Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 8, 1993 TAG: 9303080042
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WACO, TEXAS LENGTH: Medium
CULT LEADER REJECTS SETTLEMENT
On the eighth day of his standoff against police, cult leader David Koresh rejected a settlement offer from federal authorities and turned to "psychological warfare" by blasting his own rock music at the hundreds of armed agents surrounding his compound."We offered him what we thought was a reasonable compromise," said FBI special agent Bob Ricks, who said round-the-clock negotiations were focusing on the "mechanics of releasing" all 107 people believed inside. Koresh has told negotiators he is concerned about the murder charges his followers may face as a result of the deaths of four federal agents in a shootout with the cult Feb. 28. But officials would not say what assurances Koresh rejected.
Koresh, whom authorities described Sunday as "increasingly irritable," also appeared to be blocking the release of a 6-year-old child named Melissa, who told federal agents she wanted to leave. "Melissa spoke cheerfully of coming out," Ricks said. But Koresh apparently intervened, and the girl returned to the phone "parroting words that had been given to her."
Officials took this as another sign he may be holding some of his followers against their will. Authorities had already said they thought he was treating adults inside the compound differently from the children - 21 of whom have been released. The children remaining in the compound are thought to be Koresh's.
Koresh even began rejecting "proposals he made," the FBI agent said. For instance, after asking for milk for the 17 children inside, the cult leader then refused the delivery.
The discouraging turn of events capped a week that began last Sunday with a 45-minute gun battle that left four federal agents and an unknown number of cult members dead. As Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents clung to vehicles and limped away with 16 wounded, Koresh burrowed into his bunker, which is reportedly supplied with five years of food and water and has an arsenal of high-powered weapons.
Tuesday, he promised to surrender after radio stations broadcast a bizarre 58-minute monologue. But once the stations aired the message, Koresh, who has called himself the Messiah, said he changed his plans because of "a message from God."