Commercializing the Compound


This file appears in: The Branch Davidian Siege
Commercializing the Compound

While most chose to watch the daily updates in the news, many people chose to come to Waco to see the siege unfold before their eyes, using telescopes and binoculars to view the compound nearly ten miles away—the closest they could get. For opportunists, the draw was the crowd itself—a way to make a buck off the buzz Waco was generating. T-shirt salesmen set up stands—or sold T-shirts from the trunks of their cars—with phrases like “WACO – We Aren’t Coming Out” and “Wacko WACO.” Other vendors sold baseball caps, buttons, and tote bags. Palm reader Linda Parker (right photo, pictured at left) and her mother offered to tell the fortunes of passersby. David Mevis set up a grill, selling “Koresh Burgers” and “Koresh Dogs” for $2 each. The siege continued to bring in crowds in the weeks leading up to its tragic end on April 19. Among the visitors was Timothy McVeigh, a Gulf War veteran who distributed pro-gun rights materials and bumper stickers with phrases such as “When guns are outlawed, I will become an outlaw.” Two years later, McVeigh perpetrated the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19 as revenge for the government sieges at Waco and Ruby Ridge. ~ Source: Courtesy of the Texas Collection at Baylor University. Vendors selling goods and services near Mount Carmel Center, 1993. [Waco] Branch Davidians: Robert F. Darden III Collection #2334, Series IV Photographic Materials, Photographic Materials: Photographs: Brad Bailey, Box #4, Folder 29. ~ Date: 1993


This file appears in: The Branch Davidian Siege