. >> the man is david koresh. >> david koresh. >> david koresh. >> that's what david wanted, was everyonetention to him finally. and he was getting what he wanted. all eyes were on him. >> he was highly unstable, self-proclaimed messiah who used the bible and used scriptures as a weapon. >> reporter: the 33-year-old was the leader of the branch davidians, offshoot of the seventh day adventist church. >> we knew it was a cult, we'd joke about it all the time, yep, we're cult members. >> god can't manifest his love in this world of darkness! you got to come up there to find out about god! >> reporter: in the 1980s, koresh and over 100 followers lived together on a compound called mt. caramel center ranch. >> it was important for david koresh to isolate the group from the world, because the world is an influence that is constantly pulling people away and distracting you from the message. >> koresh called his compound the ranch apocalypse. >> the men lived on the ground floor, the women on the second floor with david koresh's bedroom up there too. there was a gymnasium, there was a chapel, a

koresh he wanted militarize his followers.hasing hu weaponry, ammunition. >> he thought that the end of all-time, the end of the world, would come in a great battle between the faithful and the beast of who he specifically identified as the government of the united states of america. >> it's war! these governments of this world are coming to an end. go ahead and laugh. >> he had been saying for such a long time they were going to then they did. they came. and they did exactly what he said they were going to do. >> one of the reasonshe branch davidians started to get investigated by the atf was because one day a delivery man for u.p.s. delivered a box of grenades to david koresh, and the box broke open. >> reporter: the investigation involved suspicion of firearms nsoffees, as well as potential physical and sexual abuse of minochildren. >> the fbi underestimated the charismatic control david koresh had over this faith community. >> david koresh was training soldiers for god. >> religious zealots. >> reporter: february 28th, fed

. >> the man of course is david koresh. >> reporter: koresh barricaded inside with his followers and they are heavily armed. and had a plan. >> many shall fear and trust in the name of the lord. >> it's all a part of the apocalyptic theory that gives them salvation. >> reporter: inside there were more than 30 women, and dozens of children. audio trying to convince that the children should be freed. >> you're telling me the children are innocents, but yet, you want to keep them in there? what is the purpose for that? >> look -- hey, none of your business, you people are just so arrogant, so proud and so foolish. >> of course the main focus was on the children. >> reporter: negotiators convince koresh to release some of the kids. >> we got six children out the first day. >> he says he will release more children two by two. >> a total of ten children have been released from the compound. >> reporter: joanne veiga was just 6 years old. her mother, still in the compound. >> she asked david if she could go and he said -- he said no. because he only was going to let the children out. >> rep

[ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: plays david koresh.the biggest music executive of the past 50 years. there's a new documentary about him called "clive davis: the soundtrack of our lives." the legendary clive davis is on our show tonight. [ cheers and applause ] the one and only. keeping it going, we've got great, great, great music tonight, bebe rexha and florida georgia line! [ cheers and applause ] that's a show right there. guys, it is january, it is the new year. and it's a great time to start some good habits like reading. but i don't want you to guys to read any duds. so to help you out, i'm about to show you some books that you should avoid at all costs. that's right, it's time for my latest installment of my "do not read list." here we go. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ ♪ do not read do not read do not read these books these books ♪ ♪ >> jimmy: now, before we start, i want you all to know that every book i'm about to show you is 100% real. these are actual books. you can find them on amazon or check them out at your local library. t

a fbi tear gas attack, and fire engulfed the 76 people died, including the group's leader, david koreshairing tonight. >> the branch davidians are an offshoot of the 7th day adventist church. >> they had a doomsday prophecy. they believed there would be an end of the world, and when this time came they would die. >> one of the things about being a branch davidian under david koresh is you're supposed to separate yourself from the world. >> there was no running water, no heat, no electricity of any kind. we had to go to bible study three times a day. >> why did you come here? >> because i heard there was something here that i wanted to listen to. >> he was polarizing because he's, what he's doing is so radical. he truly believed he had a mission from god. he told him where to sleep, who to sleep with, what to do, he's the lord of the manor in every sense of the word. he had absolute, absolute authority over the air they breathed, over the literally, the food they ate. >> he taught that we should not eat any dairy products. and his reasoning was dairy products are made from milk, which is

. >> you know what koresh means?eans death. >> reporter: spending 51 days engaged in a siege. >> nobody planned on coming out alive. we were all going to die. there was not going to be a giving up situation. >> they were totally dedicated to their cause and totally dedicated to their leader. this was not a passing thing. >> reporter: inside their compound koresh's devoted followers and dozens of children. >> you see this here? this is my family. it may not be like your family. >> we were shocked when we saw those precious kids that were his biological children. >> her name is serenity. >> reporter: one thing that was clear, these kids were afraid of david. in the way they behaved and complied and the way they interacted with him. >> do you love me? have a kiss? thank you. who's treated negotiating with koresh to surrender or at the very least free the children. >> what i'd like is for you to send a couple of children out. >> it's not possible. i just asked him. he said no. >> david koresh was the absolute leader insi

>> david. >> reporter: fbi agents on scene negotiating with koresh to surrender or at the very least >> what i'd like is for you to send a couple of children out. before it gets -- >> it's not possible. i just asked him. he said no. >> okay. >> david koresh was the absolute leader inside and his word was final. >> david agreed to send them out two by two if we would read a specific scripture that he gave over the radio. >> my name is dave koresh. i am speaking to you from the mt. caramel center. >> we got six children out the first day. >> a total of ten children have been released. >> reporter: over 75 people died in the massacre including two dozen children. the children who did survive now nearly 25 years later are grown and recalling the horror of those days. >> the fbi confirmed that 7-year-old joanne vega is safe. >> i was brought to a home very late at night. i think your body goes into a level of how do we survive this. >> the kids are being taken to emergency shelters that have been set up especially for them. a team of specialists is assessing each child. >> one of the thin

they see david koresh as someone who had total control, too much control over their eyes.others are true believers still in say koresh will come back from the dead, as he said they would, and they are waiting for his return. adrianna: how have they been able to move forward? some were actually trained to use weapons in case of an apocalyptic event. psychologically, how has that affected them from 1993 until now? question,t is a great and you're absolutely right. it was the belief of this community that the apocalypse was coming and they had to arm themselves because it would be brought down by the united states government. that was the belief, and they did the hardest thing for the adults, decades later, is to think that their parents somehow put david koresh and this religious belief that he preached ahead of them. some of them are still hurt and bitter. some of them have made peace with it. they all look back on really a time in their childhood which still haunts them. adrianna: fascinating stuff. that is coming on tonight at 10:00 right here on abc 7's "20/20." adrianna

david koresh., you say a dark person. he was literally a sociopath. >> i think the series is trying to show his charismatic side and present a picture of him that shows why people were attracted to follow him. there's no question that all his followers believed everything he had to say, that he had divine special powers. i would say and submit that he took advantage of that and manipulated people and was very self-serving and narcissistic and so forth. sociopathic, we try not to use those labels, but those are the personality attributes he manifested. on the one hand we've got david koresh who is up and down all over the place and kplanders who are impatient getting pressure and the news media saying why aren't you getting this done, it's costing hundreds of thousands of dollars a day. so all these things contribute to a very tragic ending that no one really wanted to see. >> an ending that happened on april 19 of 1993, 76 people dying. the interesting thing is there's a tangential connection to th

. >> reporter: negotiators convince koresh to release some of the kids. >> we got six children out the first day. >> he says he will release more children two by two. >> a total of ten children have been released from the compound. >> reporter: joanne veiga was just six years old. her mother, still in the compound. >> she asked david if she could go and she said, he said no. because he only was going to let the children out. >> reporter: tonight, joe ann now. >> she wrote a note to my sister. she said her good-byes. >> reporter: it was the last time she would see her mother alive. her sister waiting for her. >> that was the only time i felt safe, through the whole thing is, when i saw my sister for the first time. >> reporter: most sent to shelters. and a team of trauma specialists were waiting. >> while we watched them we learned a lot about the belief system of the davidians. >> you want to shoot me in the head, wait until i shoot you in the head. >> they would have these songs they would sing, consistent with this final apocalyptic event. ♪ got to hold it up until we die ♪ >> younge

so this story as you obviously know is this cult leader david koresh had this group of people includings wives, and you play one of the wives. >> i play his first wife. >> jimmy: his first wife. >> so they were the church of the branch davidians. and they lived in this compound outside of waco, texas called mount carmel. and he had i think 12 wives, of which my character was the first. and he kind of plucked her from obscurity in the church when she was 14 years old. she left with him in the middle of the night in her pajamas and married him. it was all she ever knew. and then subsequently there was a 51-day siege between the fbi and the atf. under clinton's administration. and that tragically ended in a terrible fire where a lot of people died. >> jimmy: wow. you should sing about that at disneyland. [ laughter ] >> let's be honest. i was there. i mean, that's -- >> jimmy: "send in the clowns." well, it's called "waco." it premieres january 24th on the paramount network. melissa benoist, everyone. thank you, melissa. we'll be right back with mavis staples. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >>