The only way to know for sure that Trump chose Waco for its symbolism will be if the former president refers to the events of 1993 in his comments at the rally, Pitcavage said. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY. "I can't even fathom what that's about other than just a complete dog whistle – actually forget dog whistle, that is just a train whistle to the folks who still remember that event and are still mad about it." "Give me a break! There's no reason to go to Waco, Texas, other than one thing – in April," Squire said. Megan Squire, deputy director for data analytics at the Southern Poverty Law Center, scoffed at the idea that Trump would be holding a rally in Waco for anything other than the city's symbolic resonance among the far right. "He's being unjustly accused, like the Branch Davidians were unjustly accused – and the deep state is out to get them all." "Waco has a sense of grievance among people that I know he's (Trump's) got to be trying to tap into," Beirich said. When Trump's first claims emerged over the weekend, it seemed possible he could be arrested, charged in New York and then released pending a trial, meaning he would. arrive in Waco with new fuel for his ongoing claims that he's a reformer being targeted by a host of "deep state" enemies. The choice is especially noteworthy given the event arrives just after Trump's claim that criminal charges against him are forthcoming. Indeed, Timothy McVeigh, who bombed the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995, killing 168 people, had driven to the Waco siege two years earlier where he distributed pro-gun and anti-government literature. A few years later, an upstart Austin talk show host in his 20s led a group of volunteers to rebuild the chapel on the site. ![]() ![]() The tragedy was a landmark in the rise of the so-called "militia" movement – a loose collective of far-right armed groups that grew significantly in popularity throughout the mid-1990s and early 2000s.Īnd the Waco "massacre" as it is often called, has endured as a deep source of hatred and distrust of the federal government among far-right extremists. During the raid, the building housing the Branch Davidians caught on fire and most of the people trapped inside were killed. After a 51-day siege of the property, FBI agents attacked on April 19 using tear gas. military and Texas law enforcement laid siege to the compound of the Branch Davidians, a Christian sect led by cult figure Koresh, located 13 miles from Waco.Īgents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms engaged in a firefight with the sect when they attempted to serve warrants at the compound, where officials believed Koresh and his followers were stockpiling weapons. He has claimed several times in the last week that he will be arrested imminently, but the former president remained free on Friday afternoon. Trump has portrayed the charges as a witch hunt carried out by sinister forces in the federal government – a theme that has been an increasingly common refrain for Trump as his rhetoric has swung further to the far right since losing the 2020 election.īetween February 28 and April 19, 1993, federal agents, the U.S. The rally also comes as Trump reportedly faces criminal charges in New York. It ended in a botched raid that left 76 people, including 25 children, dead. The rally, planned for Saturday, will fall during the 30th anniversary of the siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco. Federal agents, aiming to arrest cult leader David Koresh, surrounded his walled compound in an armed standoff that lasted more than a month. ![]() ![]() Former President Donald Trump – launching his bid to return to the White House even as he rallies supporters to protest against an arrest he claims is impending – chose an auspicious location for one of his earliest rallies for the 2024 election: the city of Waco, Texas.
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