I am in the middle of watching the Waco series and although I was an adult at the time it happened,I was totally unaware of the full story. Some 75 or so guns? The siege’s chief hostage negotiator Gary Noesner’s book, Stalling for Time: My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator, was also inspiration for the series. It had nothing to do with David Koresh. “One of the things that all of these kids had learned to do, even the really young kids, was march and handle a gun.”, Former Davidian Joann Vaega, 6 years old at the time, was one of the children released early in the standoff. Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that 44 people had been negotiated out. Also I can’t see myself voting for Joe Biden after hearing his testimony. That belief made it bearable because, you’re on the side of God, where can you go wrong there? “It was windy.”. The studies didn’t have to be long; they learned more from David in five or ten minutes of one study than they had in years at seminary school. In 2018 the book was republished under the title Waco: A Survivor’s Story and became the subject of the Paramount Pictures mini-series Waco. The siege began on February 28, 1993 as a result of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF)’s failed attempt to raid the compound for suspected possession of […] On April 19, 1993, federal agents decided to make their move. “The wall started to catch fire and I could feel the heat,” Thibodeau said. And I hate yellow people, and I hate red people, and I hate orange people.’ And everyone’s like, “Where’s he going with this?” So I continued, “David said, all the people with me are people of light. Thibodeau said his book, Waco: A Survivor's Story, is far more accurate because the producers had to take some dramatic liberties and change some chronologies to work around the characters. David Thibodeau: All the things we now call religious institutions started as a small group of people who were usually castigated and looked down upon as holding extreme beliefs. I was a very shallow young man, you know, I just wanted to play music. In those two-week periods, you would be up all night. AS: What do you say to the common criticism that David Koresh is at fault for the deaths because he did not take any opportunities to lead people out? AS: Had the raid been successful, would the ATF have found anything actionable? Happy to hear you enjoyed the article, Tim. Finally, I’m like, “Oh my God, this is a group of skinheads.” I’m looking out and thinking, “I can’t let this go unanswered. It seems that they was all there under their own free will. What changed? There would be moments where you’d go, “I’ve read that Bible passage 10 times before and never understood the meaning until David gave a study.”. I knew that we were not going to reestablish negotiations. Did David … I also don’t agree with the government overreach on this group of people. The television series “Waco” devotes a good portion of its screen time to character David Thibodeau, a drummer who met Branch Davidian leader David Koresh (Taylor Kitsch) at a Los Angeles bar. “Except this time, when I looked through the binoculars. An FBI agent got on the loudspeaker and told Koresh that this was his final chance to surrender. Conspiracy theorists are likely spurred on by government missteps during the raid and the subsequent standoff. Your race and your creed did not matter at Mount Carmel. Credit: David Thibodeau David Thibodeau's book was originally called, "A place called Waco" but it is now titled "A survivor's story." Thibodeau has been a featured guest on C-SPAN, The Today Show, and at the Paley Center for Media, among others. David Thibodeau was a young LA musician when a chance meeting with the charismatic David Koresh led to his involvement with the Branch Davidian community outside Waco, Texas. DT: No, they didn’t. Lots of time hitting the drums to take out frustration. “It singed the side of my face… I could hear my hair crackle.”. I stopped talking about it because I could no longer be in control of myself. DT: Everyone who died, all those kids who died, died for their faith. AS: At what point during the siege did you lose hope for a peaceful conclusion? This is outrageous! AS: How did the community explain what was happening to the children? Thanks so much for reading. The survivors deserve to be heard even if it has taken all these years for people to hear their side. So, what to most people would be extremely odd and strange, to me was like, “More power to them. “Everyone thinks that we’re monsters, that we attacked innocent people,” said ATF agent Robert Elder. Nine people, including Thibodeau, managed to escape the blaze. Six Branch Davidians and four ATF agents were shot to death in the initial raid, at which point the FBI intervened, initiating what would become a 51-day siege of the compound. He is now the guy that is able to teach the Seven Seals. They could have just knocked on the door and served the search warrant. Those pigs! Thibodeau and others are still adamant that the fault remains with the FBI. I saw a tank with an extended arm,” she said. After the fire was put out, federal agents combed the scene and found Koresh’s body. Thanks for interviewing David. At the end of this thing, you were a Branch Davidian cultist against the world. Because David was claiming to reveal the Seven Seals, people, especially some religious leaders, were very offended. Part one of Noesner’s interview is located here. "I'm going through a lot right now," he said. They went on with their lives, even during the siege. I just watched the Waco series on Netflix and am glad to see that it ranking high in the country right now. DT: Where the Seven Seals get really confusing [and where the Lamb comes in] is in Revelation. Thibodeau wrote a … You already have your followers. We hope you’ll have time to check out some of our other articles! They sponsored me to listen to what I had to say, and it wasn’t just political, they were genuinely interested. I remember playing cards with Joseph and Isaiah, Julie Martinez’s young children. A lone worker sifts through the debris of the burned Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, April 29, 1993. Branch Davidians barricaded themselves in their compound when the FBI stormed in, Branch Davidian follower calls 911 as FBI raids compound: 'There are children and women in here!'. Amelia Spalter: How do you respond when asked if you were in a so-called “cult”? It was believable, in fact, it was more than belief. DT: I went maybe a year or two not realizing that people had been shot at the back of the building. They made it look like there were hundreds. Nowhere to be found. AS: Do you feel the children who died were victims of government error or the strategic mistakes of David Koresh? DT: They gassed kids to death, and they have the gall to say it was all David Koresh’s fault? It was constant. The government came in and shot and killed people for their faith, then stayed for 51 days until eventually everyone left was gassed to death or burned to death. Most of which would be sold at gun shows? They put little dots all through the roof. The Branch Davidians are a breakaway sect of the Seventh Day Adventists. Something never set right with me when it was shown on the news in 1993. Anyone fascinated or horrified by the story of the Branch Davidian sect and the storming of their Waco, Texas, compound by law enforcement authorities in April 1993 will want to read David Thibodeau's compelling first-person account. I noticed that both this interview and the one with Gary Noesner are “Part 1 ” Is there a Part 2? When the federal agents took the stand, they talked about [the failure of the raid] like, “Oh my God, we opened the doors and the Branch Davidians wiped us out. Those sweet innocent children would be alive today if the ATF and FBI had not decided to use military force on civilians for minor violations. “Then we realized they were going in.”, Watch "Truth and Lies: Waco," the documentary event, on Thursday, Jan. 4 at 9 p.m. At noon, as tear gas continued to be put inside the structure, a fire broke out. As the fire closed in, both Doyle and Thibodeau said they ran to escape the swirling inferno, jumping through a hole ripped open in the building by one of the government tanks. I’m in a country that allows me to tell my truth. Let the media change it up?! I don’t understand why people didn’t leave to protect those kIds I blame both sides. So, I understand both sides, but I really wish that the kids would have survived. Nowhere to be found. I was a drummer who happened to be learning the Seven Seals from this guy, David Koresh.