3: what bullet ended up in David Koresh's forehead. 741 00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:43,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you said some people, just a few 742 00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:45,640 Speaker 2: people rushed out of the building. There were nine people 743 00:40:45,719 --> 00:40:49,120 Speaker 2: who left while this building was on fire, right, Like 744 00:40:49,239 --> 00:40:52,319 Speaker 2: imagine like your dedication to your beliefs that you're like, no, 745 00:40:52,560 --> 00:40:55,000 Speaker 2: not going to leave this burning building. There were seventy 746 00:40:55,000 --> 00:41:00,239 Speaker 2: five other people inside. At least twenty were kids, and 747 00:41:00,320 --> 00:41:02,560 Speaker 2: I think thirteen of the adults were found to have 748 00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:06,799 Speaker 2: fatal gun shot wounds. Two most were to the head, 749 00:41:07,040 --> 00:41:09,759 Speaker 2: two were in the back, which is very awful to 750 00:41:09,840 --> 00:41:14,640 Speaker 2: think what was going on with that. And then three 751 00:41:14,800 --> 00:41:18,200 Speaker 2: kids were shot to death, and I think six women 752 00:41:18,239 --> 00:41:21,520 Speaker 2: and children were deemed to have died of blunt force trauma, 753 00:41:21,680 --> 00:41:24,400 Speaker 2: and the narrative that was created around that was that 754 00:41:24,440 --> 00:41:28,719 Speaker 2: they were beating each other to death. Apparently, later on 755 00:41:29,480 --> 00:41:31,600 Speaker 2: they it was determined that they died of blunt force 756 00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:34,880 Speaker 2: trauma when the FBI came through with their tank and 757 00:41:34,920 --> 00:41:37,280 Speaker 2: a bunch of concrete fell on these women and children 758 00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:39,640 Speaker 2: and killed them. That was where the trauma came from. 759 00:41:40,080 --> 00:41:42,279 Speaker 2: But that's not to say that they didn't do other 760 00:41:42,360 --> 00:41:45,560 Speaker 2: unspeakable things, Like we said three kids were shot. One 761 00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:48,160 Speaker 2: boy died of a stab wound to the chest. Like 762 00:41:48,840 --> 00:41:51,239 Speaker 2: there's just no other way to interpret that, you know, 763 00:41:51,440 --> 00:41:55,239 Speaker 2: like you don't accidentally stab a three year old to 764 00:41:55,320 --> 00:41:58,279 Speaker 2: the chest at when the FBI's coming through your door, 765 00:41:58,360 --> 00:41:58,520 Speaker 2: you know. 766 00:42:00,080 --> 00:42:00,279 Speaker 1: Yeah. 767 00:42:00,280 --> 00:42:02,520 Speaker 3: And I think that's where all the speculation comes from, 768 00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:05,160 Speaker 3: is like what was going on inside there. I know 769 00:42:05,280 --> 00:42:07,320 Speaker 3: one of the guys was like shot in the stomach 770 00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:09,759 Speaker 3: and asked to be put out of his misery by 771 00:42:09,760 --> 00:42:13,560 Speaker 3: his own people, which they did. So yeah, it's just 772 00:42:14,520 --> 00:42:16,520 Speaker 3: I mean, I can't imagine what was going on inside 773 00:42:16,560 --> 00:42:18,160 Speaker 3: that place. It's horrific to think of it. 774 00:42:18,160 --> 00:42:20,400 Speaker 2: And I mean all this happened in minutes, you know. 775 00:42:21,280 --> 00:42:23,759 Speaker 3: Yeah, once that fire started, it was pretty quick. 776 00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:26,359 Speaker 2: The thing is is, you know, there are plenty of 777 00:42:27,560 --> 00:42:31,440 Speaker 2: accusations by the Branch Davidians and their supporters and critics 778 00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:35,720 Speaker 2: of the federal government that the FBI actually started this fire. 779 00:42:36,480 --> 00:42:38,960 Speaker 2: The FBI said right off the bat, we didn't use 780 00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:42,719 Speaker 2: any incendiary tear gas canisters, and then three years later 781 00:42:42,719 --> 00:42:45,799 Speaker 2: they're like, well, we used some incendiary tear gas canisters. 782 00:42:46,360 --> 00:42:50,240 Speaker 2: Despite that, it does not seem that the Feds started 783 00:42:50,239 --> 00:42:53,479 Speaker 2: this fire. Remember, they used tear gas, and the fire 784 00:42:53,520 --> 00:42:56,319 Speaker 2: didn't start for four more hours. It started in three 785 00:42:56,360 --> 00:43:00,200 Speaker 2: different places, none of which coincided with where tear gas 786 00:43:00,280 --> 00:43:03,520 Speaker 2: was used, so the tears almost certainly didn't do it. 787 00:43:04,600 --> 00:43:07,680 Speaker 2: They also had I guess they had like monitored like 788 00:43:07,760 --> 00:43:09,600 Speaker 2: listening devices inside, is that right. 789 00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:10,400 Speaker 3: I don't know. 790 00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:13,319 Speaker 2: I saw somewhere that they had monitoring, like they were 791 00:43:13,320 --> 00:43:16,359 Speaker 2: monitoring them over audio, and that they had heard them 792 00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:20,160 Speaker 2: talking about like previously talking about lighting the place on fire. 793 00:43:20,320 --> 00:43:24,240 Speaker 2: So it's almost one hundred percent certain that the branch 794 00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:26,200 Speaker 2: Davidians set the place on fire. 795 00:43:27,440 --> 00:43:30,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, and you know, the surviving Davidians say that absolutely 796 00:43:30,560 --> 00:43:32,480 Speaker 3: did not happen, and it was all framed to look 797 00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:35,799 Speaker 3: that way. So it's and then the guy comes on 798 00:43:35,880 --> 00:43:39,160 Speaker 3: right after and says, well, he's a liar, so it's 799 00:43:39,160 --> 00:43:41,240 Speaker 3: it's definitely one of those things where they're both still 800 00:43:41,280 --> 00:43:41,719 Speaker 3: digging in. 801 00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:45,880 Speaker 2: The thing that got me chuck, this really upset me 802 00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:49,520 Speaker 2: was after all this was done, after the fires were 803 00:43:49,560 --> 00:43:53,319 Speaker 2: put out and everything was like starting to get calm, 804 00:43:54,239 --> 00:43:58,240 Speaker 2: somebody raised the ATF flag on the compound's flag pole. 805 00:43:59,360 --> 00:44:03,360 Speaker 2: They had just been conquered and I found that really awful. 806 00:44:04,440 --> 00:44:07,319 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's pretty awful. And like you mentioned earlier, no 807 00:44:07,400 --> 00:44:12,480 Speaker 3: one from the government side was brought upon charges or anything. 808 00:44:12,520 --> 00:44:16,120 Speaker 3: The FBI and the Clinton administration was clear to brongdoing 809 00:44:16,160 --> 00:44:21,560 Speaker 3: in two thousand. There was a report in nineteen ninety 810 00:44:21,560 --> 00:44:23,400 Speaker 3: three that was, you know, they didn't say they did 811 00:44:23,440 --> 00:44:25,399 Speaker 3: it right, that it was a pretty damning report about 812 00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:29,920 Speaker 3: the ATF raid and that became like, you know, a 813 00:44:29,960 --> 00:44:33,160 Speaker 3: teaching moment for any new ATF students coming in there, like, hey, 814 00:44:33,160 --> 00:44:35,920 Speaker 3: look how bad things can go when you really screw 815 00:44:35,960 --> 00:44:40,839 Speaker 3: things up. And the one big result from this was 816 00:44:41,480 --> 00:44:47,000 Speaker 3: it really inspired and galvanized the militia movement and right 817 00:44:47,040 --> 00:44:51,880 Speaker 3: wing anti government radicals. Like there's there's video footage of 818 00:44:51,920 --> 00:44:54,920 Speaker 3: Timothy McVeigh there he went to Waco during the fifty 819 00:44:54,920 --> 00:44:57,720 Speaker 3: one day siege and was like selling anti government bumper 820 00:44:57,719 --> 00:45:00,480 Speaker 3: stickers and talking about how awful this was. And then, 821 00:45:00,680 --> 00:45:03,800 Speaker 3: of course, you know, on the same day, on April nineteenth, 822 00:45:04,080 --> 00:45:06,600 Speaker 3: two years later, carried out the Oklahoma City bombing. 823 00:45:06,640 --> 00:45:08,920 Speaker 2: YEH killed one hundred and sixty eight people and nineteen 824 00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:14,600 Speaker 2: children in as payback for Waco. And yeah, I remember 825 00:45:14,760 --> 00:45:17,600 Speaker 2: very clearly in the throughout the nineties, like that whole 826 00:45:17,920 --> 00:45:23,760 Speaker 2: New World Order, black helicopter, FEMA, concentration camps, conspiracy theories, 827 00:45:25,200 --> 00:45:28,560 Speaker 2: and that was I mean Waco. To people who believed 828 00:45:28,560 --> 00:45:32,480 Speaker 2: in that, this was like proof positive that yes, the goverment, 829 00:45:32,440 --> 00:45:35,520 Speaker 2: if you had guns and you were religious, the government 830 00:45:35,520 --> 00:45:39,080 Speaker 2: would send a tank through your house and set it 831 00:45:39,120 --> 00:45:42,960 Speaker 2: on fire and kill you. So this really helped that 832 00:45:43,040 --> 00:45:47,040 Speaker 2: and Ruby Ridge both really fed into this end of 833 00:45:47,080 --> 00:45:50,280 Speaker 2: the millennium paranoia that I think the X Files roaded 834 00:45:50,320 --> 00:45:50,840 Speaker 2: so high on. 835 00:45:51,800 --> 00:45:53,480 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I mean this was less than a year 836 00:45:53,600 --> 00:45:57,560 Speaker 3: after Ruby Ridge, So I'm not that guy at all, 837 00:45:57,600 --> 00:45:59,600 Speaker 3: but I remember being in college and all this stuff 838 00:45:59,640 --> 00:46:02,800 Speaker 3: was going on, and it was just a real uneasy 839 00:46:03,080 --> 00:46:03,919 Speaker 3: feeling in time. 840 00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:04,960 Speaker 1: For sure, it really was. 841 00:46:05,120 --> 00:46:10,439 Speaker 2: For sure, the Branch Davidians are still around too, Chuck. 842 00:46:10,520 --> 00:46:12,600 Speaker 2: Did you know that although they have changed their name 843 00:46:12,640 --> 00:46:15,680 Speaker 2: to Branch the Lord Our Righteousness, but they're still at 844 00:46:15,760 --> 00:46:16,400 Speaker 2: Mount Carmel. 845 00:46:17,480 --> 00:46:20,840 Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure. Nine of them were convicted. Nine of 846 00:46:20,400 --> 00:46:24,640 Speaker 3: the nine survivors, that is, five on voluntary manslaughter and 847 00:46:24,680 --> 00:46:28,400 Speaker 3: weapons charges. I think a few got weapons charges and 848 00:46:28,440 --> 00:46:30,719 Speaker 3: one other I don't know what the charge, but it 849 00:46:30,880 --> 00:46:34,040 Speaker 3: just says a lesser charge, but they're all out. They've 850 00:46:34,120 --> 00:46:36,200 Speaker 3: all been out since at least two thousand and seven, 851 00:46:37,200 --> 00:46:42,880 Speaker 3: and you know, at least the two surviving members that 852 00:46:43,320 --> 00:46:46,440 Speaker 3: stayed till the end, or I guess the one was arrested. 853 00:46:46,440 --> 00:46:51,960 Speaker 3: They're still believers and still think David Koresh was the 854 00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:54,560 Speaker 3: Messiah and that they were doing God's will and they 855 00:46:54,560 --> 00:46:58,080 Speaker 3: don't have any regrets. The one woman who got out 856 00:46:58,120 --> 00:46:59,879 Speaker 3: as she was one of the children that was really 857 00:47:00,880 --> 00:47:04,040 Speaker 3: just really really all of her interviews were just devastating 858 00:47:04,640 --> 00:47:06,839 Speaker 3: because she's just a lost person now, you know. 859 00:47:07,440 --> 00:47:09,279 Speaker 2: Yeah, she lost both of her parents. 860 00:47:09,080 --> 00:47:13,200 Speaker 3: Right well, her mom split once they said separate and 861 00:47:13,239 --> 00:47:15,279 Speaker 3: I'll start impregnating you. Her mom left him in the 862 00:47:15,320 --> 00:47:17,839 Speaker 3: middle of the night, but they removed her from her 863 00:47:17,840 --> 00:47:20,440 Speaker 3: father basically and said you can't even be with him 864 00:47:20,480 --> 00:47:21,600 Speaker 3: in the compound anymore. 865 00:47:22,440 --> 00:47:25,799 Speaker 2: Man's that whole story is just rough from beginning to end. 866 00:47:25,880 --> 00:47:29,359 Speaker 3: Huh, Yeah, for sure, I mean there're nobody won you know. 867 00:47:29,320 --> 00:47:33,440 Speaker 2: No, definitely not. There's a lot more that you can 868 00:47:33,480 --> 00:47:36,719 Speaker 2: read about this stuff if you're interested. Be very very 869 00:47:36,760 --> 00:47:40,000 Speaker 2: careful who you believe in, in where your sources are, 870 00:47:40,120 --> 00:47:42,960 Speaker 2: because there's a lot of conspiracy theories out there, and 871 00:47:43,000 --> 00:47:46,000 Speaker 2: then of course there's a lot of cover up associated 872 00:47:46,040 --> 00:47:48,279 Speaker 2: with it too, but there's a lot more to read. 873 00:47:48,320 --> 00:47:50,800 Speaker 2: This is basically just the tip of the iceberg. 874 00:47:51,520 --> 00:47:54,000 Speaker 3: I'll tell him about Madonna. You gotta tell him about Madonna. 875 00:47:54,600 --> 00:47:58,960 Speaker 2: So apparently David koresh he had a picture of Madonna 876 00:47:59,040 --> 00:48:02,520 Speaker 2: taped to his motor cycle and he had told one 877 00:48:02,520 --> 00:48:06,239 Speaker 2: of the Brench Davidian members that God had told him 878 00:48:06,520 --> 00:48:11,120 Speaker 2: I will give Madonna onto the So basically he was 879 00:48:11,160 --> 00:48:14,120 Speaker 2: just waiting for God to have Madonna come hang out 880 00:48:14,120 --> 00:48:16,480 Speaker 2: at the compound and he get to impregnate her too. 881 00:48:18,000 --> 00:48:21,839 Speaker 3: Yeah, so we started out talking about George Michael and 882 00:48:21,840 --> 00:48:23,240 Speaker 3: we ended up talking about Madonna. 883 00:48:23,360 --> 00:48:27,200 Speaker 2: Right. The funny thing is is under different circumstances, like 884 00:48:27,440 --> 00:48:29,960 Speaker 2: you know, he might have had a shot with early 885 00:48:30,040 --> 00:48:35,400 Speaker 2: nineties Madonna, he might be right. You got anything else? 886 00:48:36,360 --> 00:48:37,240 Speaker 3: I got anything else? 887 00:48:37,400 --> 00:48:39,920 Speaker 2: Okay, Well, then that's it for Brinch Davidians as far 888 00:48:39,960 --> 00:48:43,080 Speaker 2: as we go. And that means it's time for listener mail. 889 00:48:45,520 --> 00:48:47,480 Speaker 3: You know, I don't have a listener mail prepared, So 890 00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:51,000 Speaker 3: we just want to remind everyone once again that if 891 00:48:51,040 --> 00:48:54,120 Speaker 3: you are interested in getting a board to the the 892 00:48:54,200 --> 00:48:57,160 Speaker 3: Valiant Lady of Virgin Voyages and spending a little time 893 00:48:57,160 --> 00:48:59,719 Speaker 3: with us out at sea. You can do that this fall. 894 00:48:59,800 --> 00:49:03,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, October second to seventh. We're going from New York 895 00:49:03,120 --> 00:49:06,240 Speaker 2: City to Bermuda and then back to New York City 896 00:49:06,400 --> 00:49:08,360 Speaker 2: and we're going to be doing a live show. Stuff. 897 00:49:08,400 --> 00:49:09,640 Speaker 2: They don't want you to know it's going to be 898 00:49:09,680 --> 00:49:11,040 Speaker 2: doing a live show. It's going to be a lot 899 00:49:11,040 --> 00:49:14,960 Speaker 2: of podcast centric fun on this voyage the whole time. 900 00:49:15,000 --> 00:49:18,360 Speaker 3: That's right, And just go to Virgin Voyages dot com 901 00:49:18,360 --> 00:49:21,920 Speaker 3: slash stuff and we'll see on the high seats. 902 00:49:22,120 --> 00:49:22,640 Speaker 1: Uh yeah. 903 00:49:22,680 --> 00:49:24,440 Speaker 2: And in the meantime, if you want to send us 904 00:49:24,440 --> 00:49:26,960 Speaker 2: an email, you can do that. Send it off to 905 00:49:27,040 --> 00:49:33,080 Speaker 2: Stuff podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 906 00:49:33,160 --> 00:49:35,480 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. 907 00:49:35,960 --> 00:49:39,160 Speaker 3: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 908 00:49:39,360 --> 00:49:42,280 Speaker 3: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.