George Buchanan Roden (January 17, 1938 – December 8, 1998) was an American leader of the
Branch Davidian
The Branch Davidians (or the General Association of Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists) were an apocalyptic new religious movement founded in 1955 by Benjamin Roden. They regard themselves as a continuation of the General Association of ...
sect, a
Seventh-day Adventist
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...
splinter group. In 1987, he was evicted from the
Mount Carmel Center
The Mount Carmel Center was a large compound building used by the Branch Davidians religious group located near Axtell, Texas, 20 miles north-east of Waco. The Branch Davidians were a breakaway sect from Davidian Seventh Adventists, established by ...
near
Waco, Texas
Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...
, by his rival
David Koresh
David Koresh (; born Vernon Wayne Howell; August 17, 1959 – April 19, 1993) was an American cult leader who played a central role in the Waco siege of 1993. As the head of the Branch Davidians, a religious sect and offshoot of the Davidian Sev ...
. He was later confined in a Texas mental hospital for a 1989 murder until his own death in 1998.
Branch Davidians
George Roden was the presumed successor to his mother
Lois Roden
Lois Irene Scott Roden (August 1, 1916 – November 10, 1986) was a president of the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Church, an apocalyptic Christian group which her husband, Benjamin Roden founded. The sect began in Texas in 1955 as a s ...
, who had become president of the Branch Davidians in 1978, when her husband and group leader
Benjamin Roden
Benjamin Lloyd Roden (January 5, 1902 – October 22, 1978) was an American religious leader and the prime organizer of the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Association.
Early life
Benjamin Roden was born on January 5, 1902 in Bear ...
had died. However, Vernon Howell (after 1990, known as
David Koresh
David Koresh (; born Vernon Wayne Howell; August 17, 1959 – April 19, 1993) was an American cult leader who played a central role in the Waco siege of 1993. As the head of the Branch Davidians, a religious sect and offshoot of the Davidian Sev ...
) arrived at Mount Carmel and began a sexual relationship with Lois Roden, who was then in her 60s.
Koresh justified their relationship by claiming that God had chosen him to father a child with her, who would be the
Chosen One. George Roden felt that his position of leadership was threatened and was deeply offended by Koresh's relationship with his mother. He filed a lawsuit in
federal court alleging that Koresh had raped Lois and brainwashed her into turning against him.
[Warning of Violence Was Unheeded After Cult Leader's Gun Battle in '87 Adam Nossiter ''The New York Times'' March 10, 1993]
In 1984 or 1985, a fire destroyed a $500,000 administration building and press at Mount Carmel. Roden said Koresh started the fire, but Koresh replied that "no man set that fire" and that it was a judgment of God. Roden, claiming to have the support of the majority of the cult, forced Koresh and his group off the property at gunpoint. Disturbed by the events, a further splinter group led by Charles Joseph Pace moved out of Mount Carmel Center and set up home in Gadsden, Alabama.
Koresh and about 25 followers settled in
Palestine, Texas
Palestine ( ) is a city in and the seat of Anderson County in the U.S. state of Texas. It was named for Palestine, Illinois, by preacher Daniel Parker, who had migrated from that town.
The city had a 2020 U.S. census population of 18,544, mak ...
; Roden renamed Mount Carmel "Rodenville". In a videotaped interview, Roden led a tour of "Rodenville" using an
M1 carbine
The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine that was a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The M1 carbine was produced ...
as a pointer and declared: "It's basically a holy jihad, Khomeini versus Israel, that's what Vernon Howell has with me."
In October 1987, Roden married Amo Paul Bishop (known as Amo P. Bishop Roden since then). A month later, on November 3, 1987, Koresh and seven of his followers stormed Mount Carmel.
According to one version, Roden, resentful of Koresh's power over the Davidians, had challenged Koresh, saying that whoever could resurrect the dead was the true leader. Roden told the press he had exhumed a body only because he had been moving the community cemetery. While Roden prayed over the body of Ana Hughes, who had died two decades earlier, Koresh reported Roden to the
McLennan County
McLennan County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 260,579 . Its county seat and largest city is Waco. The U.S. census 2021 county population estimate is 263,115. The county is ...
sheriff's office for corpse abuse. The police told Koresh that he needed evidence to back up his accusation.
On November 3, 1987, Koresh and seven followers returned to Mount Carmel heavily armed and wearing
camouflage clothing. They stealthily entered the compound, allegedly to obtain a photograph. However, they did not bring a camera, but carried weapons and a map of the grounds with positions to occupy. They found Roden crouched behind a tree with an
Uzi submachine gun
The Uzi (; he, עוזי, Ūzi; officially cased as UZI) is a family of Israeli open-bolt, blowback-operated submachine guns and machine pistols first designed by Major Uziel "Uzi" Gal in the late 1940s, shortly after the establishment of the ...
, and a gun battle ensued for several minutes. Roden fled the property with wounds to his hand and chest. Koresh's companions were found not guilty after a two-week trial for
attempted murder
Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions.
Canada
Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...
in Waco, and a mistrial was declared in Koresh's case. Their weapons, five
.223-caliber semiautomatic rifles, two
.22-caliber rifle
A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...
s, and two
12-gauge
The gauge (or commonly bore in British English) of a firearm is a unit of measurement used to express the inner diameter (bore diameter) of the barrel.
Gauge is determined from the weight of a solid sphere of lead that will fit the bore of the f ...
shotguns
A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...
, which had been confiscated by the police, were returned, as well. The shootout at Mount Carmel was described by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' as a foretelling of the violence of the
Waco siege
The Waco siege, also known as the Waco massacre, was the law enforcement siege of the compound that belonged to the religious sect Branch Davidians. It was carried out by the U.S. federal government, Texas state law enforcement, and the U.S. mi ...
.
Koresh and his group started paying the back taxes for the property and treating it as their own.
In March 1988, Roden was put in jail for a total of nine months under contempt of court charges, first because of his use of foul language in court pleadings, and then for living on the property after being ordered to neither live on the property nor call himself the leader of the religious group in a 1979 case.
The next day, Koresh's followers moved from their headquarters in Palestine, Texas, to Mount Carmel.
Adair murder
In October 1989, Roden killed Wayman Dale Adair (age 56) in
Odessa, Texas
Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small section of the city extends into Midland County.
Odessa's population was 114,428 at the 2020 census, mak ...
by shooting him; Adair was also struck on the head with a hatchet. Roden and Adair were sharing a house in Odessa (previously owned by Roden's parents) that was converted into two "efficiency apartments".. However, Marc Breault (former follower of Koresh and author of ''Inside the Cult'') describes Adair as just a person who came to Roden's home to share a divine revelation that he, Adair, was a messiah. According to a newspaper report from 1993, Roden said that in the 1989 shooting, he was defending himself from a hitman sent by the cult.
Put on trial for murder, Roden was found
not guilty by
reason of insanity, confined to a
mental hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociati ...
, and later moved to another mental hospital in Big Spring, Texas.
Mental illness, escape, and death
On September 30, 1993, Roden walked away from the Big Spring State Hospital and went missing for four days.
The Big Spring Police Department was assisted in the search by the Odessa Police Department and the
Texas Rangers. He was captured in
Abilene, Texas
Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan statis ...
, and returned to Big Spring State Hospital by the
Taylor County sheriff's department.
In February 1995, the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation's Dangerous Review Board declared Roden "not manifestly dangerous". Seven months later, he fled Big Spring for three days before being caught outside the Israeli consulate in New York City, where he caused a disturbance after being denied a visa to Israel. At the time, Roden's son was allegedly living in Israel and Roden's father is described as having Jewish roots. Roden, who claimed to be Jewish, said hitmen trained by the
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...
were trying to kill him.
On December 8, 1998, Roden again escaped and was found dead of a heart attack on the grounds of Big Spring State Hospital, where he was confined at the time.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roden, George
1938 births
1998 deaths
Branch Davidians
American Christian religious leaders
People acquitted by reason of insanity