Lyons, Kirk D.

The religious sect known as the Branch Davidians was the product of a reform movement within the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Problems began when a group of Adventists, led by Bulgarian immigrant Victor Houteff, began to challenge the traditional hierarchy of the denomination. Houteff claimed to have received personal revelations from God and published his controversial views in a book entitled The Shepherd's Rod (1932). Houteff and his followers believed that the spiritual gift of prophecy was necessary for effective leadership so that King David's earthly kingdom could be re-established on earth prior to the second coming of Jesus Christ. After the leaders of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church excommunicated his sect, Houteff moved to Waco, Texas, and continued to preach until his death in 1955.

Upon Houteff's death, the mantle of leadership fell to Benjamin Roden and his wife Lois. This couple led the Branch Davidians well into the 1980s. Some of their work including sermons, pamphlets, and personal correspondence are found in the Mark Swett Collection.

The 1980s brought about division within the Branch Davidian sect. A newcomer named Vernon Howell had joined the Branch in 1981. Three years later, a schism occurred within the Branch Davidians, with Howell leading his own group of followers to a new site in Palestine, Texas. Through a series of confrontations between Howell and George Roden, the son of Ben and Lois Roden, control of the Branch Davidians' headquarters in Waco passed to Howell who legally changed his name to David Koresh in 1990. Rumors concerning polygamy, abuse, and arms dealing within the Branch Davidian group aroused the suspicions of the federal government. Thus, federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives began to monitor the group.

In response to a stockpiling of illegal weapons, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives secured a search warrant for the investigation of the Branch Davidians' compound near Waco, Texas. From 1993 February 28th until April 19th, Branch Davidians under the leadership of David Koresh resisted federal agents' attempts to storm their Mount Carmel Center. The fifty-day siege ended when the compound erupted in flames, killing David Koresh and most of his followers.

Kirk D. Lyons grew up in Texas as the son of an Air Force officer. From a young age, Lyons was confronted with the issue of racial equality which was realized through the forced integration of public schools. Upon graduation from the University of Texas, Lyons attended the law school at the University of Houston. His career as a lawyer reflected his inclinations towards white supremacist and neo-Confederate groups. In the early 1990s, Lyons became involved with the CAUSE Foundation (Canada, Australia, United States, South Africa, and Europe) that sought to defend perceived white majority rights. It was this organization that led the defense of the Waco Branch Davidians following the Siege of 1993. Lyons himself had convinced fellow Houston attorney Dick DeGuerin to represent David Koresh during the 50-day siege.

Since the burning of the Mount Carmel Center, Lyons has continued to defend controversial causes. He aided in the defense of those implicated in the Oklahoma City Bombing as well as countless cases of racially-motivated murders. After the CAUSE Foundation shut down in 1998, Lyons shifted his attentions to the Southern Legal Resource Center which is concerned with fighting for perceived Southern rights, particularly those related to the Confederate flag. Lyons currently lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina, and is involved with the Sons of Confederate Veterans organization.