Historical Figure
Timothy McVeigh
d. 2001
American domestic terrorist (1968–2001)
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Biography
Timothy James McVeigh was an American domestic terrorist who masterminded and perpetrated the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. The bombing itself killed 167 or 168 people, injured 684 people, and destroyed one-third of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. A rescue worker was killed after the bombing when debris struck her head, bringing the total to 168–169 killed. It remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.
In Their Own Words (5)
ATF, all you tyrannical people will swing in the wind one day for your treasonous actions against the Constitution of the United States. Remember the Nuremberg War Trials.
As quoted in "Timothy McVeigh & Terry Nichols: Oklahoma Bombing" (2010), TruTv. , 2010
If there is a hell, then I'll be in good company with a lot of fighter pilots who also had to bomb innocents to win the war.
Dead Man Talking, The Observer (April 22, 2001) , 2001
I understand what they felt in Oklahoma City. I have no sympathy for them.
Dead Man Talking, The Observer (April 22, 2001) , 2001
Think of it this way. When I was in the Army, you didn't see me for years. Think of me that way now, like I'm away in the Army again, on an assignment for the military.
To his mother (1997), as quoted in American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing (2001), by Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck, New York: ReganBooks (HarperCollins), p. 347. , 1997
I like the phrase "shot heard 'round the world," and I don't think there's any doubt the Oklahoma City blast was heard around the world.
Interview for American Terrorist (2001) by Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck , 2001
Timeline
The story of Timothy McVeigh, told in moments.
Served in the Gulf War as a Bradley gunner. Earned a Bronze Star. Applied for Army Special Forces but dropped out early in selection. Left the military shortly after, feeling disillusioned and increasingly drawn to anti-government ideology.
Detonated a truck bomb at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. 168 people died, including 19 children in the building's daycare. 680 more were injured. Deadliest domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history.
Executed by lethal injection at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. Never expressed remorse. Called the children who died "collateral damage." He was 33.
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