REEL FACE: | REAL FACE: |
Taylor Kitsch
Born: April 8, 1981 Birthplace: Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada | David Koresh
Born: August 17, 1959 Birthplace: Houston, Texas, USA Death: April 19, 1993, Mount Carmel Center, Waco, Texas, USA (gunshot wound to head) |
Michael Shannon
Born: August 7, 1974 Birthplace: Lexington, Kentucky, USA | Gary Noesner
Born: October 28, 1950 |
Rory Culkin
Born: July 21, 1989 Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA | David Thibodeau
Born: February 13, 1969 Birthplace: Bangor, Maine, USA |
Paul Sparks
Born: October 16, 1971 Birthplace: Lawton, Oklahoma, USA | Steve Schneider
Born: abt 1949 Death: April 19, 1993, Mount Carmel Center, Waco, Texas, USA (gunshot wound to head) |
Andrea Riseborough
Born: November 20, 1981 Birthplace: Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, England, UK | Judy Schneider
Born: September 20, 1951 Death: April 19, 1993, Mount Carmel Center, Waco, Texas, USA (suffocation due to structural collapse) |
Melissa Benoist
Born: October 4, 1988 Birthplace: Littleton, Colorado, USA | Rachel Koresh
Born: May 9, 1969 Birthplace: McLennan County, Texas, USA Death: April 19, 1993, Mount Carmel Center, Waco, Texas, USA (suffocation due to structural collapse) |
Julia Garner
Born: February 1, 1994 Birthplace: Bronx, New York City, New York, USA | Michele Jones
Born: July 4, 1974 Birthplace: Texas, USA Death: April 19, 1993, Mount Carmel Center, Waco, Texas, USA (smoke inhalation and focal charring) |
Demore Barnes
Born: November 16, 1976 Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Wayne Martin
Death: (smoke inhalation and global charring) |
John Leguizamo
Born: July 22, 1964 Birthplace: Bogotá, Colombia | Robert Rodriguez
Renamed Jacob Vazquez in the Series |
The miniseries doesn't provide much of a history when it comes to the Branch Davidians. The Waco true story reveals that the religious sect was founded in 1959 by Benjamin Roden as a spin-off of the Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist Church. The group was led by Roden until his death in 1978. His wife Lois took over until her own death in 1986. David Koresh joined in 1981 and began a sexual relationship with Lois. After her death, Koresh faced off against her son, George Roden, for control of the group. The two factions clashed in a gunfight and Roden was shot and injured. Koresh, whose real name is Vernon Howell, emerged as the leader in 1987. He led the group for roughly five years up until the siege. About 130 people were living at the Mount Carmel compound in Waco at the time.
The 1993 standoff in Waco, Texas between the Branch Davidians and the authorities lasted a total of 51 days, beginning on February 28, 1993 and ending on April 19, 1993. The ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) believed that Koresh and his followers were stockpiling nearly 250 weapons inside the compound, including shotguns, semi-automatic rifles, pistols, revolvers and hundreds of grenades. They had first been tipped off after a UPS package of grenade casings had accidentally tore open. The ATF came to execute a search warrant for weapons violations and allegations of sexual abuse. They intended to search the 77-acre Mount Carmel compound. -TIME
No. Six months prior to the Waco siege, there was a standoff in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, which kicks off the miniseries. In that altercation, former Green Beret Randy Weaver was to be arrested on an illegal firearms charge. Botched surveillance by several U.S. Marshalls led to Weaver's 14-year-old son Sammy and family friend Kevin Harris (24) confronting the marshalls and a shootout ensued. Sammy shot U.S. Marshall Bill Degan and a dying Degan returned fire, killing Sammy.
The FBI's Hostage Rescue Team then came in to help. The following day, FBI HRT sniper Lon Horiuchi shot at Randy Weaver after Weaver went to view his son Sammy's body, which had been moved to a shed. Horiuchi intended to fatally hit weaver in the spine but missed and hit him in the right shoulder. As Weaver, his 16-year-old daughter Sara, and Kevin Harris ran back into the house, Horiuchi fired again. The bullet struck Weaver's wife Vicki in the head as she stood at the door holding their 10-month-old daughter Elishiba. She fell to the floor and died instantly. The same bullet struck Harris in the chest, injuring him. The most fictional element in the miniseries' depiction of Ruby Ridge is that FBI negotiator Gary Noesner (Michael Shannon) is depicted as being present at the scene and figures out a way to convince Randy Weaver to surrender. A Waco fact check reveals that Noesner was not at Ruby Ridge.
Believing that there were illegal weapons inside, it's true that the ATF agents were heavily armed and attempted to serve a warrant in full tactical gear. The confrontation led to the deaths of six of the Branch Davidians and four ATF agents. Koresh was indeed wounded in the skirmish. This began the 51-day standoff. Watch Footage of a Wounded David Koresh Speaking.
Yes. The miniseries, which originally aired on the Paramount Network in 2018, is based on two books, Waco: A Survivor's Story by David Thibodeau and Stalling for Time: My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator by Gary Noesner. Thibodeau is portrayed by Rory Culkin and Noesner is played by Michael Shannon in the series.
In the Waco miniseries, agents seem to be making largely baseless claims that David Koresh (Taylor Kitsch) is abusing children. Their claims are juxtaposed with images of children playing happily. The Waco miniseries true story is darker than what is depicted in the series, which paints a much more flattering depiction of Koresh. As stated earlier, it's true that he took multiple wives from within the group. Some of the girls were as young as 12 years old (according to the FBI, Koresh had sex with girls as young as 10). Almost all of the 21 children who survived the siege reported that sexual abuse and physical abuse by Koresh was extensive in the compound.
For example, the series shows Koresh with a wooden stick ready to punish a boy who snuck into a freezer to take ice cream. However, instead of punishing the boy, Koresh tells him that since he's a member of the group, everyone is guilty along with him. In an act of fairness, he then gives everyone a spoonful of ice cream. In real life, the children who survived told a team of therapists that they were struck with a wooden paddle that Koresh called "the helper" for something as small as spilling a glass of milk. To prepare for a potential siege, they said he made them fight each other and paddled those who didn't fight with enough force.
Yes. Waco survivor Clive Doyle recounted this in his autobiography, stating that the FBI used loud noises constantly. They blared the sounds of "rabbits being killed, warped-up music, Nancy Sinatra singing 'These Boots Are Made For Walking', Tibetan monks chanting, Christmas carols, telephones ringing, reveille." It's true that David Koresh sent his own loud music back at the authorities. However, according to a 1993 Entertainment Weekly article, this happened prior to the compound's power being cut. Unlike the series, he didn't do it with the generator's last bit of remaining fuel. Listen to the David Koresh Song 'Mad Man in Waco'.
Yes. An agent testified that the FBI had placed 11 listening devices inside the compound over the course of the 51-day standoff. The miniseries only shows one such device, which is smuggled in with a crate of milk. -The New York Times
Yes, and a Waco miniseries fact check confirms that Gary Noesner left Waco three weeks before the fire. It's also true that he managed to free 35 people, many of whom were children. In speaking of David Koresh reneging on some of his promises to the FBI, Noesner said, "At Waco, our on-scene commander and the tactical commander took those behaviors in a very negative way. Then they would take actions that would only ratchet up things with David. So it was a very complex tragedy." Noesner shares his viewpoint and his side of the story in his book Stalling for Time: My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator. -Smithsonian Magazine
While the miniseries keeps its main focus on a select number of characters, a total of 76 people died on April 19, 1993 after fires broke out roughly one hour after agents finished inserting tear gas into the compound to try and flush people out. They also rammed the buildings to try and get them to come out, using Koresh's physical and sexual child abuse as a justification for their assault. Before long, the compound known as Mount Carmel went up in flames. Of the 76 who perished, 25 were children, many of whom had gone into the concrete vault room with their mothers for safety.
There are two versions of how the fires started. The government came out with a report in 2000 that concluded that it was the Branch Davidians who started the fires. As implied on the show, the report indeed found that incendiary tear gas canisters were used by the FBI, but arson investigators determined that the fires were started simultaneously by the Davidians in no less than three different locations in the compound. Transcripts from listening devices the FBI placed within the compound support this assertion. On the day of the siege, members can be heard talking about setting the fires (The New York Times). The survivors, including David Thibodeau, say that this is entirely untrue. Thibodeau has maintained over the years that the fires started as a result of the actions of the FBI. This is the version that we see in the Waco miniseries.
In researching the Waco fact vs. fiction, we learned that prior to the fire that destroyed the compound, 35 people had left, including 21 children. Nine more fled the compound after the fire began. In total, 44 members survived the 51-day siege. -The New York Times
Yes. Our investigation into the Waco fact vs. fiction reveals that eight surviving Branch Davidian members were convicted on charges of voluntary manslaughter and using firearms while carrying out a crime. By 2007, all had been released from prison. David Thibodeau (played by Rory Culkin in the series), along with several other surviving adults, was not sentenced to prison time. -Fox News
Yes. The real David Thibodeau had a cameo in the Waco series finale. At the end of the episode, Thibodeau can be seen sitting on a bench next to his onscreen counterpart (played by Rory Culkin) outside a hearing room in Washington, D.C.
Watch footage of David Koresh speaking from inside Waco and listen to his song 'Mad Man in Waco'.