Waco Lied To You About The Siege

The Waco miniseries is an exciting, dramatic, and ultimately sad telling of the 51-day siege on the Branch Davidians. Much of what happened during the siege is hazy, but the fictional show still perpetuated some falsehoods. Here are some lies that Waco told you about the infamous siege.

Waco unambiguously shows the ATF firing the first shots on February 28th, shooting at the Branch Davidians' dogs. This is, in reality, just one theory for what happened. We don't know who shot first and almost certainly never will.

One theory posits that the ATF shot first, by accident, an ATF agent climbing a ladder may have accidentally discharged his pistol in its holster, which would sound like it came from inside the building.

Early on, an ATF agent suggested the first shot was indeed the ATF firing at dogs, but he later retracted his statement, according to Frontline. Meanwhile, two journalists at the scene claimed that the shots originated from inside the compound. The FBI also claimed to have video that proved the Branch Davidians shot first, but never showed it at trial.

That both sides were ready to fight is without question. Between the time that has passed and the lack of tangible evidence, the truth about who fired the first shots is almost unknowable. To this day, both the ATF and surviving Branch Davidians swear that the other side took the first shots.

Waco shows David Thibodeau and David Koresh meeting at a Texas bar and quickly hitting it off. In the miniseries' reimagining, there's not a lot of time that passes between the two meeting and the siege starting. In reality, the two had met years earlier, and several states away.

In real life, the two reportedly met by chance in 1990 at a Guitar Center in Los Angeles, California. Thibodeau had just moved west, and went to the musician's supply store to pick up a set of new drumsticks. Koresh happened to be in the same store and introduced himself. After spending some time talking music, Koresh handed Thibodeau a business card with bible verses on it. Thibodeau had no interest in being in a Christian band, but Koresh suggested he had different insights into scripture. Thibodeau, unable to get this off his mind, called Koresh a week later. Several months of talking and gigs later, Thibodeau was invited to Mount Carmel. Keep watching the video to see how Waco lied to you about the siege.

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Who shot first? | 0:00
David and David | 1:12
Branching off | 2:23
International assembly | 3:37
Steve Schneider's smoky demise | 4:40
Who shot Koresh? | 5:51
Koresh didn't found the Branch Davidians | 6:39
Gary Noesner's shorter stint | 7:51
A lengthier gunfight | 8:56
David Koresh's questionable faith | 9:50
The real Jacob Vazquez | 11:13
The truth of Ruby Ridge | 12:38

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