Brad Branch

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Brad Eugene Branch (born c. 1960 [1] ) is an American former Branch Davidian who was charged and convicted of aiding and abetting voluntary manslaughter of federal agents during the 1993 Waco siege and weapons charges. [1] [2] [3] He was sentenced to ten years in prison for the voluntary manslaughter charge and thirty years for the weapons charges. [4] [5] Originally, the charge of carrying a firearm during a violent crime was based on a conspiracy to murder charge, on which Branch and other Davidians were acquitted, [6] but federal prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Walter Smith to reinstate the weapons charges, which he did. [7] The Branch Davidians, including Brad Branch, attempted to appeal the charges, but the appeals were turned down in 1997. [8] [9] The United States Supreme Court agreed to hear appellate arguments from the Branch Davidians, including Branch, in 2000. [10] In response to the Supreme Court's ruling that Smith overstepped his power in his sentencing, he reduced his and other Davidians' sentences to five years for the weapons charges. [11] [12] [13]

During the February 28, 1993, shootout that began the siege, Branch reportedly shot and killed a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agent, shouting that he "got one!" [14] Branch Davidian Marjorie Thomas testified that she heard Branch and Kevin Whitecliff, another Branch Davidian, admitting they shot at agents during the shootout. [15] [16] Another Davidian, Victorine Hollingsworth, testified she also heard Branch and Livingstone Fagan discuss firing on agents on February 28, 1993. [17] After the shootout, he, Whitecliff, and Oliver Gyarfas were sent out of the compound to dig a grave for Peter Gent, who died in the shootout. [18] Branch had indicated to federal authorities that he wished to exit Mount Carmel Center during the siege on March 11, 1993. [19] He left the compound with Whitecliff with permission from Branch Davidian leader David Koresh on March 19, 1993. [20] [21] [22] The only reason that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) received for why they left when they did was because before then "it wasn't time". [23] While jailed after leaving the compound, Branch told NBC that David Koresh sought to challenge other Christian leaders to see who can "reveal the book", meaning the Bible. [24] Also while in jail, Brad Branch told CNN that the April 19 fire that destroyed the Mount Carmel compound was a "systematic assassination by the FBI to eliminate all of the crime scene". [25] Branch soon after the siege also believed that Koresh was not responsible for the fire. [26]

Branch was released from prison in 2006 and lived in the San Antonio area as of 2012. [27] Branch was an aircraft electrician from San Antonio, Texas, before becoming a Branch Davidian. [28]

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Why Waco?: Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America is a 1995 non-fiction book written by James D. Tabor and Eugene V. Gallagher on the Waco siege and the anti-cult movement in America. It was published by the University of California Press. The same press reprinted it in 1997 in paperback. The appendix of the book contains an unfinished manuscript written by David Koresh, the leader of the Branch Davidians, on the Seven seals in the Book of Revelation. The appendix has a preface written by Tabor and J. Phillip Arnold. The manuscript was obtained from a survivor of the fire, Ruth Riddle. The final pages of the book provide a list of Branch Davidians who died in the 28 February 1993 raid, the 19 April 1993 fire, and who survived.

Ruth Ottman Riddle is a Canadian Branch Davidian and survivor of the Waco siege. Riddle was raised in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. She was born as Ruth Ellen Ottman. Riddle was one of nine survivors of the 19 April 1993 fire that destroyed the Mount Carmel Center and most of its occupants. She carried with her after leaving the compound a copy of David Koresh's final incomplete manuscript which after creating he agreed to leave. It was reprinted in James D. Tabor and Eugene V. Gallagher's book Why Waco?: Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America. She was married to another Branch Davidian, James Loyle Riddle, who died in the 19 April 1993 fire. Her niece, Misty Dawn Ferguson, survived the fire as well. She was formerly of Tweed, Ontario. However, other sources indicate she is from Oshawa, Ontario.

Dana Okimoto is an American former Branch Davidian. She moved to Waco, Texas, from Los Angeles, California, in approximately 1988 with Robyn Bunds, a former Branch Davidian turned critic. She is originally from Hawaii and is a registered psychiatric nurse at Kaneohe State Hospital, and remarried to Roy Kiyabu, a chef, as of 2003. She gave birth to Sky or Skye Borne Okimoto and Scooter Okimoto, who are both children of David Koresh, the leader of the Branch Davidians.

Charles J. Pace is the current leader of The Branch, The Lord Our Righteousness, the supposed successor group of the Branch Davidians after 1993. According to the Toronto Star, he is from Collingwood, Canada. He joined the Branch Davidians in the 1980s, but he left before the Waco siege that destroyed the Mt. Carmel center. He claims to be the successor to David Koresh as the prophet of the Branch Davidians. He returned to Waco, Texas, in 1994 after having left the Mount Carmel Center in the mid-1980s in order to start his own religious movement. He is trained as a reflexologist, nutritionist and colon therapist, according to the Toronto Star. A tractor reportedly amputated his foot sometime before April 2013. National Public Radio and other news sources note that he is an herbalist and gardener. He is married to Alex Pace and has two children, Michael and Angela Pace.

References

  1. 1 2 Pressley, Sue Anne (February 27, 1994). "JURY ACQUITS CULT MEMBERS OF MURDER IN WACO SHOOTOUT". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Jailed Branch Davidians wait, hope as Waco probe reopened". CNN . September 17, 1999. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  3. ↑ Newport, Kenneth G. C. (2006). The Branch Davidians of Waco: The History and Beliefs of An Apocalyptic Sect. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 249. ISBN   9780199245741.
  4. ↑ "5 Each Get 40 Years In Waco Case". The New York Times . June 18, 1994. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  5. ↑ Associated Press (June 5, 2000). "5 Davidians' Jail Terms Reduced". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  6. ↑ Cardwell, Cary (February 26, 1994). "Branch Davidians acquitted of murder conspiracy charges". UPI. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Judge Restores Weapons Convictions Against 7 Davidians". The Oklahoman . March 10, 1994. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  8. ↑ "5 Branch Davidians' Sentences Are Upheld". The New York Times . September 5, 1997. pp. A32.
  9. ↑ "Hearing to reconsider sentencing of Koresh followers". Associated Press. September 4, 1997.
  10. ↑ England, Mark; Witherspoon, Tommy (January 14, 2000). "U.S. Supreme Court will hear appeal from Branch Davidians". Cox News Service .
  11. ↑ Bryce, Robert (September 22, 2000). "Naked City". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  12. ↑ "JURIST CUTS DAVIDIAN SENTENCES". Chicago Tribune . September 19, 2000. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Judge reduces Davidians' sentences for 1993 raid". Associated Press. September 19, 2000.
  14. ↑ "Former Federal Prosecutor Bill Johnson Discusses Branch Davidian Siege in Waco". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Cult 'spread fuel hours before fire'". Evening Standard . February 15, 1994.
  16. ↑ Associated Press (February 15, 1994). "Koresh Tapes Contain Discussion of Fuel, Fire". Dayton Daily News .
  17. ↑ Shannon, Kelley (February 2, 1994). "Branch Davidian Says Koresh Planned ATF Ambush, Mass Suicide". Associated Press.
  18. ↑ Doyle, Clive; Wessinger, Catherine; Wittmer, Matthew D. (2012). A Journey to Waco: Autobiography of a Branch Davidian. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 142. ISBN   9786613860538.
  19. ↑ Kennedy, J. Michael (March 13, 1993). "2 Allowed to Leave Texas Cult Compound : Standoff: Australian man and a mother of 4 come out. Woman's children were released earlier, husband was killed in Feb. 28 shootout". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Waco: The Inside Story: Chronology of the Siege". PBS. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  21. ↑ Newport, Kenneth G. C. (2006). The Branch Davidians of Waco: The History and Beliefs of An Apocalyptic Sect. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 269. ISBN   9780199245741.
  22. ↑ Verhovek, Sam Howe (March 21, 1993). "Leader of Cult Talks of Details Of a Surrender". The New York Times . p. 20.
  23. ↑ MacIntyre, Ben (March 13, 1993). "Mother surrenders to Waco besiegers". The Times .
  24. ↑ Verhovek, Sam Howe (March 25, 1993). "Decibels, Not Bullets, Bombard Texas Sect". The New York Times . pp. A16.
  25. ↑ Kerstetter, Todd (2004). ""That's Just the American Way": The Branch Davidian Tragedy and Western Religious History". Western Historical Quarterly. 35 (4): 453–471. doi:10.2307/25443054. ISSN   0043-3810. JSTOR   25443054.
  26. ↑ Aron, Jaime (April 20, 1993). "Cult Followers Still Believers". AP NEWS. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  27. ↑ Doyle, Clive; Wessinger, Catherine; Wittmer, Matthew D. (2012). A Journey to Waco: Autobiography of a Branch Davidian. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 180. ISBN   9786613860538.
  28. ↑ Reinhold, Robert (March 14, 1993). "Sect Members Are Hurting but the Siege Goes On". The New York Times . p. 24.
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