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Oklahoma City Bombing Research Paper

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The Oklahoma City Bombing The bomb that exploded in front of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building on April 19, 1995 was the deadliest act of terror until 9/11. Hundreds of men, women and children were murdered and an entire nation was devastated. Several hundred buildings were damaged and many people were left homeless. This type of carnage was not seen on American soil and it had a lasting impact. The bomber was Timothy McVeigh; a name that will be remembered in infamy. Timothy McVeigh was a distraught individual who believed the United States was the ultimate bully and he prepared to attack the U.S. Two key events that made him attack were the Waco Siege and the Ruby Ridge incident. He loathed how the federal government handled these …show more content…
However, he changed his mind and decided for it to happen at 9. In his car there pages from The Turner Diaries a book where a white supremacist blows up the FBI headquarters with a truck bomb; however, McVeigh disagreed with the racist portion of the book. He wore a T-shirt that said, “Semper tyrannus” and “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants" (Ottley). The first quote is believed to be said to Julius Cesare as he was killed and the second quote was said by Thomas Jefferson. The truck entered the city at 8:50 am and was parked in the drop of zone in front of the building. At 8:57 the five minute fuse was light and McVeigh started to walk towards his getaway vehicle. Three minutes later he lit the two minute fuse and the bomb went off at 9:02 am. Hundreds of people were killed instantly and one-third of the building was destroyed. A thirty foot wide crater was left in the street and 328 buildings were destroyed or damaged, along with 86 cars that were incinerated. The explosion was equivalent to 5,000 pounds of TNT and could be heard and felt up to fifty-five miles away. Seismometers measured it as a 3.0 on the Richter scale. Emergency personal rushed to the sign to help those who could be saved, but the damage was done. One hundred and sixty-eight people were killed, including nineteen children (History.com …show more content…
He was pulled over by an Oklahoma State Trooper for not having a license plate. After McVeigh was booked the officer searched the car and found a business card with the words, “TNT at $5 a stick. Need more” (Ottley). Meanwhile federal authorities were able to locate the VIN number of the Ryder truck from the axle. A sketch was made and this was used to implicate McVeigh. He was also recognized by somebody from the hotel he stayed in. On April 21, 1995 he was going to be released; however, federal agents took him into custody for questioning about the Oklahoma bombing. He demanded an attorney and this raised even more suspicion. A search warrant was obtained for the house of McVeigh’s father and the house was raided. FBI investigators wire tapped the house and used the information gathered to search for the Nichol brothers. Terry Nichols turned himself in on April 21, 1995 after he discovered he was being hunted. When Terry’s home was searched a plethora of incriminating evidence was discovered: Ammonium nitrate and blasting caps, books on bomb-making and a hand drawn map of downtown Oklahoma City with the getaway vehicle and the Murrah building marked. Terry’s brother, James, was released due to a lack of evidence. On August 10, 1995 McVeigh was indicted on eleven federal counts. The venue of the court was changed from Oklahoma City to the U.S. District Court in Denver,

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