- Waco, now streaming on Netflix, shows the real-life events that occurred in the spring of 1993.
- Many of the Branch Davidians, led by David Koresh, perished in the tragic fire.
- Here’s a look at the religious group and what’s happened since the siege.
In 1993, a 51-day standoff between the Branch Davidians and the FBI/ATF ended via a fire that burned down the Mount Carmel compound in Waco, Texas. Waco, the Paramount Network series now streaming on Netflix, explores the events leading up to the tragedy that killed 76 people residing on the premises, including 25 children, over the suspicion of stockpiling illegal weapons.
Throughout the miniseries, viewers get an inside look into the world of the Branch Davidians, a religious group that lived at the compound. And the group still exists today, almost three decades after the standoff.
Here’s what we know about the Branch Davidians and what’s happened since Waco.
The movement was started by Victor Houteff
Started in 1930 by Victor Houteff, the Branch Davidians were a breakaway from Seventh Day Adventists. Houteff taught his parishioners several messages, including that Jesus wasn’t the messiah that the Book of Isaiah references, but rather another man who would arrive at some point in the future. He also proclaimed that the Branch Davidians would be the ones to resurrect the “Davidic Kingdom” (a repetition of the empire started by King David in the Old Testament) after the apocalypse, which became an integral part of his teachings.
David Koresh only took over the group in 1990
Koresh (then known as Vernon Wayne Howell) joined the Branch Davidians in 1981, after getting expelled from his mother’s church. He took over the religious group in 1990, after the death of previous leader Lois Roden and a series of violent attacks. He also legally changed his name to David Koresh around this time to honor two biblical kings, David and Cyrus (Koresh is Cyrus in Hebrew).
While he was leader, Koresh taught his followers that he was a messiah from God and that he was destined to father 24 children who would later become the world leaders after the apocalypse, otherwise known as the “House of David.”
Many of the Branch Davidians died during the April 1993 fire
76 of the Branch Davidians died as a result of the fire, 25 of them children. Among those who died were Koresh, his wife Rachel, Michelle Jones (Rachel’s younger sister and “second wife” to Koresh), and Steve Schneider, Koresh’s right-hand man.
David Thibodeau was one of nine who survived the fire. He managed to find his way out by crawling through a hole in the building. (He later wrote a memoir about his time with the Branch Davidians.) According to the New York Times, out of the remaining eight who survived the fire, three members—Renos Avraam, Jaime Castillo and Graeme Craddock—served time for various crimes associated with the fire, including conspiracy to murder federal agents.
There are Branch Davidians that still exist today
Back in 2013, NPR reported that there was a small group of Branch Davidians who refer to themselves as “Branch, The Lord Our Righteousness” and live near the grounds where Mount Carmel stood on. They are led by Charles Pace who has said that Koresh corrupted the original message set forth by Houteff.
In a 2018 interview with the Dallas Observer, Thibodeau said that he periodically visits Waco and some of his fellow survivors who still live in Mount Carmel to this day.