When he chose Waco, Texas, as the setting for his so-called first rally of the 2024 campaign, former President Donald Trump raised eyebrows.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the 51-day standoff between federal agencies and members of the Branch Davidian sect who hunkered down in a heavily armed compound, apparently convinced by leader David Koresh that the apocalypse was at their doorstep. The complex exploded on April 19, 1993, killing 76 people, including two dozen children, for a total of 86 people.
This week, the pastor with the group, Charles Pace, told multiple outlets that he believes Trump’s choice to hold a rally in Waco was a “statement” because the former president is awaiting criminal charges.
The Branch Davidians still exist today. They were founded as a branch of the Seventh Day Adventists before Koresh came into the picture and convinced his followers that he was a prophet.
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Trump “made a statement, I believe, by coming to a place where the government, the FBI, surrounded this community like they surrounded Mar-a-Lago and went in and took their stuff. That’s what they want to do here, they want to go in and take out the gun and all,” Pace to Texas Tribune reporter Robert Downen.
Pace made similar comments to The New York Times, saying that the FBI “accused [Trump] about all sorts of things that aren’t true, like David Koresh being accused by the FBI.
The Times noted that Pace had spoken highly of Trump in his sermon, calling him “God’s anointed man.”
Trump did not mention the Waco incident itself; a spokesperson told multiple news outlets that the city is the only “center in all four of the largest metropolitan areas in Texas.”
“He didn’t come right out and say, ‘I did it because I wanted you to know what was going wrong,’ but he said it,” Pace said. said from Trump.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is widely reported to be considering criminal charges against Trump in connection with cash payments made to adult film stars during the 2016 presidential election. Lago – also pending.
Trump recently announced his arrest was imminent and criticized law enforcement on Truth Social, a social media platform, warning on Friday that his arrest would lead to “potential death and destruction.” Earlier, he urged his supporters to “PROTEST, BRING BACK OUR NATION!”
Anti-government extremists were immediately drawn to Waco during the standoff. Timothy McVeigh observed the event and then chose April 19, 1995, to carry out the deadly Oklahoma City bombing.
On the right, especially among gun control opponents, the incident is still considered a prime example of government overreach, starting with the February 28, 1993, execution of a search warrant by ATF agents who suspected the Branch Davidians were illegal. turning a huge cache of high-powered weapons.
Mary Trump, the former president’s niece, tweeted on Friday that her uncle’s choice of the board was a “tip”.
He added, “They want the same violent chaos to rescue them from justice.”