Waco Rising: David Koresh, the FBI, and the Birth of America's Modern Militias

I really appreciated how the author took a fair and unbiased stance, at least from my perspective, on this incident. The facts were laid out and mistakes/lies/general insanity highlighted for both sides. It was easy to read and engaging, and I didn't feel overwhelmed with details. I think the subtitle about modern militias was a bit misleading - there's one chapter at the end - but it was interesting to see how modern events/movements can be traced back to Waco.

The siege of the Davidian compound in Waco, Texas is an event that I have heard mentioned before, but I knew nothing about. From the very beginning, I was hooked on this cult and the events surrounding the siege against them. As someone who had never heard of The Branch Davidians, or even the Seventh-Day Adventists, I was really captivated on how they twisted the bible to their needs. I may not be religious, but I do find it very interesting in how people interpret religious texts, especially zealots. The rise of David Koresh into this position of power was fascinating but also very disturbing because he influenced and manipulated people so easily, much like Trump is doing now. It was especially disturbing to learn how he twisted scripture to manipulate women and girls into having sex with him. The events surrounding the siege and how it went from the ATF to the FBI in charge, then how things escalated to the attack and fire on April 19, 1993. This would end up being the deadliest day in FBI history with eighty-six people killed overall. It was fascinating learning about how the negotiators tried working with Koresh to get people out of the commune, and how they were able to get some of the kids and adults out. It was even more fascinating to learn that the higher ups in the FBI were not working with the negotiators and making their own plans, and lying to get the outcome they wanted. This whole siege was just a fascinating but horrifying piece of history, even if the fall out from it has led to terrible things. Not only was learning about this piece of history fascinating, but learning about the aftereffects was even more eye opening. This event led to a major increase in modern militias and homegrown terrorism and a mistrust in the government. It’s always fascinating to me to learn how one event can affect so much, and is still affecting the United States today with events like January 6th and the rise of the Proud Boys militias. Overall, this was a fascinating but devastating piece of history that affected so much more than this religious group. I never expected to be so captivated by a story about a religious cult, but here we are. TW: teen pregnancy; child abuse (verbal and physical); use of the r word; rape; child molestation; child marriage and pregnancy; desecration of the dead; animal deaths; death and suicide, including of children; fire and fire injuries;

“These people (Davidians) all had something missing in their lives that were exploited by him (David Koresh). It’s alarming how gullible people are when their “master” holds their inner desires. People may use this book in effort to abolish the necessity or even the existence of God. But if you actually read the Bible with a open and prayerful heart, you’ll notice that these people described in the book are conducting blasphemous rituals using the Bible by manipulating its contexts in hopes to perceive themselves and their desires as the highest regard… self-idolization. For example, in chapter 4 or 5, there is a man that claims that “God told him that he is the next messiah” which contradicts Matthew 24:23-25 where Jesus states “At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you ahead of time.” There is another example in chapter 5 “Planet Koresh” where there was a man that said that “God told him in a dream that God will give him Madonna…” yea… not biblical that’s lustful delusion… This book is a seamless library of historical stories about people that blatantly exploit the Bible. But I must admit most people can be targets of sheeplike brainwashing if the other party holds their desires, perhaps this book is a good way to protect ourselves by seeing the chaos before it comes… since history likes to repeat itself….

Good description of events. Author does a great job at outlining the details

I live in Texas and this book is an excellent description of Texas even today, from the people to our justice system. Sadly, our judges have only gotten worse when siding in favor of certain attorneys Extra: I love that the author threw in Florida state rep candidate Luis Miguel’s, “Under my plan, all Floridians will be able to shoot FBI, IRS, ATF, and all other federal troops on sight. Let freedom ring.” Lol