David Thibodeau

“Koresh certainly was guilty of something.”

“I challenge any American family to think about what they would do if they were invaded by a hostile force. If tanks pulled up outside their house, and there were armed men inside, would they send their kids out? A lot of Americans would fight that to the end.”

“No matter what you think of David Koresh or the people that died there, they died for what they believed in. And that's more than I can say for a lot of people.”

“To all the people that he hurt, I'm not - I can't be an apologist for David Koresh, but I feel for people that have had negative experiences at the hands of David. Let me put it that way. I think about those people, whether I agree with them on every point or not. Everyone has a right to their experience.”

“The meek and the humble died at Mt. Carmel. And the strong and the arrogant - the FBI and the ATF - lived.”

“I think law enforcement should respect their undercover agents and listen to what they have to say.”

“It's not my job to convince people that Koresh was the final messenger or had this final message.”

“I want to reach the Mr. Joneses and Mrs. Smiths who wouldn't give Waco a second thought.”

“I'd love to believe in my government so I could trust law enforcement people again. I don't have that belief any more.”

“I don't believe we're meant to just die and go to nothing.”

“I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.”

“Everyone should be talking to each other to find out why they have the views that they do instead of just getting on Facebook and yelling at each other. Nobody really, really talks. They don't listen.”

“I went to L.A. to be a drummer in a band.”

“What greater insult can you give God than to take your own life?”

“I was a drummer living in Los Angeles in 1990. I had finished music school and was playing with a band. It wasn't going as well as it should have been.”

“Mount Carmel was a very monastic place. We lived in another time - an easier time, a better time. We didn't have running water or most modern conveniences. But in a lot of ways, it was a very satisfying life.”

“I went into Guitar Center, and David Koresh and Steven Schneider were looking at a drum set, and they asked me to play it. They handed me their card, which said, 'Messiah Productions.' All this religious scripture was written on the back. The last thing I wanted was to join any kind of Christian band.”

“Guys dropped their families and followed Him... When I read of Christ and the Apostles, I see mind control at work to an extent.”

“Koresh believed that God had a plan that would go contrary to any human planning.”