Latest / The Burros of Berea Podcast / Episode 313- Prophet of Fire- Part 5

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Episode 313- Prophet of Fire- Part 5 · The Burros of Berea Podcast

• 0:08
  In a previous episode, we took you through what
• 0:11
  life was like in Mount Carmel during the 51 -day
• 0:14
  standoff. Now, after those 51 days of negotiation,
• 0:19
  psychological warfare, and rising tension, the
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  standoff at Mount Carmel was about to end. The
• 0:25
  decision had been made at the highest level of
• 0:27
  the Justice Department. This would not be another
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  day of waiting. This would be the end. I'm Rick
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  Welch, and this is Prophet of Fire. It's Monday,
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  April 19, 1993. 6 a .m. FBI tactical teams make
• 0:47
  their move. Two armored combat engineering vehicles,
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  or CEVs, begin rolling toward the compound. Inside
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  one, an agent holds a bullhorn and makes the
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  announcement. David, we are in the process of
• 1:00
  putting tear gas into the building. This is not
• 1:02
  an assault. We are not entering the building.
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  Inside the compound, chaos erupts. Children cry.
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  Some adults prepare gas masks, homemade in many
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  cases. The tear gas is CS, a powerful irritant.
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  Its effects, choking, burning eyes, disorientation.
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  6 .07 a .m. The first canisters are delivered
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  into the building via the CEV's mechanical arm.
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  Survivor Sheila Martin remembers, quote, it was
• 1:30
  like smoke, but thicker. You couldn't breathe.
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  Some of the babies were screaming, end quote.
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  Koresh is nowhere to be seen. His lieutenant,
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  Steve Schneider, takes command of communication
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  with negotiators. The FBI continues to broadcast
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  messages via loudspeaker. This is not an assault.
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  We are inserting gas. Do not fire. If you come
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  out now, you will not be harmed. 6 .30am. The
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  gas injection expands. CEVs create breaches in
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  the building's rear and sides to funnel in more
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  gas. The sound of walls being crushed echoes
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  across the prairie. Survivor David Thibodeau
• 2:07
  remembers, quote, they were punching holes in
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  the walls. The wind would blow the gas deeper
• 2:11
  into the rooms. People were praying, crying.
• 2:14
  Some were still convinced God would intervene,
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  end quote. 6 45 a .m. A single shot is heard
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  from inside the compound. The FBI believes it
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  is a warning, not a direct threat. No agents
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  return fire. 6 52 a .m. A group of Davidians
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  attempt to escape through a side door. They're
• 2:32
  forced back in by the thick cloud of tear gas.
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  No one surrenders. By now, nearly 30 canisters
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  have been inserted into Mount Carmel. The building
• 2:40
  itself is weakening, its walls sag, window panes
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  shatter, but no return fire has come from inside.
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  From a transcript in an FBI log we read, quote,
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  no shots fired by subjects, still no sign of
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  surrender, continuing gas delivery, end quote.
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  The stage is set. By the end of this day, 76
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  Branch Davidians, men, women, and children will
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  be dead. The world would be watching in horror,
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  but for now, it is only beginning. 7 a .m. The
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  sun rises fully over central Texas. A clear,
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  dry morning. The kind of day that normally promised
• 3:15
  peace. But this morning, the FBI prepares for
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  escalation. Two more CEVs move into position.
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  War canisters are loaded. The command center
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  authorizes the phased gas plant. The goal is
• 3:27
  to increase discomfort, not provoke a firefight.
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  Inside Mount Carmel, the atmosphere is suffocating.
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  tear gas hangs in thick clouds, makeshift gas
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  masks, cut -up milk jugs, wet cloth, even plastic
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  bags fail to protect the children. Survivor David
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  Thibodeau recalls, quote, You couldn't see 10
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  feet. People were vomiting. We tried to stay
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  in the central chapel thinking it was safest.
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  David was in his room writing the seals, end
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  quote. 7 .30 a .m. Negotiators call again. No
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  answer. All contact has been lost with the interior
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  since just after 6 a .m. No one has picked up
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  a phone in over an hour. FBI agents grow concerned.
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  What is Koresh planning? 7 .55 a .m. Another
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  message is broadcast. From the FBI loudspeaker,
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  the Branch Davidians hear, You are being gassed.
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  This is not an assault. Exit now and you will
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  not be harmed. But again, nothing. 8 a .m. A
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  group of agents begins planning a direct breach
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  if no one exits soon. However, the order remains.
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  No lethal force unless fired upon. Inside the
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  compound, a different narrative unfolds. Koresh
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  tells his followers the gas is a final test from
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  God. Some still believe rescue is coming. Others
• 4:41
  are losing hope. Survivor Sheila Martin recalls,
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  quote, Some of the mothers were shaking, holding
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  babies, but David kept saying, Stand firm. The
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  Lord is in control, end quote. 8 .15 a .m. FBI
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  logs note a noticeable shift in CEB tactics.
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  One vehicle pushes deeper into the compound's
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  north wing, creating a massive hole in the outer
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  wall. Gas canisters are now being tossed manually
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  inside open breaches. The FBI log states, quote,
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  Severe structural damage. Entry routes expanding.
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  No gunfire return, end quote. 8 .30 a .m. Negotiators
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  again attempt to call. Still no answer. The hostage
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  rescue team reports no movement through thermal
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  imagery. Survivor David Thibodeau remembers,
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  quote, We were huddled. Everyone was coughing.
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  Some were praying. Some just stared. I don't
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  think anyone knew what to do anymore." End quote.
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  8 .45 a .m. The FBI deploys more gas into the
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  central chapel. By now, over 50 gas canisters
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  have been used. No Davidians have exited. 8 .58
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  a .m. A man emerges from the rubble. He raises
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  his hands. His name is Rinos Avram, a Canadian
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  follower of Quresh. He is immediately detained,
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  decontaminated, and questioned. FBI agents hope
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  it's the beginning of a mass exodus. It's not.
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  9 a .m. Negotiators make one final call, still
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  silence. The FBI ramps up gas deployment, unaware
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  that, in less than three hours, the compound
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  will be engulfed in flames. The FBI shifts strategy.
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  More aggressive tactics are authorized. CDVs
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  punch water holes through the compound walls
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  on the north, south, and rear wings. These aren't
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  surgical breaches. These are gaping voids. By
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  now, over 60 canisters of tear gas have been
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  deployed. Flashbangs are added to the mix. Still,
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  no one comes out. Inside, people are beginning
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  to suffocate. The gas is settled in every room.
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  Eyes burn. Lungs fail. Children lie limp in their
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  mother's arms. Survivor Sheila Martin remembers,
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  quote, Some of the women started singing hymns.
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  There wasn't anything else we could do. We thought
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  we were going to die, end quote. 930 a .m. Survivor
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  David Thibodeau later described seeing David
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  Koresh in his room, quiet, withdrawn. Koresh
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  reportedly told Steve Snyder, quote, I'm waiting
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  for God to tell me what to do, end quote. 10
• 7:07
  a .m. Another CEV breaches the front of the chapel.
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  More gas floods in. Negotiators make one last
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  appeal through loudspeakers. David, this is your
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  last chance. Lead your people out now. Still,
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  silence. 1130 a .m. Thermal imaging picks up
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  sudden movement. Then, in less than 30 seconds,
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  three separate fires erupt inside the compound
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  simultaneously. One in the dining area, one in
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  the second floor hallway, one in the front right
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  corner. The wind kicks up. Flames spread instantly
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  through the dry wooden structure. The FBI sees
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  it on their monitors and radios frantically to
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  fire units staged nearby. from the FBI radio
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  transcript reread, quote, we have a fire. It's
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  everywhere, end quote. 1145 AM, the roof capes
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  in. Television networks across the world begin
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  broadcasting live images of the compound engulfed
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  in fire. Millions watch as black smoke coils
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  skyward from what had, just weeks earlier, been
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  a religious sanctuary. The temperature inside
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  reaches over 2 ,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Ammunition
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  stored in the compound begins to cook off, popping
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  in the heat. Many Davidians are trapped. Others
• 8:19
  choose not to leave. Survivor David Thibodeau
• 8:22
  remembers, quote, I made it out of back window.
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  The smoke was so thick I couldn't see. I thought
• 8:27
  everyone else was behind me. They weren't, end
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  quote. Only nine people escaped the fire. Inside,
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  76 Branch Davidians perish, including 25 children
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  and two pregnant women. Among the dead, David
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  Koresh and Steve Snyder. Autopsies later reveal
• 8:47
  that many died from smoke inhalation, others
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  by gunshot. Some speculate that Schneider shot
• 8:53
  Koresh, then himself. Others believe Koresh took
• 8:56
  his own life. We'll never know for certain. In
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  under an hour, Mount Carmel is reduced to ashes.
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  What began as a raid to serve a warrant ends
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  in the deadliest government confrontation with
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  U .S. citizens on American soil since the Civil
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  War. In our next episode, we enter the aftermath.
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  The congressional hearings... The cover -up claims,
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  the conspiracy theories, and the explosive legacy
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  of Waco, from Oklahoma City to January 6th. What
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  happened in Waco didn't end with the fire, it
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  was just getting started. I'm Rick Welch, and
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  this is Prophet of Fire.