The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. The bombing occurred on the second anniversary of the fiery end to the Waco siege, and thus was interpreted as a retaliation hit against the United States federal government by far-right, anti-government extremists. The bombing was the deadliest act of terrorism in U.S. history until the September 11 attacks in 2001, and remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.
Timothy James McVeigh was an American domestic terrorist who perpetrated the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. The bombing killed 168 people, 19 of whom were children, injured 680, and destroyed one-third of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. It remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.
The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was a United States federal government complex located at 200 N.W. 5th Street in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. On April 19, 1995, at 9:02 a.m. the building was the target of the Oklahoma City bombing by terrorists Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, which killed 168 people and injured 680 others. A third of the building collapsed seconds after the truck bomb detonated. The remains were demolished a month after the attack, and the Oklahoma City National Memorial was built on the site.
Terry Lynn Nichols is an American domestic terrorist who was convicted for being a co-conspirator in the Oklahoma City bombing. Prior to his incarceration, he held a variety of short-term jobs, working as a farmer, grain elevator manager, real estate salesman, and ranch hand. He met his future co-conspirator, Timothy McVeigh, during a brief stint in the U.S. Army, which ended in 1989 when he requested a hardship discharge after less than one year of service. In 1994 and 1995, he conspired with McVeigh in the planning and preparation of the truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on April 19, 1995. The bombing killed 168 people.
The Aryan Republican Army (ARA), also dubbed "The Midwest Bank bandits" by the FBI and law-enforcement, was a white nationalist terrorist gang which robbed 22 banks in the Midwest from 1994 to 1996. The bank robberies were spearheaded by Donna Langan. The gang, who had links to Neo-Nazism and white supremacism, were alleged to have conspired with convicted terrorist Timothy McVeigh in the months before the Oklahoma City bombing terrorist attack. Although it has never been proven, many theorists believe the ARA funneled robbery money to help fund the bombing as a direct response to the Waco and Ruby Ridge sieges.
Elohim City is a private community in Adair County, Oklahoma, United States. The 400 acres (1.6 km2) rural retreat was founded in 1973 by Robert G. Millar, a Canadian immigrant, former Mennonite, and an important leader in America's Christian Identity movement, a theology common to an assortment of right-wing extremist groups. The community gained national attention for its ties to members of The Order in the 1980s, as well as with convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in the 1990s.
Lon Tomohisa Horiuchi is an American former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) sniper and former United States Army officer who was involved in the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff and 1993 Waco siege. In 1997, Horiuchi was charged with manslaughter for killing Vicki Weaver at Ruby Ridge; the charges were later dropped.
The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA) was a far-right survivalist anti-government militia which advocated Christian Identity and was active in the United States during the 1970s and early 1980s. The CSA developed from a Baptist congregation, the Zarephath-Horeb Community Church, which was founded in 1971 in Pontiac, Missouri. Over time, Zarephath-Horeb evolved into an extremist militant group and it was rechristened the CSA. The group operated a large compound in northern Arkansas which was known as "the Farm".
Unintended Consequences is a novel by John Ross, first published in 1996 by Accurate Press. The story chronicles the history of gun culture, gun rights, and gun control in the United States from the early 20th century through the late 1990s. Although clearly a work of fiction, the story is heavily laced with historical fact, including historical figures who play minor supporting roles. The protagonist is very active in competitive shooting sports, as is the author; so unusually detailed and intricate facts, figures, and explanations of firearms-related topics ornament the narrative and drive the plot.
Dan Herbeck is an American journalist and author who is an investigative reporter at The Buffalo News.
Michel McQueen Martin is an American journalist and correspondent for National Public Radio and WNET. After ten years in print journalism, Martin has become best known for her radio and television news broadcasting on national topics.
Stephen Jones, is an American attorney who took on a series of high-profile civil rights cases beginning with his defense of a Vietnam War protester. Jones later represented Timothy McVeigh, and then the fraternity involved in the 2015 University of Oklahoma Sigma Alpha Epsilon racism incident.
Ronald G. Cole is a figure in the American militia movement in the United States. He was the founder and leader of the Colorado Light Infantry militia groups in 1993. Cole is the author of the book Sinister Twilight, in which he attempts to explain the Branch Davidian side of the standoff with federal authorities that took place in Waco, Texas in 1993. Cole became a national anti-government figure after the events of the Waco siege.
In the United States, the patriot movement is a term which is used to describe a conglomeration of non-unified right-wing populist and nationalist political movements, most notably far-right armed militias, sovereign citizens, and tax protesters. Ideologies held by patriot movement groups often focus on anti-government conspiracy theories, with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) describing a common belief that "government has been infiltrated and subverted" and is no longer legitimate. The movement first emerged in 1994 in response to what members saw as "violent government repression" of dissenting groups, along with increased gun control and the Clinton government.
Sean Connelly is an American attorney and former judge on the Colorado Court of Appeals. He is a former member of the U.S. Department of Justice trial team and the lead appellate prosecutor in the Oklahoma City bombing cases. He was appointed by then Colorado Governor Bill Ritter to the Colorado Court of Appeals in 2008 and did not seek retention of his appointment in 2011 and returned to private practice.
Alternative theories have been proposed regarding the Oklahoma City bombing. These theories reject all, or part of, the official government report. Some of these theories focus on the possibility of additional co-conspirators that were never indicted or additional explosives planted inside the Murrah Federal building. Other theories allege that government employees and officials, including US President Bill Clinton, knew of the impending bombing and intentionally failed to act on that knowledge. Further theories allege that the bombing was perpetrated by government forces to frame and stigmatize the militia movement, which had grown following the controversial federal handlings of the Ruby Ridge and Waco incidents, and regain public support. Government investigations have been opened at various times to look into the theories.
Carol Elizabeth Howe is a former informant for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Howe became a key figure in Oklahoma City bombing conspiracy theories when she said that she informed authorities of a right-wing extremist plan to blow up a federal building in Oklahoma a few months before the Oklahoma City bombing.
An extreme overvalued belief is shared by others in a person's cultural, religious, or subcultural group. The belief is often relished, amplified, and defended by the possessor of the belief and should be differentiated from a delusion or obsession. Over time, the belief grows more dominant, more refined, and more resistant to challenge. The individual has an intense emotional commitment to the belief and may carry out violent behavior in its service. Over time, belief becomes increasingly binary, simplistic, and absolute.
Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism is a chronicle of the political, historical and media-personality influences that radicalized McVeigh resulting in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The book also ties McVeigh and those same influences to the radical right politics and the sometimes violent right-wing extremism of today's postmodern United States. It was written by Jeffrey Toobin and published in 2023 by Simon & Schuster.
