30 years after the Waco massacre: the memory of the lawyer who tried to mediate with the Davidic leader

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Days after a deadly confrontation between a religious cult and federal agents in Waco, Texas, Attorney Dick DeGuerin got a call 30 years ago that put the “biggest case” of his career to date in his hands, and that shocked the United States.

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She was the mother of the leader of the Branch Davidians sect, david coreshto ask him to defend his son.

After the negotiations, this lawyer was the first to cross the police line on March 31st and entered the Davidic enclosureMount Carmel, to talk to the entrenched.

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DeGuerin found Koresh wounded in the wrist and torso and treated with holistic medicine by his followers. He was confident that he would reach an agreement for his surrender.

Dick DeGuerin, the attorney who tried to negotiate with David Koresh.  photo by AFP

Dick DeGuerin, the attorney who tried to negotiate with David Koresh. photo by AFP

Negotiation

Three decades later, from his Houston office where he keeps case files, the 82-year-old attorney remains convinced that what ended tragically on April 19, 1993 — after a 51-day siege — it could have ended peacefully with no more than 70 people killed.

His account strikes a chord in the United States, a polarized country where some see Waco as a symbol of government overreach.

Today, a memorial where the events occurred, operated by New Davidians, draws hundreds of visitors a month.

DeGuerin says when he took up the case “I didn’t know the entity,” but it was clear to him that “the world was watching”.

“I had handled some big cases, but nothing like this,” he adds.

David Koresh and what was left of the Waco ranch after the fire.

David Koresh and what was left of the Waco ranch after the fire.

The Branch Davidians were founded in 1959 as a split from the Seventh Day Adventist Church, they believed in the imminent return of Jesus and Koresh emerged as their charismatic leader in the 80s.

In 1993, the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Agency charged the group with stockpiling weapons and obtained a warrant for Koresh’s arrest and another search of the compound, where there were allegations of child abuse.

On February 28, a shootout broke out during the raid where four federal agents and at least six Davidians were killed.

Result

The FBI then besieged the place, starting the “Waco Siege”, which inspired series and documentaries.

Fire in Waco, April 19, 1993. AP Photo

Fire in Waco, April 19, 1993. AP Photo

In late March, when DeGuerin went to see Koresh, the FBI drove him near the compound in the back of an armored vehicle. “I was told: “Do you want a bulletproof vest?” I said, ‘No, I’m not afraid of Davidians. But I don’t want to be shot by FBI snipers.'”

She confesses that she doesn’t know what to expect, but that she found Koresh, 33, intelligent, articulate, but “very angry” about the siege by the FBI and ATF.

DeGuerin understood that his mission was to get Koresh out of the compound and into court “without anyone else dying.”

“I told him the law is the law and that he must obey the law even if it might conflict with his religious beliefs. he made it“, Remember.

In parallel, the lawyer negotiated a deal with the Texas Rangers, in charge of compound security, for Koresh’s surrender.

As negotiations progressed, DeGuerin returned to the compound with attorney Jack Zimmerman, who was representing another cult member.

Patience was running out among federal agents. “There were the negotiators who wanted it to end peacefully. And then the tacticians who just wanted to hurry, kill anyone and arrest themDeGuerin calculates: “The tactical people won.”

When he thought he already had a deal, he watched on television as the feds initiated actions at the compound. She tried to go back. “We Don’t Need You Anymore”an FBI agent told him on the phone.

That day, April 19, FBI agents in armored vehicles raided the compound and fired tear gas. The causes of the subsequent fire are still being debated, but the complex was razed to the ground, claiming over 70 livesincluding Koresh and around 20 children.

The investigations cleared the police of wrongdoing, but Waco has become a rallying cry for Americans who accused his government of abuse of authority and stimulated the growth of militias in the country.

In 1995, on the second anniversary, Timothy McVeigh, who had traveled to Waco to witness the siege, carried out a bombing raid in Oklahoma City. which killed 168 people.

For DeGuerin, 30 years later, the lessons of Waco are clear. Federal agents had become convinced that Koresh was “fooling them again” and were not going to give up. “They didn’t wait. I think if they had waited, it would have ended peacefully. But it didn’t.”.

AFP agency

Source: Clarin

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