Trump’s Waco rally comes 30 years after siege
The new Netflix documentary series, “Waco: American Apocalypse,” opens by grinding down what happened 30 years ago.
“In 1993, the U.S. government served a search warrant for machine guns against religious leader David Koresh.
“What followed was the largest gunfight on American soil since the Civil War. And a 51-day standoff that became the biggest news story in the world.”
Diana R. Fuentes, then on staff at the San Antonio Express-news, was there, earning the distinction of staying at the scene of the FBI standoff with Branch Davidians longer than any other reporter.
She was there 46 days in a row. She took a couple of days off starting Day 47 and returned on Day 50 to witness the Branch Davidian compound, called Mount Carmel, go up in flames the next day.
This Saturday, former President Donald Trump plans to hold the first rally of his 2024 bid for the Republican presidential nomination there.
It’s no coincidence.
Cult leader David Koresh’s followers saw him as the Messiah, the embodiment of the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Trump’s followers will glorify him, too, and the location sends a clear signal to their extremist views.
Like the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms’ decision to go into the compound, no good can come from this.
Lines can be drawn from Waco to other horrific events. The most direct is the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.
It was the work of ex-army soldier Timothy Mcveigh, who was in Waco with other farright radicals. He handed out anti-government literature from the hood of a car.
The lines from Waco meet up again Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol, where Trump’s supporters used violence to try to stop the certification of 2020 results that showed President Joe Biden had won.
Fuentes is now executive director of the nonprofit Investigative Reporters & Editors. Based in San Antonio, she oversees IRE’S journalism training, conferences and other services for 6,000 members worldwide.
At the time of the siege, she was working in the Expressnews Austin bureau and was often sent to the scene of state disasters, environmental and man-made, like Waco turned out to be.
Fuentes and her late husband, Ray Gomez, a broadcast journalist, were traveling back to Austin from Dallas when news broke of the ATF raid.
They decided to stop in Waco, where Koresh preached about an apocalyptic world that he said would end in a government attack. The religious cult had enough weapons to equip a small army.
In an eerie echo of his prophecy, the ATF raided the compound. It botched the operation, and four agents were killed. The FBI took over.
Ever the straight-forward reporter, Fuentes looks back and assesses the case the same as she did her daily reports.
“Initial reporting showed
Cult leader David Koresh’s followers saw him as the Messiah. … Trump’s followers will glorify him, too.
that the basis of the original raid appeared to be based on some faulty information,” she said. “Many of the arms the Branch Davidians had were legal.”
Other facts were in question, including what kinds of weapons the Branch Davidians had.
Fuentes recalled the FBI’S scientific, studied approach to every case. They considered emotional factors and were thinking logically about the standoff, she said.
Yet, in the end, leaders didn’t follow their own advice and launched tear gas in an attempt to force the Branch Davidians out. They didn’t sufficiently explain their final actions, especially “why they felt they couldn’t wait anymore.”
“It wasn’t logical on so many levels,” Fuentes said, least of all because the “flashbangs,” or stun grenades, and tear gas could spark a fire. The compound of wooden structures went up in flames. Some evidence suggested members of the Branch Davidians set fires from within.
TV viewers watched in horror as very few followers left the burning building. They were either unable to get out or they decided to die.
For me, Koresh was a delusional, narcissistic con man who preyed on the faith and perhaps the instability of his followers. He preyed on women and girls, especially.
A line from the new documentary series best sums up the ATF and FBI’S actions: Everyone who touched the ball fumbled it.
The siege lasted nearly two months. Fuentes still feels the FBI moved too quickly that last day, that it should have waited longer to try to resolve the standoff peacefully.
Accounts still vary, but there was a terrible loss of life. Almost 80 people were killed, including the four agents and what a majority of online reports say were 25 children.
It still haunts Fuentes, as does the question of why the FBI decided that was the day.