| Thing is, nobody ever proved he was an 'insane cult leader.' That issue only surfaced after the whole thing turned into a massacre. According to neighbors, anyone who wanted was free to leave at any time, and did so regularly. As for the firepower issue, I have ( if reports are to be believed ) roughly approximate firepower sitting in my bedroom closet, I live with four housemates, and I'm not a threat to anyone.
The whole thing started over an allegedly unpaid $200 tax...a tax which, it turns out, nobody owed. Koresh went jogging in the town of Waco every morning; he could have been busted on his run. But ATFE decided it needed a good bust to try and regain some face after Ruby Ridge, that's why the press was along for the initial assault. It started out as simple tax-enforcement, the "insane cultist abusing 5-year-olds and cooking crank while slapping his wives around" angle didn't come out until it became clear that ATFE and the FBI were pretty much stuck. |