Clive Joseph Doyle (24 February 1941 – 8 June 2022)[1] was an Australian leader in theBranch Davidian movement after theWaco siege in 1993. He was a Branch Davidian and aDavidian Seventh-day Adventist before the Waco siege. Doyle was one of nine survivors of the 19 April 1993 fire that destroyed theMount Carmel Center at the end of the siege. He along with other survivors built a new chapel on the site of the siege in 1999.
Doyle was born inMelbourne,Australia on 24 February 1941.[2] His mother was a worker in agarment factory, and his father left his mother before he was born.[3] In Australia, he was acurrency printer.[4] Doyle obtainedAmerican citizenship in 1985, according toThe Dallas Morning News.[5]
Doyle had two daughters with Deborah Doyle (nee Slawson), Shari Elayna Doyle (1 August 1974 – 19 April 1993) and Karen Elizabeth Graham (5 July 1971 – 30 March 2018).[6] Shari died in the 19 April 1993 fire from which her father and sister escaped.[7] Karen was living in aCalifornia property owned by theBranch Davidians when theWaco siege began.[6] About three weeks before the 2018 anniversary service, Karen was killed in acar collision with adrunk driver inPennsylvania.[8] Both of his daughters were "married" to Koresh[9] – Shari was fourteen when they "married".[10]
InMelbourne, Australia, Doyle and his mother were converted fromSeventh-day Adventism by an itinerant preacher named Daniel Smith[3] toVictor Houteff's splinter religious community, called theShepherd's Rod (later known as theDavidian Seventh-day Adventists).[11][4] Doyle quit his job as anapprentice in acabinet shop in 1958 and moved with his mother toTasmania to spread Houteff's teachings. Eventually, he raised enough money to move toWaco, Texas in 1964.[3]
Doyle was influential in formulatingLois Roden's theology. In 1980, she named him as an editor ofSHEkinah, a Branch Davidian periodical used to disseminate ideas to others. Doyle argued, for example, that theApostle Paul's "unknown God" inActs 17 was known to over a billion people but the feminineHoly Spirit was known to a select few.[12] Although, in his book he noted that he had to "wrestle" with Roden for him to finally get that the Holy Spirit was a feminine representation ofDeity.[13]
In the 1980s, whenDavid Koresh andGeorge Roden were conflicting over the ownership of theMount Carmel Center, he temporarily left the group.[9]
In 1990, Doyle worked for theCensus Bureau inCalifornia taking the1990 Census. He also reportedly worked in a gardening crew and an educational-video-producing company while with the Branch Davidians.[14]
Doyle was present in theMount Carmel Center throughout theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) siege. When theBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) arrived at the Center on 28 February, Doyle returned to his room on the first floor near the cafeteria. From his room, he could hear whatDavid Koresh was telling the ATF agents as they arrived, though he is not sure of who started the fire fight.[15]
He was one of the first people to discover Perry Jones, anotherBranch Davidian, who was among those shot and killed by the ATF. Jones was still alive at the time and informed Doyle that Koresh was also shot. He picked up Jones with the help of Livingston Malcolm and brought him into a room deeper into the compound so that he can avoid getting shot through the walls.[16]
Soon after, he heard that Winston Blake was killed in the fire fight. He heard running water from the room he was in, which was strange since the compound did not have a plumbing system installed. He found Blake in his room with blood flowing on a downward angle and soaking into the carpet. He could not find a pulse on Blake's body and assumed he was dead (he was confirmed dead that day[17]).[18]
Doyle was responsible for an early burial of the four of six Branch Davidians killed on 28 February 1993 (the other two Branch Davidians were killed outside the compound where those inside could not obtain their bodies). He made a makeshift grave for all four in the storm shelter of the compound.[19]
Throughout the siege, Doyle had some contact with FBI negotiators. In his book, he recalled an episode where he was promised a message from his daughter, Karen, who was in California, but instead got an FBI agent telling him "She just wanted to know how you are doing".[20]
At around 6:00 am local time on 19 April 1993, the FBI administeredCS gas throughout the building to drive out the Branch Davidians. Doyle retrieved a gas mask and multiple layers to protect his skin, though his hands were uncovered.[21]
Around noon, he heard someone yell out that the building was on fire. He remembered discussing the possibility of being shot by federal agents if he and others left the compound through a hole in a wall at the back of the chapel that aCombat Engineering Vehicle left. Smoke poured into the chapel, and Doyle and the others there ran out of the hole in the wall.[14][22] He felt the coat he was wearing melt on his back, according to hisCongressional testimony in 1995 as reported by theNew York Times.[23]
In a written statement to theU.S. Congress in 1995, he stated that he was unaware of the cause of the 19 April fire; however, he had previously toldTexas Rangers in aninterrogation that the fire was started inside the compound by fuel inColeman lanterns.New York Times reported that Doyle claimed he never actually said that to the Texas Rangers.[23]
Doyle was sent toParkland Memorial Hospital inDallas, Texas, immediately after surviving the conflagration, suffering fromsecond- andthird-degree burns to his hands.[24] According toCNN, he requiredskin grafts to heal from the burns.[25] After treatment, he was held inpretrial detention for one year to face charges ofmurder conspiracy.[9][26] In a 1994 trial with otherBranch Davidians inSan Antonio, he was acquitted of all charges against him.[9][23][27][28][29]
In 1998, Doyle and other Branch Davidian survivors attempted to erect amuseum on thesiege's site but encountered trouble withAmo Bishop Roden and the Christ the World of Truth.[30] In 1999, Doyle, other survivors, and volunteers rebuilt a chapel on the siege site.[31] A youngAlex Jones (who later foundedInfowars.com)was among those who volunteered to help rebuild the chapel, reportedly fundraising and rallying others.[32][33][34]
AfterTimothy McVeighcar-bombed afederal office building in Oklahoma City in 1995, Doyle noted in 2001 – the year of McVeigh'sexecution – that he saw "no honor" in his actions and that "Tim McVeigh is not any sort of champion from our [the Branch Davidian survivors'] point of view".[35] Additionally, Doyle expressed fear and concern about the fixation of thefar-right andwhite supremacist groups on the Waco siege to theNew York Times in 2015.[36]
Doyle spoke out against Charles Pace and his claim to represent the Branch Davidian church after returning toMount Carmel in 1994. Doyle reportedly refused him access to mementos used in the museum he built on the site in the late 1990s and early 2000s.[37]
In 2012, Doyle published amemoir withCatherine Wessinger and Matthew D. Wittmer calledA Journey to Waco.[38] Wessinger has produced extensiveoral histories from Doyle and other Branch Davidians.[39]
Doyle was an active participant in variousmemorial andanniversary services for the end of theWaco siege.[40][41]
In 1998,New York Times reported that Doyle worked at a store called Waco Natural Foods where he managed theherb displays.[30] In 2011,CNN reported he worked in athrift store in Waco.[25]
Doyle remained faithful toDavid Koresh, the Branch Davidian's leader who died in the 19 April fire, even after his death. In 2020, Doyle toldMirror (London) that he believed thatGod was responsible for the siege and not Koresh or anyone else.[7][42] Doyle believed that Koresh will be resurrected.[10][43][44]
Doyle died ofpancreatic cancer on 8 June 2022, inWaco, aged 81.[1][11]