George Roden
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Short description|American leader of the Branch Davidians}}
{{Infobox person
| birth_name = George Buchanan Roden
| image = GeorgeB_Roden.jpg
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| birth_date = {{Birth date|1938|01|17}}
| birth_place = Gregg, Texas, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1998|12|08|1938|01|17}}
| death_place = Big Spring, Texas, U.S.
| resting_place =
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| nationality =
| citizenship =
| education =
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| occupation = Former leader of the Branch Davidians, Sabbath teacher
| known_for = {{Plainlist |
- 1984 Mount Carmel declared Rodenville
- "The Branch" leadership 1986–1987
- November 3, 1987, fusillade with Vernon Howell aka David Koresh
}}
| notable_works =
| children = at least 1 (son)Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 3, 1993, section A, page 15
| father = Benjamin Roden
| mother = Lois Roden
| spouse = Amo Bishop
| criminal_charge = Homicide
| criminal_penalty = Not guilty by reason of insanity
| criminal_status = Deceased
}}
George Buchanan Roden (January 17, 1938 – December 8, 1998) was an American leader of the Branch Davidian sect, a Seventh-day Adventist splinter group. In 1987, he was evicted from the Mount Carmel Center near Waco, Texas, by his rival David Koresh.{{cite web |url= https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/davidians-and-branch-davidians |title= Davidians and Branch Davidians |author1= Pitts, William L |date= June 12, 2010 |publisher= Handbook of Texas - Texas State Historical Association |access-date= November 25, 2012}} He was later confined in a Texas mental hospital for a 1989 murder until his own death in 1998.
Branch Davidians
{{Main|Branch Davidians}}
George Roden was the presumed successor to his mother Lois Roden, who had become president of the Branch Davidians in 1978, when her husband and group leader Benjamin Roden had died. However, Vernon Howell (after 1990, known as David Koresh) 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.{{Citation | surname=Wilson | given=Colin | author-link=Colin Wilson | title=The Devil's Party | publisher=Virgin Books | place=London | year=2000 | isbn=1-85227-843-9}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://wacotrib.com/news/branch_davidians/crying-in-the-wilderness-a-religious-commune-sets-up-a-dwelling-place-in-the-woods/article_43b35c71-6563-5c45-baea-cfaa2d2e5cd6.html|title = Crying in the wilderness: A religious commune sets up a dwelling place in the woods amid a struggle between rival prophets| date=January 17, 1988 }} 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.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}
Koresh and about 25 followers settled in Palestine, Texas; Roden renamed Mount Carmel "Rodenville". In a videotaped interview, Roden led a tour of "Rodenville" using an M1 carbine as a pointer and declared: "It's basically a holy jihad, Khomeini versus Israel, that's what Vernon Howell has with me."Extracts included in Waco: The Rules of Engagement, 1997 documentary by director William Gazecki and producer Michael McNulty. The 135-minute cable-TV version includes footage of Roden not included in the theatrical release.
In October 1987, Roden married Amo Paul Bishop (known as Amo P. Bishop Roden since then).{{Cite web|url=https://www.baylor.edu/genderstudies/index.php?id=955387|title = Amo Paul Bishop Roden| date=December 14, 2021 }} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://wacotrib.com/news/branch_davidians/crying-in-the-wilderness-a-religious-commune-sets-up-a-dwelling-place-in-the-woods/article_43b35c71-6563-5c45-baea-cfaa2d2e5cd6.html|title = Crying in the wilderness: A religious commune sets up a dwelling place in the woods amid a struggle between rival prophets| date=January 17, 1988 }} While Roden prayed over the body of Ana Hughes, who had died two decades earlier, Koresh reported Roden to the McLennan County 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, 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 in Waco, and a mistrial was declared in Koresh's case. Their weapons, five .223-caliber semiautomatic rifles, two .22-caliber rifles, and two 12-gauge shotguns, which had been confiscated by the police, were returned, as well.No Martyrs in Waco Sam Verhovek The New York Times July 9, 1995 The shootout at Mount Carmel was described by The New York Times as a foretelling of the violence of the Waco siege.
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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wacotrib.com/news/branch_davidians/district-judge-throws-out-roden-s-leadership-lawsuit/article_c3d93279-5210-5c20-899d-3840c4d40b9c.html|title=District judge throws out Roden's leadership lawsuit|last=Witherspoon |first=Tormy |website=WacoTrib.com|date=January 28, 1989 |language=en|access-date=November 1, 2019}} The next day, Koresh's followers moved from their headquarters in Palestine, Texas, to Mount Carmel.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}
Adair murder
In October 1989, Roden killed Wayman Dale Adair (age 56) in Odessa, Texas 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".The Odessa American, October 20, 1989, p. 11AThe Odessa American, January 10, 1990, p. 18AThe Odessa American, August 11, 1992, p. 5C. Legal notice concerning dangerous building at 718 North Elliott Avenue. See also legal notice concerning another dangerous building at 714 North Elliott Avenue 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.Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 3, 1993, section A, page 15
Put on trial for murder, Roden was found not guilty by reason of insanity, confined to a mental hospital, and later moved to another mental hospital in Big Spring, Texas.A Fight in Texas for the Homeland of a Sect Sam Howe Verhovek The New York Times December 6, 1994
Mental illness, escape, and death
On September 30, 1993, Roden walked away from the Big Spring State Hospital and went missing for four days after Koresh's death of gunshot wound in the Waco siege of 1993.{{Cite web |url=http://texnews.com/1998/texas/branch1208.html |title=Former Branch Davidian leader Roden found dead |access-date=November 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830173207/http://texnews.com/1998/texas/branch1208.html |archive-date=August 30, 2011 |url-status=dead }} 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, and returned to Big Spring State Hospital by the Taylor County sheriff's department.Ex-Waco cult leader returned to hospital Austin American-Statesman October 2, 1993
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 IsraelFort Worth Star-Telegram, March 3, 1993, section A, page 15 and Roden's father is described as having Jewish roots.{{cite book |title=The Branch Davidians of Waco: The History and Beliefs of an Apocalyptic Sect |first=Kenneth G. C. |last=Newport |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-19924-574-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YE8TDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA117 |pages=117–118}} Roden, who claimed to be Jewish, said hitmen trained by the Palestine Liberation Organization were trying to kill him.
On December 8, 1998, Roden again escaped from the Big Spring State Hospital, but was found dead of a heart attack on the grounds of Big Spring State Hospital, where he was confined at the time.{{cite web |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XKFVAAAAIBAJ&pg=6561,2716400&dq=george+roden+death+autopsy&hl=en |title= George Roden found dead|date= December 8, 1998 |work=The Robesonian |access-date=February 25, 2011}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/08/us/national-news-briefs-ex-cult-leader-who-fled-mental-hospital-is-dead.html |title=Ex-Cult Leader Who Fled Mental Hospital Is Dead|work=The New York Times|date= December 8, 1998}}
References
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{{Branch Davidians}}
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Category:American Christian religious leaders