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In 1993, a standoff between federal agents and a small religious sect outside Waco, Texas ended in fire, death and a lasting controversy. What began as an investigation into illegal weapons quickly escalated into a 51 day siege fueled by mistrust, apocalyptic beliefs and critical miscalculations on both sides. The tragedy shocked the nation and reshaped debates about government power and religious freedom. Learn more about the causes, the confrontation and the consequences of the Waco siege on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. This episode is sponsored by Audible It's Time to Believe in the Hail Mary, one of the most talked about science fiction adventures of the decade. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is now on the big screen and there's never been a better moment to experience the audiobook that started it all. Ryland Grace is humanity's last hope. Alone in space with no memory of how he got there, he must solve an impossible scientific mystery before the Earth is wiped out forever. What follows is a smart, thrilling and surprisingly emotional journey that blends hard science with non stop suspense fans favorite narrator Ray Porter delivers an unforgettable performance, balancing humor, heart and escalating tension as the stakes grow higher with every chapter. Part scientific puzzle, part interstellar adventure, Project Hail Mary is a story about curiosity, ingenuity and survival against impossible odds. Now that the blockbuster movie has finally arrived in theaters, there's never been a better time to start listening to the universally acclaimed audiobook Project Hail Mary. Listen. Watch. Save the world. Start listening today@audible.com Hailmary Carvana's so easy. Just a click and we've got ourselves a car.

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The standoff that took place in Waco, Texas in early 1993 involved a group known as the Branch Davidians. For those of you who were around at this time, you probably remember hearing about it on the news and you're at least familiar with the term Branch Davidian, but might not know much about them or how they were founded. The Branch Davidians are a splinter group of a splinter group and can trace their lineage to the Seventh Day Adventist Church. The Seventh Day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination that emerged in the 19th century out of the Millerite movement which predicted the imminent return of Jesus Christ I covered the predictions of William Miller in my episode on the history of the end of the world. After his prediction failed in 1844, a group of believers reorganized around the idea that Christ's return was still near but misunderstood and began emphasizing preparation for the Second Coming. They observed Saturdays, the seventh day as the Sabbath, stressed personal health and lifestyle practices such as abstaining from alcohol and tobacco, and placed strong emphasis on education and medical work. A split from the Seventh Day Adventist church occurred in 1929. That year, a Bulgarian immigrant named Victor Houteff, a member of the church, began a career preaching. Houteff believed the Adventists had strayed from the true interpretation of the Bible, particularly the prophetic books like Isaiah, Daniel and Revelation. He founded a group called the Davidian Seventh Day Adventists in 1935 and established a community at Mount Carmel, just outside Waco, Texas. The term Davidian referred to King David of the Bible. Prior to Houteff's death in 1955, the Davidian sect grew to 10,000 members. Following his death, Houteff's wife Florence took over the group as leader. She prophesied that the world would end on April 22, 1959. This led members to gather within the compound to await the end. They prepared for the end of the world by selling their possessions and quitting their jobs. When the end of the world didn't happen in 1959, another schism occurred. The largest breakaway group became the Branch Davidians, initially led by Benjamin Roden, a prominent critic of Florence Houteff. The term branch referred to a messianic symbol from the Bible indicating a divinely chosen leader. After his death in 1978, his wife Lois led until 1986. After Lois Rowden's death, a power struggle ensued over who would be the next leader. The struggle was between Vernon Howell and Rhoden's eldest son George. Howell was a charismatic 20something member of the congregation and had been having a physical relationship with 60 year old Lois Roden before she died. George Rhoden eventually assumed control, expelling Howell and his followers at gunpoint. After several years of drama, including Roden exhuming a corpse and murdering someone with an axe, Howell eventually took control of the sect now in charge. In 1990, Howell legally changed his name to David Koresh. David refers to the biblical King David symbolizing a chosen ruler and founder of a divine lineage. While Koresh is the Hebrew form of Cyrus, the Persian king described in the Bible as an instrument of God's will. By adopting this name, Koresh was signaling to his followers that he saw himself as both a kingly and prophetic figure, uniquely chosen to carry out God's plan in the end times. It reinforced his claim that he alone could interpret Scripture, especially the Book of Revelations, and help solidify his authority within the group. Under Koresh, the Branch Davidians combined older beliefs with new doctrines. Koresh increasingly shifted the group's belief towards cult like control. Presenting himself as Jesus incarnate, framing all women as his wives, and using social control and even physical violence, Koresh preached that the end times were imminent. He presented himself as the final disciple of Christ who came to Earth to spread God's teachings. He claimed that his role in society was to bear numerous children. The children of Koresh were viewed as the purest and most innocent members of society. These children would be an army of God which would be a group of armed individuals prepared to fight an armed apostate. The battle would result in Koresh's martyrdom, initiate the end of Days and secure their salvation. This would create the House of David and be the ultimate establishment for his followers. To this end, Koresh and his followers stockpiled a large amount of illegal weapons. This was brought to the authorities attention after a UPS driver delivered a package. When dropping it off, the package broke and inside were a dozen grenades. Many of Koresh's spiritual wives were teenagers and were as young as 12 years old, leading to allegations of child abuse and statutory rape. Between the guns and the child abuse allegations, authorities began to take a closer look at Koresh, the Waco compound, and the Branch Davidians. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the ATF, began a formal investigation into the group in 1992. The ATF's apprehension was rooted in two main issues. First, there were continuous reports of automatic weapons fire coming from the compound. And second, the agency feared the group's apocalyptic religious convictions might provoke them to preemptively attack the city of Waco. Believing the end of the world was imminent, the ATF requested a search of the Mount Carmel compound in early 1993. However, instead of serving the search warrant, they decided to make a surprise entry into the compound. The date for this entry was Originally set for February 28, 1993. The Davidians were tipped off about the upcoming raid by a local KWTX TV reporter. The reporter had been tipped off about the raid and was driving to the compound wanting to cover the story. On the way to the ranch, the driver got lost and asked for directions from a UPS driver who just happened to be David Koresh's brother in law. The sect began to pray and took defensive positions. When 70 ATF agents arrived at the compound wearing tactical SWAT gear. Upon the ATF's arrival, both sides claimed that the other fired the first shot, regardless of who actually did. After the first shot was fired, both sides rained bullets upon each other. Within minutes, numerous people were injured, including Koresh. The raid was intense, with helicopters flying over the compound and bullets continuing to be fired. During the first two hours of the raid, four ATF agents were killed and over a dozen more injured. On the Davidian side, six were reported to have died from the initial shootout. Following the initial raid, almost 900 law enforcement officers arrived at the compound, including the FBI, which quickly took control of the situation. Negotiations between Koresh and the authorities began to take place where Koresh communicated with biblical lingo and threatened violence. Koresh and the negotiating team began negotiating to break the siege or to get members of the compound to safety. Some of these deals included exchanging children for supplies like milk, or trading some of the children for Koresh's message to be broadcast to the outside world. The deals resulted in an estimated 30 members leaving the compound, though dozens still remained inside. Despite some progress being made to save the children, the FBI was losing hope over the situation in Waco, ending peacefully. Part of the discouragement came from Koresh's promise to leave the compound with his followers if one of his sermons would be broadcast. The FBI agreed to do so and did broadcast the message, but Koresh backed out of his end of the bargain. It became increasingly clear to the authorities that a peaceful resolution was unlikely. The Davidians had stockpiled food and other necessities to last for years, and additionally, they still held a large number of automatic weapons and explosives. This led US Attorney General Janet Reno to decide to end the raid. After seven weeks, Reno approved the use of tear gas to raid the compound. The Branch Davidians were warned of the upcoming attack and and were asked to surrender. They did not. On April 19, the FBI began to fire tear gas into the building, and in return, the Branch Davidians began to fire on the government forces. The FBI ended up depositing 400 canisters of tear gas into the compound. Several hours into the operation, fires broke out in multiple locations within the compound. The building quickly became engulfed in flames. The exact cause of the fires remains one of the most contentious aspects of the entire incident. The government concluded that the Branch Davidian started the fire as an act of mass suicide. Critics and survivors have questioned whether the FBI's actions contributed or accelerated the blaze. Concerned about firefighter safety, emergency services were not allowed on the scene until 15 minutes had passed. By this point, it was no longer possible to save the compound. The Branch Davidian compound was completely burned to the ground. Only nine members managed to escape the flames. The fire ended up claiming the lives of 76 Davidians. Of that number, 21 were children. Many of the dead appeared to have died from self inflicted gunshot wounds, while some of the other dead appeared to have been shot. The entire siege, from the first skirmish to the deadly fire, lasted 51 days. Following the raid's conclusion, both the ATF and FBI faced sharp criticism for authorizing it. Many referred to the event as a massacre and as one of the worst disasters in the history of American law enforcement. This led to both the ATF and FBI partaking in internal investigations. After the internal investigations were completed, both groups were subjected to a congressional hearing. The ultimate goal of the hearings was to place blame on the deaths that occurred. Ultimately, several agents were disciplined for improper actions. This led the FBI to reevaluate its procedures and tactics, especially in crisis negotiation and hostage rescue. This was shown by the US government admitting in 1999 that the agents had fired flammable material at the compound prior to the massive fire occurring. However, a special counsel later decided that the United States government bore no responsibility for wrongdoing in the fight with the Br Davidians. The extensive media coverage of the raid, along with the sensationalized depiction of Koresh's teachings, fueled public interest. Some critics argued that the reporting itself may have inadvertently exacerbated Koresh's messianic complex, thereby prolonging the standoff. The media attention also meant that everyone had an opinion on what happened at Waco. Despite legally being found not guilty, many people felt that the government failed both in conducting and in investigating the siege. Many people viewed Waco as the government abusing its authority. Because of this perception, the Waco siege had a long lasting impact on the United States, including inspiring other major crimes. The most notable crime inspired by Waco was the Oklahoma City bombing. The bomber, Timothy McVeigh, directly cited the Waco siege as inspiration for his acts. As for the raid's survivors, a few of them were tried in court. All were found not guilty of murder, but did receive jail sentences for lighter crimes. Believe it or not, the Branch Davidians still exist, but in a much smaller and fragmented form. After the 1993 siege, the original community at Mar Carmel was effectively destroyed and most of its members died. However, a handful of survivors and former adherents continued the movement. In the years since, the group has splintered into several smaller factions and each with its own interpretation of the teachings once promoted by David Koresh. Waco wasn't just a failed raid or a tragic fire. It was the collision of an apocalyptic religious movement with a federal law enforcement apparatus that misjudged the psychology, beliefs and volatility of the situation. Once it escalated, neither side found a way to back down, and the result was one of the deadliest law enforcement incidents in modern US History. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Austin Otkin and Cameron Kiefer. Research and writing for this episode was provided by Olivia Ashe. My big thanks go to everyone who supports the show over on Patreon. 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