A group with Christian beliefs. Total body count: at least 8.
A Christian group. Total body count: over 919.
A Christian group. Total body count: 5.
He preached the immanent end of the world in a fiery war of Armageddon. He assembled large supplies of arms at his compound in Waco TX; one source estimates 11 tons of arms including antitank rifles. There were persistent rumours that Koresh engaged in sexual activity with many of the females in his group, including some young, under-age women. However, no evidence of criminal activity could be found, in spite of a number of investigations by child protective services.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) responded to widespread rumours of illegal arms at the Waco compound in 1992 by investigating the group. A raid on the compound went terribly wrong. A shot was heard; it is unclear whether it was an accidental firing by an ATF agent, or an intentional or accidental discharge from within the buildings. In the resultant firefight, 6 Davidians and 4 ATF agents died; at least one Davidian and 24 agents were wounded.
The FBI assumed responsibility shortly thereafter. The siege lasted 51 days and was heavily publicized in the media. Based on a report from a psychiatrist at the Baylor College of Medicine, the FBI believed that the Branch Davidian children were being sexually and physically abused inside the compound. (The FBI has since acknowledged that the report is false.) The FBI consulted a number of experts on new religious movements with knowledge about destructive cults, who warned of a high probability of mass murder or suicide if aggressive action was taken. The FBI also consulted a number of psychiatrists, who had no specialized experience with doomsday cults, who assured the FBI that the chances of major loss of life was slim. The Bureau decided that it was safe to attack the compound with tear gas. The FBI seem to have ignored the religious experts and accepted the beliefs of the psychiatrists.
The siege ended with an attack using modified tanks to bash holes in the compound's walls, and inject a form of tear gas inside the buildings. There appears to be evidence that the Branch Davidians responded by lighting small fires at various places throughout the compound. The engineering consulting firm Failure Analysis were hired by the National Riflemen's Association to study the fire. They presented their findings at a seminar at MIT, concluding that it was most likely set by the Branch Davidians themselves.
On the other hand, some people claim that one of the tanks overturned a propane tank inside the compound which burst into flames. However, this belief cannot account for the large number of small blazes observed among the buildings. A film about Waco shows a tank equipped with a flame thrower attacking a building. The film was doctored and a phony flame was added in a lab for propaganda reasons.
The small fires combined to form an inferno which quickly leveled the building. 8 Davidians were able to leave the compound during the fire; Koresh and 75 of his followers died of stab wounds, gun shots and from the smoke and flames. Five group members were convicted of voluntary manslaughter and firearms violations. Two others were also convicted of arms charges.
A massive amount of misinformation has been spread about The Waco tragedy by the ATF, FBI, disgruntled former members of the Branch Davidians and Waco survivors. It is difficult to separate fact from fiction, although rumours of helicopter gun ships and flame throwing tanks do seem most improbable. We feel that the main fundamental, preventable causes of the tragedy were:
A Christian group. Total body count: 79.
For many months prior to the suicides, rumours of financial mismanagement had circulated within the Solar Temple. An infant, aged three months, was killed in 1994-OCT at their Canadian site by driving a wooden stake through his heart. Former group members explained that Di Mambro ordered the killing because the baby was believed to be the Anti-Christ described in the Bible. A few days later, Di Mambro and twelve followers had a ritual Last Supper together. A few days later, mass suicides and murders were conducted at two villages in Switzerland and in Morn Heights, a ski resort north of Montreal, Quebec. 15 inner circle members (called the "awakened") committed suicide by the use of poison. 30 (called the "immortals") were killed by bullets or smothering. 8 others (called the "traitors") were also killed. A Christian group with New Age beliefs. Total body count in 1994: 53.
Just before Christmas in 1995, 16 of the remaining members of the group disappeared from their homes in France and Switzerland. Four left notes which hinted at a second mass suicide and expressing a desire to "see another world". 13 adults and 3 children were later found dead in a remote forest on the Vergers plateau, in southeast France. They were killed or had committed suicide; this probably occurred on Dec. 23, between the winter solstice and Christmas. The group continues to exist; it is believed to have over 30 surviving members in Quebec. Some investigators and Solar Temple members are concerned that there might be a further murder/suicide event near the summer solstice in June.
A Christian-New Age group. Total body count: 69
Its leader, Shoko Asahara was born in 1955 as Chizuo Matsumoto, the son of a tatami straw mat maker. He was partially blind at birth, and attended a school for the blind. As an adult, he was an acupuncturist. In the early 1980's, he opened a folk medicine shop. Later, he established a school for yoga. Then he traveled to the Himalayas to study Buddhism and Hinduism. This led him to organize the Aum Shinri Kyo in 1987.
In the late 1980's, counter-cult lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto was campaiging on behalf of the families of some of the cult's members. He was interviewed in 1989 by the Tokyo Broadcasting System where he revealed details of the cult's illegal activities. The interview was never broadcast. He, his wife and child were kidnapped and murdered a week later by Aum members who have since confessed to the killings.
Asahara is regarded as Christ by his followers. Using the Christian Biblical book of Revelations, and the writings of a 16th Century Christian monk, Nostradamus, he has predicted major disasters to occur in the final years of this millennium. His group reached a peak membership of about 20,000 worldwide. Many of them were drawn to the group because of a promise that they would develop supernatural powers; others were attracted by the group's rejection of the corruption and materialism which they saw throughout modern Japan. Asahara claims that he has traveled forward to the year 2006 and has talked to people who have survived World War III. Asahara called for the group to fight in a final world revolution against the enemies of Japan, including the US. The group established a number of chemical factories and stockpiled various chemicals, as preparation for this Armageddon. There have been allegations that Asahara had ordered the assassination of at least one of his followers.
As of 1996-JUN, he is on trial for the spreading of a nerve gas, Sarin, in a Tokyo subway station on 1995-MAR-20. 400 Aum members are in jail; trials are expected to last up to 10 years. The government is attempting to outlaw the cult under their Anti-Subversive Activities Law. Membership had dropped to about 7,000.
A Christian-Buddhist group. The gas killed 11 passengers and injured over 5000.
Most destructive cults that have been involved in violent loss of life by their members have exhibited most or all of the following common factors:
Considerable civil unrest occurred in Europe as they year 1000 CE approached. History may repeat itself in the last days of the present millennium. Religious minorities in particular might be the victims of extensive persecution.
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