FBI Says Amen to Drifter Who Left Standoff
Richard Swensen, one of the FBI agents charged with running the daily press conference about the standoff at the Koresh compound, knows how to keep a straight face.
His only new information Monday morning was about a man who left the compound late Sunday afternoon.
Swensen identified the bearded man as Jesse Amen, 40, who sneaked inside the compound on March 26 but may have been too much even for the Branch Davidian cult members and their leader, David Koresh.
Swensen said Amen identified his father as Lord Lightning Amen, his mother as Sherry Amen and his three brothers as David, Jacob and Abraham. Amen, described as a drifter who sometimes earned money in California picking fruit, also said that Koresh had washed his feet upon entering the compound.
What was learned from Amen?
“Zero,” Swensen said. “Mr. Amen made no sense about anything we discussed.” Amen was charged with interfering with the official duties of a police officer.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
