Steven Emil Schneider (October 16, 1949 – April 19, 1993) was an American

Branch Davidian The Branch Davidians (or the General Association of Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists, or the Branch Seventh-day Adventists) are a religious sect founded in 1955 by Benjamin Roden. They regard themselves as a continuation of the General A ...

commonly called a "lieutenant" to

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, Koresh claimed to be its fin ...

, the leader of the

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as a new religion, is a religious or Spirituality, spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin, or they can be part ...

.Darlene McCormick
"The price of loyalty: Schneider's body found near Howell's,"
''

Waco Tribune-Herald The ''Waco Tribune-Herald'' is an American daily newspaper serving Waco, Texas, and vicinity. Background The newspaper has its roots in five predecessors, beginning with the ''Waco Evening Telephone'' in 1892. The ''Tribune-Herald'' took its curr ...

'', May 12, 1993. He was formally married to Judy Schneider, but in the community Koresh impregnated Judy and she bore a child with him. Steve Schneider was raised in a

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

household in Wisconsin. James D. Tabor and Eugene V. Gallagher, ''Why Waco?: Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America'' ( Berkeley,

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, and

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, 1995), 27. Schneider studied at Newbold College in the United Kingdom, and eventually worked to receive a Ph.D. in

comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including human migration, migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study ...

at the

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System is a public college and university system in Hawaii. The system confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven community colleges, an employment training center, ...

. In approximately 1986, Schneider encountered Marc Breault, an indigenous Hawaiian Branch Davidian, and converted to Branch Davidianism. Schneider was supposedly very successful at gaining converts to Branch Davidianism. David Thibodeau, a survivor of the

Waco siege The Waco siege, also known as the Waco massacre, was the siege by US federal government and Texas state law enforcement officials of a compound belonging to the religious cult known as the Branch Davidians, between February 28 and April 19, 1993 ...

and

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, converted after meeting Schneider in California. Scholars James Tabor and Eugene Gallagher note that he claimed to have converted twenty people on a trip to England in 1988. Schneider was in the Mount Carmel compound at the beginning of the Waco siege on February 28, 1993. He stayed in or near the compound for the entire siege and died there. Various police agencies believe that Schneider shot Koresh before shooting himself on April 19, 1993. He was a major character in the 2018 miniseries ''Waco'', played by Paul Sparks.

Life before Branch Davidianism and conversion

Schneider grew up in a

household in Madison, Wisconsin. His parents are Emil and Patricia Schneider, who lived in Oneida County, Wisconsin at the end of the Waco siege in 1993. He attended Newbold College in England before being expelled for drunkenness. He applied for and was accepted to a Ph.D. program in comparative religion at University of Hawaiʻi in approximately 1981. Schneider met Judy in about 1971 and married her in July 1981. In 1978, Steve and Judy moved to Hawaii so he could begin his Ph.D. program. In 1986, Judy and Steve encountered Marc Breault in Hawaii. Steve was unable to find a job while working on his Ph.D. – he supposedly wanted to evangelize but found no church he felt worthy of his services until meeting a Branch Davidian. The exact date of his conversion is unknown, but Tabor and Gallagher note that a videotape of a South Carolina Bible study from 1987 features Schneider, implying he converted in about 1986. Steve excitedly wanted to join the Branch Davidians, but Judy was reluctant. However, in 1986, Steve and Judy joined the Branch Davidians, and Judy maintained contact with her mother via telephone.

Waco siege and death

Schneider was very active in the Branch Davidian community before and during the siege of the Mount Carmel Center. As David Koresh's "right-hand man," "lieutenant," or "deputy," Schneider held a significant amount of organizational power among the Davidians. Schneider was the main person with whom the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

(FBI) negotiated. One scholar called him Koresh's main "spokesperson." According to Robert R. Agnes, Schneider spoke to the FBI approximately 50% of the time, where Koresh spoke 40% of the time. Some of the details of the "negotiations" were religious and spiritual in nature; Schneider once read the entirety of Revelation 18 to a negotiator. At approximately 5:55 AM CDT ( UTC–5:00), the FBI Hostage Rescue Team called the Branch Davidians to inform them the FBI will administer

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in the compound to expel the Branch Davidians. Steve Schneider answered, spoke with the FBI agents on the other end, reportedly slammed the telephone on the receiver, and pulled the phone from the wall. After a fire started at about 12:00 PM CDT, Schneider remained in the compound with about 75 other Branch Davidians and died. FBI Agent Bob Ricks believes that Schneider shot and killed Koresh before the fire killed them because Schneider realized he was a "fraud," and he soon afterward shot himself. A preliminary autopsy of his body confirmed that he had died of a head injury likely caused by "a blast or a gunshot wound."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, Steve 1949 births 1993 deaths 1993 suicides 20th-century American murderers Branch Davidians Waco siege University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni People from Madison, Wisconsin Perpetrators of religiously motivated violence in the United States Suicides by firearm in Texas

Life before Branch Davidianism and conversion

Waco siege and death

See also

References