Such an attack sparked a fear quite different from the reaction to the 9/11 attack, as it was an act of homegrown terrorism that left many Americans with little trust in their country. Although the blame was initially placed on Middle Eastern terrorist groups, it rapidly shifted to Timothy McVeigh. He was arrested within 90 minutes of the attack for a traffic violation along with an accomplice named Terry Nichols, however, McVeigh was identified as a suspect for the attack within days and Nichols surrendered to the police. The damage done by these men was nearly unimaginable, with about 300 surrounding buildings damaged or destroyed, dozens of cars incinerated, and the Murrah Building looking like nothing short of a war zone.The FBI investigated the case extensively by conducting thousands of interviews and amassing a great amount of physical evidence, including truck rental records that matched the one found at the site of the attack and traces of chemicals used for the bombs on his clothing, that confirmed McVeigh's guilt. They also discovered his connection to the Patriot movement and a rightist Michigan militia, both of which promoted an upsurge against what they saw as an oppressive government in America. McVeigh himself had very extremist ideologies and deep-set anger towards the federal government, especially seen through his wish to seek vengeance for the government's actions at the 1993 Waco siege. Americans were highly disturbed by such motives for the attack, especially because there was an entire group of people with McVeigh's mindset. However, little evidence except for some witness reports supported the idea that McVeigh had acted alone or that there were more co-conspirators besides Terry Nichols. As a result, McVeigh was executed in 2001 and Nichols faced life imprisonment upon convictions of conspiracy and eight counts of manslaughter.
Today, many questions still arise about the possibility of more individuals being involved in the crime, and whether or not the narrative of the bombing itself is incomplete. Regardless, this horrific tragedy is remembered today through a dedicated memorial consisting of a field 168 chairs and a reflecting pool at the Oklahoma City Nationa Memorial and Museum.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/event/Oklahoma-City-bombing
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/oklahoma-city-bombing
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/apr/11/oklahoma-bombing-15-years-on
https://www.history.com/topics/1990s/oklahoma-city-bombing
What a horrific event. It is sad that hundreds of people had to lose their lives due to an extremist's agenda. I looked into the 1993 Waco Siege that added fuel to McVeigh's deep hatred of the government. Basically, it was a 51-day FBI operation to raid the compound of a religious group called Branch Davidians. Publicly, the FBI claimed that the groups leader, David Koresh, was being looked into due to reports of child abuse; however, later documents revealed that there was an alleged possession of potentially illegal weapons. Regardless, the situation ended quite tragically. First, the FBI and the Branch Davidians entered into a gun standoff that killed 4 officer and 6 Davidians. As negotiations drew on and hostages were exchanged, the FBI resorted to more aggressive methods, using tear gas to force the Davidians out of the compound. Soon, multiple fires broke out throughout the building, and the end result was 76 people dead, 25 of them children. Though the public was not particularly sympathetic to the Branch Davidians, who many viewed as a cult, the FBI's actions were also heavily condemned.
ReplyDeleteSources:
https://www.history.com/topics/1990s/waco-siege
https://www.vox.com/2018/4/19/17246732/waco-tragedy-explained-david-koresh-mount-carmel-branch-davidian-cult-25-year-anniversary
https://abcnews.go.com/US/survivors-1993-waco-siege-describe-happened-fire-ended/story?id=52034435