MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — A press conference on the deadly 1993 Branch Davidian siege was held by survivor David Thibodeau and four other speakers on Wednesday, April 19 at the Helen Marie Taylor Museum of Waco History.
This press conference was held to discuss things that everyone has learned from the tragedy and how it can be prevented from happening again.
Dr. Catherine Wessinger from Loyola University New Orleans began the conference by stating some things she believes people miss or get wrong about the incident at Mount Carmel.
"News stories labeling the Branch Davidians with the dehumanizing and stigmatizing word 'Cult' contributed to a social context in which federal agents carried out unnecessary, aggressive actions against the Branch Davidians," Wessinger stated.
Next, Dr. Stuart Wright from Lamar University recalled findings from the executive summary of Congress' investigation into the incident.
Wright reads, "The ATF's investigation of the Branch Davidians was grossly incompetent. It lacked the minimum professionalism expected of a major federal law enforcement agency."
"David Koresh could've been arrested outside the Davidian residence -- the ATF chose not to arrest Koresh outside the Davidian residence and instead were determined to use a dynamic entry approach," Wright continues.
The findings from Congress' investigation reveal that the plan to infiltrate the residence was extremely flawed and planned by those who were not qualified, ultimately showing a lack of supervision by the higher ups in the ATF.
A historian from the Reunion Institute in Houston Dr. J. Phillip Arnold went through a list of 10 neglected aspects of the 1993 Waco tragedy from Dr. James Tabor from UNC Charlotte.
Arnold explains how him and Tabor tried to contact the FBI in an attempt to help explain the Branch Davidians way of thinking and help avoid a catastrophic event, but they weren't interested.
Arnold goes on to criticize the media at the time stating, "They were all into this talk about cults and being brainwashed." He goes on to explain how today's media has the opportunity to access in-depth information about these religious groups, to avoid certain labels going forward.
Branch Davidian survivor David Thibodeau began his statements by criticizing some of the books and other forms of media about the tragedy.
Thibodeau states, "If you're gonna continue to put in false propaganda, you are a part of the problem in this country and you are the reason that we are so close to what literally could be a civil war."
He goes on to emphasize the humanizing element of the Branch Davidians, "The Davidians were people, the people that died at Mount Carmel were people... That's why these memorials are so special, so you get to see each individual and you get to find out who they really were."
Thibodeau then recalls things he believes law enforcement agencies covered up or lied about such as firing from a helicopter and the use of pyrotechnics.
The press conference ended with a brief Q & A session with the media present.
To view the full-length press conference, visit here.
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