"Somebody will get hurt. If you want to keep playing that game, I'm talking to you, somebody is going to get hurt. Cos this ain't America any more when the ATF has that kind of power to come into anybody's home and kick doors down and things like that."
On February 28, 1993, a law enforcement siege of the Branch Davidian cult compound began. The siege lasted 51 days, finally ending on April 19th. In total, 86 people died, including 25 children and 2 pregnant women. I was 12 years old when the Waco tragedy unfolded; admittedly, I did not pay much attention to the news then. Even as I got older and found myself invested in reading about true crime, Waco was always something I had heard about but never really learned about.
Plenty of documentaries and books cover the siege, but on March 22, 2023, Netflix released a three-part limited series called Waco: American Apocalypse. The series covers the events of those 51 days before its fiery end.
Interviewed are the people who lived the experience. Survivors from the cult compound, various ATF and FBI agents, and the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit Chief. Along with the interviews, there is footage from media outlets, the FBI Control Unit, and inside Koresh’s compound.
I thought Netflix did a good job telling the story of what happened in Waco, Texas. It was fascinating to hear how the survivors handled the circumstances then and how they dealt with the trauma today. Listening to one of the survivors defend Koresh marrying and having sexual relations with underage girls is just… horrifying. It’s mind-boggling that anyone would defend Koresh and his actions, but… Koresh was a cult leader for a reason. He knew how to charm and manipulate, and apparently, that doesn’t always end after death.
The government was criticized for how it handled the siege, and I can see why. There still seem to be so many unanswered questions. Who fired first? Who started the fire? Should Reno have approved the last raid on the compound that led to the fire and subsequent deaths? Ultimately, this is David Koresh’s fault, but the government’s involvement is also to blame.
There is a lot of finger-pointing, but one thing is certain: the Waco Siege was a complete tragedy that should have never happened. It speaks to the danger of religious fanaticism and, in some ways, religion in general.
I thought there could have easily been two more episodes to this series to dive a bit more deeply into the Branch Davidians and Koresh’s history, but I can understand the desire to focus solely on what happened between February and April of that year. I would recommend Waco: American Apocalypse for any true crime fan. It’s tough to watch but feels essential, especially in today’s political and societal landscape.
