Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 9, 1994 TAG: 9401090066
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SAN ANTONIO LENGTH: Short
Eleven surviving followers are left to defend themselves against murder charges stemming from the botched raid on the Waco compound by agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms last Feb. 28. Gunfire killed four ATF agents and six Branch Davidians.
A 12th follower charged with the others last August in a 10-count indictment pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for her testimony in the murder trial.
Prosecutors will try to prove the defendants murdered the agents as part of a conspiracy to fulfill Koresh's doomsday vision that the world would end after a cataclysmic clash with the government.
Defense attorneys intend to show the government was to blame for the gun battle by going ahead with a poorly planned raid even after losing the element of surprise. The defense plans to call U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, former ATF Director Stephen Higgins and former FBI Director William Sessions as witnesses.
What remains to be seen is how the legacy of Koresh, the 33-year-old rock singer-turned-prophet, will influence the trial, which is expected to last two months.
Inevitably, lawyers say, freedom of religion and the right to bear arms will be central themes in the trial.
by CNB