April 17, 1994: Ron Cole, Sinister Twilight

(I suspended transcription of this speech, because I saw Ron Cole looking down at some papers at certain points. However, Ron Cole assures me that "while I had papers in front of me as I talked, it was just an outline." Thus, at some point, I will resume my work. He also said that this speech is, "in my view, the worst speech I ever gave." However, I told him that I think it may read better than it was delivered.)

Ron Engelman: Good morning! My name is Ron Engelman- I used to be employed at, uh, radio station KGBS in Dallas. On- February the 28th- I was sitting at home, watching television, not even paying any attention to it- and suddenly- a news bulletin came on the air. News bulletins are a love/hate thing with most people. You love them and you need them, so that you can know what's going on, because something, obviously very important has taken place. And you hate them because they kind of remind you of a phone call at three o'clock in the morning and your children aren't home yet.

What we saw- were government agents, right here on this site- right over there, to your left- firing on a building, from behind trucks, pickups- we saw ATF agents climbing up ladders, busting out windows, throwing something inside- call it a flashbang or a concussion grenade. Couldn't believe what we were seeing, we thought we were looking at something from Bosnia- from some other country, this couldn't be happening in our country, our own government agents. Doing what they were doing here at Mt. Carmel. See, we were no better than, our government was no better that day- than the Chinese at Tienanmen Square. And our government- was assaulting its own citizens, on our own territory. We're here today, primarily- to deliver information. For people to find out, to learn more about what actually did take place. Here at Mt. Carmel, between February 28th and April the 19th.

I came on this site, shortly after April the 19th, they had begun building a fence and hadn't finished it yet. I wanted a feeling- I know a lot of you people haven't been here before. But I wanted to see what it felt like. And I walked inside the fence- myself, and, uh, Ken Fawcett, and another guy named Rick. And, we were standing there among all that rubble- I saw shoes that were burned, books, that were burned, everything in rubble- bicycles twisted and burned. I walked over to the far end over there, and looked down in, what, uh, was to be their, storm, bunker, so that they could, uh, stay out of the hurricanes. And, uh, tornadoes around here. Looked down in it, and it was full of water, obviously because it had been so wet here for so long. And a, a feeling comes over you when you come here for the first time, it's just kind of overwhelming. If you have time, ?? there are two placards there, with the names of all the people that lost their lives, right here on this property. There was absolutely no reason for it.

We have a number of speakers here today. To, give you their insights as to what happened, why it happened. We also, uh, I'd like for you, remind you, that we do have programs available, and they're over at the Branch Davidian table over here and a couple of other places. You might want to pick up one of these, uh, one of these, programs, because they're, on page three is a, uh, kind of a blueprint of ?? sniper positions. The, uh, undercover house which was right over here. That's where, uh, the undercover agents lived. And, uh, pretended to be- students. But, uh, like Kevin Whitecliff told me, he said, uh, you know, he said we had 'em picked out right away because students don't wear Rolex watches and drive brand-new pickups. So I'd, I'd invite you to pick up a program. And I think we're going to begin this morning, with a, a gentleman named, his name is Ron Cole. He ??. Ron? [applause]

and during that time, I watched with horror, as agents of the Bureau of Alcohol I believe those following David Koresh may well have been gullible lost sheep was right. Rights that were upheld, by the Constitution of the United States, and rights that were violated. days like Rita Riddle for example. Who came out supposedly to help in the negotiating process between the FBI and David Koresh. And one excuse replaced another for not going to Waco. Until, April 19th turned into a month, a month turned into a year, and I am still going. I'm not, a professional reporter, and I'm not a professional writer. I'm simply an individual, who did not have the ability to rationalize this away. coming to Waco I thought. I discovered that David Koresh was an American patriot. Who also saw the Constitutional rights of American citizens year after year that he wanted to present to as many people as possible. Now whether we agree or disagree with that message matters not, because in the United States of America, we have the ability to preach a message. No matter how demented or sick that message may be perceived by others, the moment, someone like David Koresh loses the right to preach that message, we've all lost our right to preach our message. [applause]

I also learned, that Steve Schneider, David Koresh's so-called right-hand man, or second-in-command- I learned that Steve Schneider used to teach comparitive religion at the University of Hawaii before he came to live here at Mt. Carmel Center. I learned that Wayne Martin, was a Harvard-educated attorney, who ran his law office out of the first floor of Mt. Carmel. I learned that Janet McBean, who was also a Davidian that had lived out here. Janet was not at Mt. Carmel on February 28th, because she was in California, finishing up her nursing degree. Yet, she was a Branch Davidian and a follower of David Koresh. I learned that Livingstone Fagan, had his master's degree in philosophy from a university in England. At this moment, Livingstone is in a jail cell. For the alleged crime that he perpetrated, on February 28th. my year here in Waco. During this time, I've lived here with survivors, I've talked with all of them. I've read all of the government reports, I think I've seen more videotape than I could possibly imagine Demonization, coverup, and then disinformation. First there was the demonization

just because someone lives a diverse lifestyle. And even if David Koresh was guilty, completely guilty of every single crime that he has been accused of- he deserves a trial, not death by fire. And that's all I have. Thank you very much. [applause]

Ron Engelman: That's how it was! That's how it happened, and you just heard the whole story...