Branch Davidians

Branch Davidians
a US religious group, based in Waco, Texas,which believed that Christ would soon return to earth. Their leader was David Koresh. In 1993 members of the group killed four US government officers who were trying to enter their building. The building was then surrounded for 51 days until the Branch Davidians began a fire in which 82 of them died (33 from Britain).

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Religious sect that believes in the imminent return of Jesus Christ.

It was founded in 1935 near Waco, Texas, by Victor Houteff as a breakaway group from the Seventh-Day Adventists. Under the leadership of Vernon Howell, a charismatic and apocalyptic preacher who would take the name David Koresh (1959–1993), it stockpiled weapons at its compound, where some 130 followers were living by 1993. That year, after a shoot-out in which four federal agents were killed, federal law-enforcement agencies besieged the compound for 51 days. The standoff ended, at the orders of Attorney General Janet Reno, in a conflagration in which some 80 members died, including several children and Koresh himself. Intense controversy about the precise circumstances and the necessity of the final assault led to a Congressional investigation, which in 2000 exonerated federal agents.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Branch Davidians — [Branch Davidians] a US religious group, based in Waco, ↑Texas,which believed that Christ would soon return to earth. Their leader was David Koresh. In 1993 members of the group killed four US government officers who were trying to enter their… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Branch Davidians — Die Branch Davidians (engl. „Branch Davidianer“) sind die Anhänger einer religiösen Gruppierung (Sekte) namens Branch Davidian (Englisch für „Davidianischer Ast“ oder „Abspaltung von den Davidianern“), die sich 1955 von den Davidian Seventh Day… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Branch Davidians — n. religious destructive cult that originated from the Adventists church and are best remembered for the 1993 siege of their compound in Waco (Texas, USA) by U.S. federal agents which resulted in the death of dozens of their members (including… …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Branch Davidian — The Branch Davidians are a sect that originated from a schism in 1955 from the Davidian Seventh Day Adventists, themselves former members of the Seventh day Adventist Church who were disfellowshipped during the 1930s. From its inception in 1934,… …   Wikipedia

  • Branch Davidian — ▪ religious organization       an offshoot group of the Davidian Seventh day Adventist (SDA) Church that made headlines on February 28, 1993, when its Mt. Carmel headquarters near Waco, Texas, was raided by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and …   Universalium

  • branch — branchless, adj. branchlike, adj. /branch, brahnch/, n. 1. a division or subdivision of the stem or axis of a tree, shrub, or other plant. 2. a limb, offshoot, or ramification of any main stem: the branches of a deer s antlers. 3. any member or… …   Universalium

  • Waco siege — The Mount Carmel Center in flames during the assault on April 19, 1993 Date …   Wikipedia

  • Waco Siege — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Waco Siege caption=The Mount Carmel Center in flames during the assault on April 19, 1993. result=Raid: Shootout resulting in the ATF retreat Assault: Buildings burned to the ground resulting in a mass number of …   Wikipedia

  • David Koresh — mug shot of Koresh taken in 1987 Born Vernon Wayne Howell August 17, 1959(1959 08 17) Houston, Texas, U.S …   Wikipedia

  • Davidianer — Die Branch Davidians sind die Anhänger einer religiösen Gruppierung (Sekte) namens Branch Davidian (Englisch für „Davidianischer Ast“ oder „Abspaltung von den Davidianern“), die sich 1955 von den Davidian Seventh Day Adventists („Davidianische… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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