The Oklahoma City Bombing Timothy McVeigh: An American Terrorist Presentation by Jeff Jones

9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995 Residents of Chandler, Oklahoma heard a loud noise. Some thought it was a sonic boom. Others wondered how thunder could be heard on such a clear and sunny day.

40 miles away in Oklahoma City 168 dead and over 500 injured 320 structures in surrounding area damaged $651 million of damage

Timothy McVeigh Born April 23, 1968 Western New York Loved the Outdoors Interested in Guns

Joined the Army in 1988 Expert Marksman Gunner on Bradley Armored Fighting Vehicle Served in Gulf War 5 Medals for Service in War Failed in Bid to Join Special Forces

“Army Buddies” Terry Nichols Older than other soldiers Called “Old Man” Michael Fortier Fulfilling family tradition of military service

Disenchanted with Army Passed out Copies of Turner Diaries Mailing List for the KKK Questioned the necessity of Gulf War Turned down promotion and left army at end of 1991

Ruby Ridge, Idaho Felt that government was intending to disarm the American public August 21, 1992 Federal Agents in gun battle trying to arrest Randy Weaver Weaver’s wife and 14 year old son were killed during standoff

Waco, Texas February 28, 1993 Gun Battle between agents of ATF and members of David Koresh’s cult, the Branch Davidians 4 Agents and 6 Cult Members Killed Siege followed

McVeigh at Waco Sold Bumper Stickers “A man with a gun is a Citizen. A man without a gun is a Subject” Interviewed by SMU student, Michelle Rauch “The government is afraid. Afraid of guns people have because they have to have control of the people at all times. Once you take away the guns, you can do anything to the people.”

End of Waco Siege McVeigh said the federal government had murdered the people at Waco “Blood will flow in the streets, good vs. evil, freemen vs. socialist wannabe slaves.” Began to experiment with chemicals that could be used to make a bomb

September 30 and October 18, 1994 Terry Nichols purchased a combined total of 4,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate fertilizer McVeigh purchased three drums of nitromethane racing fuel under the pretense of using it for motorcycle racing

Planning the Truck Bomb This is a drawing by Timothy McVeigh diagramming the placement of 55-gallon drums filled with a combination of nitromethane and ammonium nitrate.

Picking the Target Criteria for Potential Attack Sites: Must have at least two of the following three federal law enforcement agencies: ATF FBI DEA Additional agencies such as the Secret Service and US Marshals would be a bonus Considered buildings in Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Texas

Alfred P. Murrah Building Opened in 1977 Offices for ATF, DEA, and Secret Service Front of building was glass that would shatter creating more damage Plenty of open space allowing for news photos and television footage High Body Count Likened the federal employees in the building to the storm troopers in the movie, Star Wars

McVeigh’s Map

April 14-18, 1995 Rented 20-foot Ryder Truck from Elliott’s Body Shop in Junction City, Kansas Spent several nights at the Dreamland Motel

April 19, 1995 Original Plan was to detonate the bomb at 11 a.m. but changed his mind and decided to detonate at 9 a.m. instead These pictures show where the truck was parked

9:02 a.m. Blast occurred and was the equivalent of 3 tons of TNT McVeigh claimed the force of the blast lifted him a full inch off the ground He said buildings were wobbling from side to side and plate glass showered down into the street around him Every building in a sixteen block area surrounding the blast was damaged. Some had to be demolished

A 4-foot long section of truck frame landed on the roof of a building two blocks away The rear axle of the Ryder truck traveled 200 yards away and crashed down on the hood of a red Ford Festiva

168 Killed and over 500 injured 163 were in the Murrah Building Nurse who rushed to the scene died while assisting in the rescue effort Woman in Athenian building across the street Man and Woman in Oklahoma Water Resources Building across the street Woman killed as she was walking through a nearby parking lot 20 more than the 148 Americans killed in the Gulf War 8 were Federal Law Enforcement Agents 99 worked for the Federal Government in some capacity 19 children killed Most of the dead would not be identified for several days; several took weeks to identify Ages ranged from 3 months to 73 years old

19 Children Killed America’s Kids Day Care was on the second floor of the Murrah Building McVeigh claimed," I didn’t know there was a day care center. I’ve never been in the building in my life.” McVeigh never expressed any remorse over the deaths of the many federal employees in the building, just the children.

Arrest McVeigh left Oklahoma City taking I-35 North Claimed he left the license plate off his car on purpose Pulled over by Trooper Charles Hanger for the missing plate

McVeigh exited the vehicle and Hanger noticed bulge underneath the jacket McVeigh announced he had a loaded gun in a shoulder holster Hanger pulled his weapon and arrested McVeigh He was taken to Noble County Jail in Perry Oklahoma Charged with transporting a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle; unlawfully carrying a weapon; failing to display a current license plate; and failing to maintain proof of insurance Remained in Jail for two days awaiting his court appearance

Investigators found the rear axle and part of the rear bumper with Florida license plate VIN number on rear axle along with the tag led to finding the truck had been rented in Junction City, Kansas Composite sketches of Kling and another man were distributed Dreamland Motel manager recognized Kling as Timothy McVeigh APB showed that McVeigh was already in custody in Noble County on other charges

Federal Custody “He was arguably the most notorious despised criminal defendant in America since Lee Harvey Oswald. He had blown up an office building, killing 168 people of almost every age, race and religion.” Michel and Herbeck, American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing, 276.

Refused to plead guilty to the charges against him, but he made no pretense of innocence to his lawyers. He said his actions were a justifiable response to the tyranny of the federal government. Wanted his lawyers to craft a “necessity defense” claiming the bombing was an absolute necessity Wanted to use the trial to make his case about the federal government

Guilty On June 2, McVeigh was found Guilty on all eleven counts filed against him Conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction Use of such a weapon Destruction of government property with explosives 8 counts of first degree murder of the federal law enforcement agents killed in the blast On June 13, McVeigh was sentenced to death

Co-Conspirators Nichols was sentenced to life in prison Fortier became the chief witness for the prosecution and was sentenced to 11 years in prison “There was no big conspiracy. It was mostly me. The few friends who helped me were acting under some duress, and none of them had any control over when I was going to blow up the Murrah building.”

Effects of Terrorism Increase a sense of vulnerability and show the government cannot keep us safe Use media coverage to get message to a larger audience The coverage by the media can extend the horror far beyond the number of people immediately affected by the blast.

McVeigh’s Motivation McVeigh viewed himself as the ultimate defender of America against a violent and illegitimate federal government. His refusal to ask for clemency and his eventual execution gave him a great sense of historical accomplishment. In correspondence with Gore Vidal, he compared the justice of his act to the justice behind President Harry Truman’s 1945 attack on Hiroshima

Mahmud Abouhalima, Convicted Terrorist in 1993 WTC Bombing “It was done for a very, very specific reason…they had some certain target, you know, a specific achievement. They wanted to reach the government with the message that we are not tolerating the way that you are dealing with our citizens. If they believe that the government unjustifiably killed the people in Waco, then they have their own way to respond. [It] was morally justified.” Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, 64-65.

McVeigh claimed that his attack also led the Federal Agents to back down from the deadly attacks they had formerly used at Ruby Ridge and Waco There was a standoff between federal agents and the Montana Freemen, a militia group who claimed to have established a sovereign nation on 960 acres of land in Montana. After 81 days, the standoff ended peacefully with the surrender of 23 adults and four children. McVeigh said, “I am convinced the Freemen would be dead if not for the Murrah Building bombing.” He also pointed to the $3.1 million settlement reached between the federal government and Randy Weaver and his surviving children. In return, they agreed to drop a $200 million civil suit they had filed against the government.

Further Effects of Oklahoma City Bombing Unfortunately the new individual terrorist is much more difficult to stop. This type of “megalomaniacal hyperterrorist is incessantly looking for original ways to surprise and devastate their enemy. They know their actions will foster public outrage, yet they do not care. They believe history will judge them in a more favorable light.” The government will need to keep a much closer watch on known terrorists and should increase investments in human intelligence aimed at identifying hitherto unknown or potential megalomaniacal foes. Ehud Sprinzak, "The Lone Gunman," Foreign Policy, November, 2001: 72-73.

Oklahoma City Memorial “The bombing brought us to our knees, but we got back up. If anything, it made us stronger.” Richard Williams, Assistant Manager of the Murrah Building