A total of 76 Branch Davidians died as a result of the government’s siege of their compound in Mount Carmel, Texas. On April 19, 1993, the FBI launched an assault with tanks and tear gas, and the latter sparked a huge fire on the Branch Davidians’ compound. Writing for The Conversation, religious scholar Catherine Wessinger noted that 20 children and two miscarried babies were among the dead. Nine cult members were able to escape.

She also noted that the tragedy could have been completely avoided had authorities and the media kept emotions out of the situation, arguing that the media’s “cult” labeling instantly dehumanized the individuals in the group and pegged the Branch Davidians in the minds of the public as an aberrant and violent sect that deserved the state violence it ultimately received. (She also noted that a social worker from Child Protective Services had investigated the claims of child abuse in the group and did not find any.) The FBI also ignored the lead negotiator on the case, who believed confrontation was not necessary to end the standoff. After he noticed that the world hadn’t ended, David Koresh even planned to surrender. He just wanted to finish writing up one last biblical treatise beforehand, but authorities launched their siege before he could do so. As with all cult dramas that end in disaster, the real victims were the young ones brought into a fallacious ideology without their consent and forced to pay the ultimate price for the whims of their misguided parents.