Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,talk.religion.misc,alt.politics.media,talk.politics.guns
From: Mike Tighe <[t--g--e] at [convex.COM]>
Subject: Re: Religious cult in Waco Texas
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1993 05:43:07 GMT

[c h risb] at [seachg.UUCP] (Chris Blask) writes:

>I am biased against religious fanatics, so I accept that criticism.

But the Federal Government cannot be. They must give all groups equal
protection under the law. Surely you recall, that the migration to this
continent was a result of religious persecution in Europe.

>However, I think the likeliest conclusion by far is that Koresh is guilty
>of a number of crimes for which he can be legally convicted.

Prior to the raid, he was not. There was no warrant out for his arrest for
murder, rape, robbery, extortion, etc. He was not wanted for any crimes.

> I would also assume (time may prove me wrong) that he damages kids (though
> that is not always illegal.)

In the US we assume innocence, not guilt.

> Everything I have seen shows Koresh in the typical power-mad Jim
> Jones/Charles Manson light.  While I realize that we must be careful to
>protect the openness of our society, we also must protect against lunatics.

Jim Jones? Where are all of the suicides? Manson? Where are all of the
murders? No, he is not a lunatic, just another Jesus freak.

>*I*'m not arguing facts at all, as far as I can tell there *aren't* any
>related to this case yet (at least none on the net!)  If it turns out the
>Feds were wrong, so be it.

How about this one:

Late last week the BATF/FBI/etc., staged another no-knock raid down in
Waco.  This time it was a garage/storage shed, that was within a few miles
of the Branch Dividiad church.  They said the place was a staging point for
illegal traffic in weapons and explosives.
 
The raid was commenced by driving a Bradley Fighting Vehicle through the
wall.  Fortunately, nobody was home, so there was no bloodshed.  When the
search for all of those illegal weapons and explosives was over, all they
found was a handful of shotgun shells.

Looks like they were wrong on this raid too. And what about the fact that
they have changed their story about the original raid so many times you
cannot count them all?

>Is there any proof (hints, hearsay, fiction) that the BD's are
>*not* as bad as they look?

Yes, the fact that prior to the raid, none of them were wanted for any
crimes.

> Child molesters (at leaset in Koresh's case) like you would assume of most
> people with 12-year-old wives?

The child molestation charges were investigated by the local sheriff and
found to be unsubstantiated.

> Did not have valid reason to believe (something)
> that would make a no-knock plausible if that were the case?

Yes. The fact that Koresh was arrested and tried for murder in 1987 (found
not guilty) by the local sheriff without any bloodshed, iilustrates that
the BATF procedures were flawed. And what was that secret technique that
the sheriff used to arrest Koresh without bloodshed? He called him up and
told he was coming out to arrest him.

Now, I admit I am at an unfair advantage by living here in Dallas. This
story is on the news every day, in the news, and on the radio. All local
newscasters are on site 24 hours a day, with live updates. I never heard of
these people prior to the raid, and now I know more about them than I could
ever care.
-- 
Mike Tighe, (214) 497-4206
[t--g--e] at [convex.com]