Oklahoma City bombing

==Events==

===Planning===
====Motive====
[[File:Mountcarmelfire04-19-93-l.jpg|thumb|right|alt=An aerial view from a helicopter of the Mount Carmel Center building. Large columns of smoke are arising from the left side of the building from a fire. One side of the building shows extensive damage. The building is surrounded by dirt paths.|McVeigh and Nichols cited the federal government's actions against the [[Branch Davidian]] compound in the 1993 [[Waco siege]] (shown above) as a reason why they perpetrated the Oklahoma City bombing.]]
The chief conspirators, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, met in 1988 at [[Fort Benning]] during [[Recruit training|basic training]] for the U.S. Army.<ref name="1988McNichols">{{cite news
 |last         = Swickard
 |first        = Joe
 |url          = https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19950511&slug=2120431
 |title        = The Life of Terry Nichols
 |date         = May 11, 1995
 |work         = The Seattle Times
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120927221940/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19950511&slug=2120431
 |archive-date = September 27, 2012
 |url-status   = live
 |access-date  = May 23, 2023
}}</ref> McVeigh met Michael Fortier as his Army roommate.<ref name="PBSRoommate">{{cite news
 |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/may97/trial_5-13.html
 |title=Bombing Trial
 |work=Online Focus
 |date=May 13, 1997
 |publisher=[[PBS|Public Broadcasting Service]]
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125163535/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/may97/trial_5-13.html
 |archive-date=January 25, 2011
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> The three shared interests in [[survivalism]].<ref name="Militia">{{cite news
 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-04-16-militia-movement-on-the-rise_N.htm
 |title=As Okla. City date nears, militias seen as gaining strength
 |last=Johnson
 |first=Kevin
 |work=[[USA Today]]
 |date=April 16, 2010
 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130105124606/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-04-16-militia-movement-on-the-rise_N.htm?csp=34
 |archive-date=January 5, 2013
 |url-status=live
 |access-date=May 23, 2023
}}</ref><ref name="Militia2">{{cite news
|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/tampatribune/access/38315217.html?dids=38315217:38315217&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+20%2C+1996&author=MARIANNE+MEANS&pub=Tampa+Tribune&desc=Search+for+meaning+produces+scapegoats&pqatl=google
|format=Fee required
|title=Search for meaning produces scapegoats
|last=Means
|first=Marianne
|work=[[The Tampa Tribune]]
|date=April 20, 1996
|access-date=May 25, 2010
}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> McVeigh and Nichols were radicalized by white supremacist and antigovernment propaganda.<ref name="Belew2019">{{Cite book |last=Belew |first=Kathleen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qIPWDwAAQBAJ&q=McVeigh+White+Power |title=Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America |page=210 |date=2019 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-23769-8 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="SPLC">{{Cite web|title=25 years later, Oklahoma City bombing still inspires antigovernment extremists|url=https://www.splcenter.org/news/2020/04/17/25-years-later-oklahoma-city-bombing-still-inspires-antigovernment-extremists|access-date=December 23, 2020|website=Southern Poverty Law Center|language=en}}</ref> They expressed anger at the federal government's handling of the 1992 [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) standoff with [[Randy Weaver]] at Ruby Ridge, as well as the Waco siege, a 51-day standoff in 1993 between the FBI and [[Branch Davidians|Branch Davidian]] members that began with a botched [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms]] (ATF) attempt to execute a [[search warrant]]. There was a firefight and ultimately a siege of the compound, resulting in the burning and shooting deaths of [[David Koresh]] and 75 others.<ref name="Waco76">{{cite news
 |last=Caesar
 |first=Ed
 |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5324263.ece
 |title=The British Waco survivors
 |date=December 14, 2008
|work=The Sunday Times
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629115153/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5324263.ece
 |archive-date=June 29, 2011
|location=London
 |url-status=dead
}}</ref> In March 1993, McVeigh visited the Waco site during the standoff, and again after the siege ended.<ref name="WacoVisit">{{cite news
 |last=Baker
 |first=Al
 |author2=Dave Eisenstadt
 |author3=Paul Schwartzman
 |author4=Karen Ball
 |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/1995/04/22/1995-04-22_revenge_for_waco_strike_form.html
 |title=Revenge for Waco Strike Former Soldier is Charged in Okla. Bombing
 |work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|location=New York
 |date=April 22, 1995
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110227225536/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/1995/04/22/1995-04-22_revenge_for_waco_strike_form.html
 |archive-date=February 27, 2011
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> He later decided to bomb a federal building as a response to the raids and to protest what he believed to be US government efforts to restrict rights of private citizens, in particular those under the Second Amendment.<ref name="WacoRubyMcN"/><ref name="TimeWeight">{{cite magazine
 |url         = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,986240-1,00.html
 |title       = Oklahoma City: The Weight of Evidence
 |last        = Collins
 |first       = James
 |author2     = Patrick E. Cole
 |author3     = [[Elaine Shannon]]
 |magazine        = [[Time (magazine)|Time]]
 |pages       = 1–8
 |date        = April 28, 1997
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120211193636/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,986240-1,00.html
 |archive-date = February 11, 2012
|url-status     = dead
}}</ref><ref name="FOXLetter">{{cite news
 |url         = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,17500,00.html
 |title       = McVeigh's Apr.&nbsp;26 Letter to Fox News
 |date        = April 26, 2001
 |publisher   = [[Fox News Channel]]
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110209151723/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,17500,00.html
 |archive-date = February 9, 2011
 |url-status     = dead
}}</ref><ref name="WASHPostOrdinary">{{cite news
 |last=Russakoff
 |first=Dale
 |author2=Serge F. Kovaleski
 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/oklahoma/bg/mcveigh.htm
 |title=An Ordinary Boy's Extraordinary Rage
 |newspaper=The Washington Post
 |date=July 2, 1995
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131234415/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/oklahoma/bg/mcveigh.htm
 |archive-date=January 31, 2011
|url-status=dead
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Tan|editor-first=Andrew T .H. |last= Brannan|first=David|date=2010 |title=Politics of Terrorism: A Survey|chapter=Left- and Right-wing Political Terrorism| chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qXerAgAAQBAJ&q=false&pg=PA68|publisher=[[Routledge]] |pages=68–69 |isbn=978-1-85743-579-5}}</ref> McVeigh believed that federal agents were acting like soldiers, thus making an attack on a federal building an attack on their command centers.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04E2DC1339F934A15757C0A9679C8B63 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714023654/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04E2DC1339F934A15757C0A9679C8B63 | url-status=dead | archive-date=July 14, 2012 | work=[[The New York Times]] | title=McVeigh Says He Considered Killing Reno | first=Susan | last=Saulny | date=April 27, 2001 | access-date=March 28, 2010 }}</ref>

===Target selection===
[[File:Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building before destruction.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building as it appeared before its destruction]]
McVeigh later said that, instead of attacking a building, he had contemplated assassinating Attorney General [[Janet Reno]]; FBI sniper [[Lon Horiuchi]], who had become infamous among extremists because of his participation in the Ruby Ridge and Waco sieges; and others. McVeigh claimed he sometimes regretted not carrying out an assassination campaign.<ref name="FOXLetter"/><ref name="FOXAssassin">{{cite news |title=McVeigh Considered Assassination of Reno, Other Officials |date=April 27, 2001 |publisher=Fox News Channel |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,17501,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209184242/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,17501,00.html |archive-date=February 9, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He initially intended to destroy only a federal building, but he later decided that his message would be more powerful if many people were killed in the bombing.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=224}} McVeigh's criterion for attack sites was that the target should house at least two of these three [[Federal law enforcement in the United States|federal law enforcement agencies]]: the [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms]] (ATF), the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI), and the [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] (DEA). He regarded the presence of additional law enforcement agencies, such as the [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] or the [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Marshals Service]], as a bonus.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=167}}

A resident of [[Kingman, Arizona]], McVeigh considered targets in Missouri, Arizona, Texas, and Arkansas.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=167}} He said in his authorized biography that he wanted to minimize non-governmental casualties, so he ruled out [[Simmons Tower]], a 40-story building in [[Little Rock, Arkansas]], because a florist's shop occupied space on the ground floor.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=168–169}} In December 1994, McVeigh and Fortier visited Oklahoma City to inspect what would become the target of their campaign: the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.<ref name="TimeWeight"/>

The nine-story building, built in 1977, was named for [[Alfred P. Murrah|a federal judge]] and housed 14 federal agencies, including the DEA, ATF, [[Social Security Administration]], and recruiting offices for the Army and Marine Corps.<ref name="TerrorFailed">{{cite journal|last=Lewis|first=Carol W.|title=The Terror that Failed: Public Opinion in the Aftermath of the Bombing in Oklahoma City|journal=Public Administration Review|volume=60|issue=3|date=May–June 2000|pages=201–210|url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-63060012/terror-failed-public-opinion.html|url-access=registration|doi=10.1111/0033-3352.00080|access-date=March 20, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307204830/http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-63060012/terror-failed-public-opinion.html|archive-date=March 7, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

McVeigh chose the Murrah building because he expected its glass front to shatter under the impact of the blast. He also believed that its adjacent large, open parking lot across the street might absorb and dissipate some of the force, and protect the occupants of nearby non-federal buildings.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=168–169}} In addition, McVeigh believed that the open space around the building would provide better photo opportunities for propaganda purposes.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=168–169}} He planned the attack for April 19, 1995, to coincide with not only the second anniversary of the Waco siege but also the 220th anniversary of the [[Battles of Lexington and Concord]] during the American Revolution.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=226}} Rumors have also alleged that the bombing was also connected to the planned execution of Richard Snell, an Arkansas white supremacist who was a member of the [[Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord]] (CSA) and who was set to be executed the day the bombing took place.<ref name=snellexecution>{{cite web|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/richard-wayne-snell-11928/|title=Richard Wayne Snell (1930–1995)|publisher=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|accessdate=March 22, 2024}}</ref> Prior to his execution, Snell "predicted" that a bombing would take place that day.<ref name=snellexecution /> Though his execution was not confirmed to be a motive for the bombing, Fort Smith-based federal prosecutor Steven Snyder told the FBI in May 1995 that Snell wanted to blow up the Oklahoma City building as revenge for the IRS raiding his home.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2001-05-05 |title=Jon Ronson on Timothy McVeigh |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/may/05/mcveigh.usa |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref><ref name=may1995>{{cite news|last=Thomas|first=Jo|author2=Ronald Smothers|title=Oklahoma City Building Was Target Of Plot as Early as '83, Official Says|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/20/us/oklahoma-city-building-was-target-of-plot-as-early-as-83-official-says.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm|work=The New York Times|date=May 20, 1995|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130107024224/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/20/us/oklahoma-city-building-was-target-of-plot-as-early-as-83-official-says.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm|archivedate=January 7, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=snell />

====Gathering materials====
[[File:Detailed map of Herington, Kansas.png|thumb|A detailed map of [[Herington, Kansas]], the general location where McVeigh and Nichols stored the [[ammonium nitrate]] fertilizer used for the construction of the bomb. The actual location of the storage unit was located along [[U.S. Route 77|US Highway 77]], adjacent to a [[Pizza Hut]].]]
McVeigh and Nichols purchased or stole the materials they needed to manufacture the bomb, and stored them in rented sheds. In August 1994, McVeigh obtained nine binary-explosive [[Kinestik]]s from gun collector Roger E. Moore, and with Nichols ignited the devices outside Nichols's home in [[Herington, Kansas]].<ref name="PBSTimeline">{{cite news|last=Smith |first=Martin |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/documents/mcveigh/ |title=McVeigh Chronology |work=Frontline |publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728134240/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/documents/mcveigh/ |archive-date=July 28, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ForIntNine">{{cite news|last=Scarpa|first=Greg Jr.|url=http://forensic-intelligence.org/RRudman.pdf|title=AP Report of Possible Subcommittee Inquiry into Oklahoma City Bombing, Recent Intelligence Concerning (a) Involvement of FBI Informant; and (b) Imminent Threat|publisher=Forensic Intelligence International|access-date=June 5, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121029095407/http://forensic-intelligence.org/RRudman.pdf|archive-date=October 29, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> On September 30, 1994, Nichols bought forty {{convert|50|lb|kg|adj=on}} bags of [[ammonium nitrate]] fertilizer from Mid-Kansas Coop in [[McPherson, Kansas]], enough to fertilize {{convert|12.5|acre|ha|abbr=off}} of farmland at a rate of {{convert|160|lb|kg}} of nitrogen per acre (.4 ha), an amount commonly used for corn. Nichols bought an additional {{convert|50|lb|kg|adj=on}} bag on October 18, 1994.<ref name="TimeWeight"/> McVeigh approached Fortier and asked him to assist with the bombing project, but he refused.<ref name="trutvImitatingTurner">{{cite news|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/mcveigh/turner_7.html|title=Imitating Turner |last=Ottley |first=Ted |publisher=truTV |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119012918/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/mcveigh/turner_7.html |archive-date=January 19, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=201}}

McVeigh and Nichols robbed Moore in his home of $60,000 worth of guns, gold, silver, and jewels, transporting the property in the victim's van.<ref name="trutvImitatingTurner"/> McVeigh wrote Moore a letter in which he claimed that government agents had committed the robbery.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=197–198}} Items stolen from Moore were later found in Nichols's home and in a storage shed he had rented.<ref name="MooreStuff">{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w_wSAAAAIBAJ&pg=3391,28284&dq=were+later+found+in+storage+shed+roger+moore+nichols|title=Evidence builds up against Nichols in trial|work=[[Boca Raton News]]|date=December 16, 1997|access-date=June 29, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125184354/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w_wSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VI4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3391,28284&dq=were+later+found+in+storage+shed+roger+moore+nichols|archive-date=November 25, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="MooreStuff2">{{cite news|last=Thomas |first=Jo |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/20/us/bomb-suspect-hid-cash-ex-wife-testifies.html |title=Bomb Suspect Hid Cash, Ex-Wife Testifies |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 20, 1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605134938/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/20/us/bomb-suspect-hid-cash-ex-wife-testifies.html |archive-date=June 5, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In October 1994, McVeigh showed Michael and his wife Lori Fortier a diagram he had drawn of the bomb he wanted to build.<ref name="McVeighBomb33"/> McVeigh planned to construct a bomb containing more than {{convert|5000|lb|kg}} of ammonium nitrate fertilizer mixed with about {{convert|1200|lb|kg}} of liquid [[nitromethane]] and {{convert|350|lb|kg}} of [[Tovex]]. Including the weight of the sixteen 55 gallon [[Drum (container)|drums]] in which the explosive mixture was to be packed, the bomb would have a combined weight of about {{convert|7000|lb|kg}}.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=163–164}} McVeigh originally intended to use [[hydrazine]] rocket fuel, but it proved too expensive.<ref name="trutvImitatingTurner"/>

McVeigh and his accomplices then attempted to purchase {{convert|55|U.S.gal|impgal L|adj=on}} drums of nitromethane at various [[NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series|NHRA Drag Racing Series]] events during the season. His first attempt was at the Sears Craftsman Nationals, held at [[Heartland Motorsports Park]] in [[Pauline, Kansas]]. World Wide Racing Fuels representative Steve LeSueur, one of three dealers of nitromethane, was at his unit when he noted a "young man in fatigues" wanted to purchase nitromethane and hydrazine. Another fuel salesman, Glynn Tipton, of VP Racing Fuels, testified on May 1, 1997, about McVeigh's attempts to purchase both nitromethane and hydrazine. After the event, Tipton informed Wade Gray of Texas Allied Chemical, a chemical agent for VP Racing Fuels, who informed Tipton of the explosiveness of a nitromethane and hydrazine mixture. McVeigh, using an assumed name, then called Tipton's office. Suspicious of his behavior, Tipton refused to sell McVeigh the fuel.<REF> [https://libertarianinstitute.org/documents/1997_05_01-McV_Trial_Transcript-2-afternoon.pdf Transcript of May 1, 1995 hearing]</REF>

The next round of the NHRA championship tour was the [[Chief Auto Parts]] Nationals at the [[Texas Motorplex]] in [[Ennis, Texas]], where McVeigh posed as a motorcycle racer and attempted to purchase nitromethane on the pretext that he and some fellow bikers needed it for racing. However, there were no nitromethane-powered motorcycles at the meeting, and he did not have an [[National Hot Rod Association|NHRA]] competitors' license. LeSeuer again refused to sell McVeigh the fuel because he was suspicious of McVeigh's actions and attitudes, but VP Racing Fuels representative Tim Chambers sold McVeigh three barrels.<ref name="SisterFuel">{{cite news|last=Florio|first=Gwen|title=McVeigh's Sister Takes the Stand Against Him He Spoke of Moving From Antigovernment Talk to Action, She Testified, and of Transporting Explosives|work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|date=May 6, 1997}}</ref> Chambers questioned the purchase of three barrels, when typically only 1–5 gallons would be purchased by a Top Fuel Harley rider, and the class was not even raced that weekend.

McVeigh rented a storage space in which he stockpiled seven crates of {{convert|18|in|cm|adj=mid|-long}} Tovex "sausages", 80 spools of [[Shock tube detonator|shock tube]], and 500 electric [[blasting cap]]s, which he and Nichols had stolen from a Martin Marietta Aggregates quarry in [[Marion, Kansas]]. He decided not to steal any of the {{convert|40000|lb|kg}} of [[ANFO]] (ammonium nitrate/fuel oil) he found at the scene, as he did not believe it was powerful enough (he did obtain 17 bags of ANFO from another source for use in the bomb). McVeigh made a prototype bomb that was detonated in the desert to avoid detection.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=165}}

{{quote box|width=30em|bgcolor=#c6dbf|quote=Think about the people as if they were [[Stormtrooper (Star Wars)|storm troopers]] in ''[[Star Wars]]''. They may be individually innocent, but they are guilty because they work for the [[Galactic Empire (Star Wars)|Evil Empire]].|source=—McVeigh reflecting on the deaths of victims in the bombing{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=166}}}}

Later, speaking about the military mindset with which he went about the preparations, he said, "You learn how to handle killing in the military. I face the consequences, but you learn to accept it." He compared his actions to the [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]], rather than the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], reasoning it was necessary to prevent more lives from being lost.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=166}}
[[File:Detailed map of Junction City, Kansas.png|thumb|A detailed map of [[Junction City, Kansas]] (city limits in dark yellow), the general location where McVeigh purchased the [[Ryder]] truck used for the bomb. [[Grandview Plaza, Kansas|Grandview Plaza]], the former location of the Dreamland Motel where McVeigh stayed in, is just to the east of Junction City along [[Interstate 70]] (pink).]]
On April 14, 1995, McVeigh paid for a motel room at the Dreamland Motel in [[Junction City, Kansas]].{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=209}} The next day, he rented a 1993 [[Ford F-700]] truck from [[Ryder]] under the name Robert D. Kling, an alias he adopted because he knew an Army soldier named Kling with whom he shared physical characteristics, and because it reminded him of the [[Klingon]] warriors of ''[[Star Trek]]''.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=199, 209}}<ref>{{cite news|first=Peter|last=Chronis|title=Key a 'stroke of genius'|url=http://extras.denverpost.com/bomb/bomb216.htm|work=[[The Denver Post]]|access-date=November 8, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616073544/http://extras.denverpost.com/bomb/bomb216.htm|archive-date=June 16, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> On April 16, 1995, he and Nichols drove to Oklahoma City, where he parked a getaway car, a yellow 1977 [[Mercury Marquis]], several blocks from the Murrah Federal Building.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=212}} The nearby Regency Towers Apartments' lobby security camera recorded images of Nichols's blue 1984 GMC pickup truck on April 16.<ref name="RTASecurityCamera">{{cite news|first=Diana|last=Baldwin|title=FBI Will Follow Up Bomb Case Forever|url=http://newsok.com/article/2636391|publisher=News OK|date=December 13, 1998|access-date=September 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510090822/http://newsok.com/article/2636391|archive-date=May 10, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> After removing the car's license plate, he left a note covering the [[Vehicle Identification Number]] (VIN) plate that read, "Not abandoned. Please do not tow. Will move by April 23. (Needs battery & cable)."<ref name="TimeWeight"/>{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=206–208}} Both men then returned to Kansas.

====Building the bomb====
[[File:Map of Kansas highlighting Geary County.svg|thumb|260x260px|[[Geary County, Kansas]] (in red), where Geary Lake is located. This is where McVeigh and Nichols constructed the bomb.]]
On April 17–18, 1995, McVeigh and Nichols removed the bomb supplies from their storage unit in [[Herington, Kansas]], where Nichols lived, and loaded them into the Ryder rental truck.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=215}} They then drove to Geary Lake State Park, where they nailed boards onto the floor of the truck to hold the 13&nbsp;barrels in place and mixed the chemicals using plastic buckets and a bathroom scale.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=216}} Each filled barrel weighed nearly {{convert|500|lb|kg}}.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=217–218}} McVeigh added more explosives to the driver's side of the cargo bay, which he could ignite (killing himself in the process) at close range with his [[Glock 21]] pistol in case the primary fuses failed.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=219}} During McVeigh's trial, Lori Fortier stated that McVeigh claimed to have arranged the barrels in order to form a [[shaped charge]].<ref name="McVeighBomb33"/> This was achieved by [[wikt:tamp|tamping]] (placing material against explosives opposite the target of the explosion) the aluminum side panel of the truck with bags of ammonium nitrate fertilizer to direct the blast laterally towards the building.<ref name="web.mst.edu">{{cite web|title=Some Practical Applications of Forensic Seismology|last=Rogers|first=J. David|author2=Keith D. Koper|publisher=[[Missouri University of Science and Technology]]|url=http://web.mst.edu/~rogersda/umrcourses/ge342/Forensic%20Seismology-revised.pdf|pages=25–35|access-date=June 5, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029190716/http://web.mst.edu/~rogersda/umrcourses/ge342/Forensic%20Seismology-revised.pdf|archive-date=October 29, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Specifically, McVeigh arranged the barrels in the shape of a backwards J; he later said that for pure destructive power, he would have put the barrels on the side of the cargo bay closest to the Murrah Building; however, such an unevenly distributed {{convert|7000|lb|kg|adj=on}} load might have broken an axle, flipped the truck over, or at least caused it to lean to one side, which could have drawn attention.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=217–218}} All or most of the barrels of [[ANNM]] contained metal cylinders of [[acetylene]] intended to increase the fireball and the [[brisance]] of the explosion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tech.mit.edu/V115/N21/mcveigh.21w.html|title=McVeigh Held in Conjunction with Oklahoma City Bombing|work=mit.edu|access-date=June 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205001924/http://tech.mit.edu/V115/N21/mcveigh.21w.html|archive-date=February 5, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

McVeigh then added a dual-fuse ignition system accessible from the truck's front cab. He drilled two&nbsp;holes in the cab of the truck under the seat, while two&nbsp;holes were also drilled in the body of the truck. One&nbsp;green cannon fuse was run through each hole into the cab. These time-delayed fuses led from the cab through plastic fish-tank tubing conduit to two sets of non-electric blasting caps which would ignite around {{convert|350|lb|kg}} of the high-grade explosives that McVeigh stole from a rock quarry.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=217–218}} The tubing was painted yellow to blend in with the truck's [[livery]], and duct-taped in place to the wall to make it harder to disable by yanking from the outside.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=217–218}} The fuses were set up to initiate, through shock tubes, the {{convert|350|lb|kg}} of Tovex Blastrite Gel sausages, which would in turn set off the configuration of barrels. Of the 13&nbsp;filled barrels, nine contained ammonium nitrate and nitromethane, and four contained a mixture of the fertilizer and about {{convert|4|U.S.gal|impgal L}} of diesel fuel.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=217–218}} Additional materials and tools used for manufacturing the bomb were left in the truck to be destroyed in the blast.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|pp=217–218}} After finishing the truck bomb, the two&nbsp;men separated; Nichols returned home to Herington and McVeigh traveled with the truck to Junction City. The bomb cost about {{US$|5000|1993|long=no|round=-3|about=yes}} to make.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://oklahoman.com/article/2580620/prosecutors-add-up-cost-of-bomb-5000 |title=Prosecutors Add up Cost of Bomb: $5,000 |date=May 12, 1997 |work=[[The Oklahoman]] |last1=Clay |first1=Nolan |last2=Owen |first2=Penny |location=[[Denver]] |access-date=2024-01-12 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507173447/https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1997/05/12/prosecutors-add-up-cost-of-bomb-5000/62314685007/ |archive-date=2022-05-07}}</ref>

===Bombing===
[[File:Timothy McVeigh's movements during Oklahoma City bombing.svg|thumb|right|300px|alt=Map showing the layout of downtown Oklahoma City near the bombed building. The map uses simple shapes to identify some notable nearby buildings and roads. A large circle covers half the map, illustrating the extent of damage from the bomb. A red path shows the path McVeigh took to get to the building with the Ryder truck, and a blue line shows his escape on foot.|McVeigh's movement in the Ryder truck (red dashed line) and escape on foot (blue dashed line) on the day of the bombing]]
McVeigh's original plan had been to detonate the bomb at 11:00&nbsp;a.m., but at dawn on April 19, 1995, he decided instead to destroy the building at 9:00&nbsp;a.m.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=220}} As he drove toward the Murrah Federal Building in the Ryder truck, McVeigh carried with him an envelope containing pages from ''[[The Turner Diaries]]''&nbsp;– a fictional account of [[White supremacy|white supremacists]] who ignite a revolution by blowing up the FBI headquarters at 9:15 one morning using a truck bomb.<ref name="TimeWeight"/> McVeigh wore a printed T-shirt with ''[[Sic semper tyrannis]]'' ("Thus always to tyrants")—what according to legend Brutus said as he [[Assassination of Julius Caesar|assassinated Julius Caesar]] and is also claimed to have been shouted by [[John Wilkes Booth]] immediately after the [[assassination of Abraham Lincoln]]—and "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants" (from [[Thomas Jefferson]]).{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=226}} He also carried an envelope full of revolutionary materials that included a bumper sticker with the slogan, falsely attributed<ref name="SpuriousJefferson">{{cite web |url=https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/when-government-fears-people-there-liberty-spurious-quotation |title=When government fears the people, there is liberty... (Spurious Quotation) |website=Thomas Jefferson's Monticello |access-date=May 22, 2020 |quote=We have not found any evidence that Thomas Jefferson said or wrote, "When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny," nor any evidence that he wrote its listed variations.}}</ref> to Thomas Jefferson, "When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny." Underneath, McVeigh had written, "Maybe now, there will be liberty!" with a hand-copied quote by [[John Locke]] asserting that a man has a right to kill someone who takes away his liberty.<ref name="TimeWeight"/>{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=228}}

McVeigh entered Oklahoma City at 8:50&nbsp;a.m.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=229}} At 8:57&nbsp;a.m., the Regency Towers Apartments' lobby security camera that had recorded Nichols's pickup truck three days earlier recorded the Ryder truck heading towards the Murrah Federal Building.<ref name="RTASecurityRyder">{{cite news|first=Talley |last=Tim |title=Man testifies axle of truck fell from sky after Oklahoma City bombing |url=http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20040415-1925-nicholstrial.html |work=U-T San Diego |date=April 15, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313182753/http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20040415-1925-nicholstrial.html |archive-date=March 13, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> At the same moment, McVeigh lit the five-minute fuse. Three minutes later, still a block away, he lit the two-minute fuse. He parked the Ryder truck in a drop-off zone situated under the building's day-care center, exited and locked the truck. As he headed to his getaway vehicle, he dropped the keys to the truck a few blocks away.<ref name="HomelandStudyKeys1042">{{cite episode|title=A Study of the Oklahoma City Bombing|series=Homeland Security Television|minutes=10:42|airdate=2006}}</ref>

[[File:Murrah Building - Aerial.jpg|left|thumb|alt=An overhead view shows the Alfred P. Murrah building, half of it destroyed from the bomb's blast. Near the building are various rescue vehicles and cranes. Some damage is visible to nearby buildings.|An aerial view, looking from the north, of the destruction]]

At 9:02&nbsp;a.m. (14:02 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]), the Ryder truck, containing over {{convert|4800|lb|kg}}<ref name="ITN76">{{cite book|last=Irving|first=Clive|title=In Their Name|page=[https://archive.org/details/intheirnamededic00irvi/page/76 76]|isbn=978-0-679-44825-9|year=1995|publisher=Random House |url=https://archive.org/details/intheirnamededic00irvi/page/76}}</ref> of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, nitromethane, and diesel fuel mixture, detonated in front of the north side of the nine-story Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.<ref name="McVeighBomb33">{{cite news |first=Jo |last=Thomas |title=For First Time, Woman Says McVeigh Told of Bomb Plan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/30/us/for-first-time-woman-says-mcveigh-told-of-bomb-plan.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 30, 1996 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425082855/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/30/us/for-first-time-woman-says-mcveigh-told-of-bomb-plan.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |archive-date=April 25, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 168 people were killed and hundreds more injured. One-third of the building was destroyed by the explosion,<ref name="Terrorism Info">{{cite web|title=The Oklahoma Department of Civil Emergency Management After Action Report|url=http://www.ok.gov/OEM/documents/Bombing%20After%20Action%20Report.pdf|page=77|publisher=Department of Central Services Central Printing Division|year=1996|access-date=June 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140121223730/http://www.ok.gov/OEM/documents/Bombing%20After%20Action%20Report.pdf|archive-date=January 21, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> which created a {{convert|30|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}}, {{convert|8|ft|m|adj=mid|-deep}} crater on NW 5th Street next to the building.<ref name="FinalReport">{{cite book|last=City of Oklahoma City Document Management|title=Final Report|pages=10–12|isbn=978-0-87939-130-0|year=1996|publisher=Fire Protection Publications, Oklahoma State U. }}</ref> The blast destroyed or damaged 324&nbsp;buildings within a 4-block radius, and shattered glass in 258&nbsp;nearby buildings.<ref name="TI3"/><ref name="Safety"/> The broken glass alone accounted for 5&nbsp;percent of the death total and 69&nbsp;percent of the injuries outside the Murrah Federal Building.<ref name="Safety"/> The blast destroyed or burned 86&nbsp;cars around the site.<ref name="TI3"/><ref name="ITN52">{{cite book|last=Irving|first=Clive|title=In Their Name|page=[https://archive.org/details/intheirnamededic00irvi/page/52 52]|isbn=978-0-679-44825-9|year=1995|publisher=Random House |url=https://archive.org/details/intheirnamededic00irvi/page/52}}</ref> The destruction of the buildings left several hundred people homeless and shut down a number of offices in downtown Oklahoma City.<ref name="USDJ"/> The explosion was estimated to have caused at least $652&nbsp;million worth of damage.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hewitt|first=Christopher |title=Understanding Terrorism in America|page=[https://archive.org/details/understandingter0000hewi/page/106 106] |isbn=978-0-415-27766-2|year=2003 |url=https://archive.org/details/understandingter0000hewi/page/106 }}</ref>

The effects of the blast were equivalent to over {{convert|5000|lb|kg}} of [[trinitrotoluene|TNT]],<ref name="web.mst.edu"/><ref name="JournalBlastDamage">{{cite journal|last=Mlakar|first=Paul F. Sr.|author2=W. Gene Corley|author2-link=W. Gene Corley|author3=Mete A. Sozen|author4=Charles H. Thornton|title=The Oklahoma City Bombing: Analysis of Blast Damage to the Murrah Building|journal=Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities|volume=12|issue=3|date=August 1998|pages=113–119|doi=10.1061/(ASCE)0887-3828(1998)12:3(113)}}</ref> and could be heard and felt up to {{convert|55|mi|km}} away.<ref name="USDJ">{{cite web|title=Responding to Terrorism Victims: Oklahoma City and Beyond: Chapter I, Bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building|work=[[U.S. Department of Justice]] |url=http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/infores/respterrorism/chap1.html |date=October 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105193322/http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov//ovc/publications/infores/respterrorism/chap2.html |archive-date=November 5, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Seismometer]]s at the [[Science Museum Oklahoma|Omniplex Science Museum]] in Oklahoma City, {{convert|4.3|mi|km}} away, and in [[Norman, Oklahoma]], {{convert|16.1|mi|km}} away, recorded the blast as measuring approximately 3.0 on the [[Richter magnitude scale]].<ref name="HolzerSiesmograms">{{cite journal|last=Holzer|first=T. L.|author2=Joe B. Fletcher|author3=Gary S. Fuis|author4=Trond Ryberg|author5=Thomas M. Brocher|author6=Christopher M. Dietel|year=1996|title=Seismograms Offer Insight into Oklahoma City Bombing |journal=Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union|pages=393, 396–397|volume=77|issue=41 |doi=10.1029/96EO00269 |bibcode=1996EOSTr..77..393H |url=http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/eosholzer.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113185155/http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/eosholzer.html |archive-date=November 13, 2007}}</ref>

The collapse of the northern half of the building took roughly 7 seconds. As the truck exploded, it first destroyed the column next to it, designated as G20, and shattered the entire glass facade of the building. The shockwave of the explosion forced the lower floors upwards, before the fourth and fifth floors collapsed onto the third floor, which housed a transfer beam that ran the length of the building and was being supported by four pillars below, as well as supporting the pillars that hold the upper floors. The added weight meant that the third floor gave way along with the transfer beam, which in turn caused the collapse of the building.<ref name="Seconds">"The Bomb in Oklahoma City" ("Oklahoma City"). ''[[Seconds From Disaster]]''.</ref>

===Arrests===
Initially, the FBI had three hypotheses about responsibility for the bombing: international terrorists, possibly the same group that had carried out the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing|World Trade Center bombing]]; a [[drug cartel]], carrying out an act of vengeance against DEA agents in the building's DEA office; and anti-government radicals attempting to start a rebellion against the federal government.<ref name="Apocalypse623">{{cite book|title=Apocalypse in Oklahoma|last=Hamm|first=Mark S|pages=62–63|isbn=978-1-55553-300-7|year=1997|publisher=Northeastern University Press }}</ref>

[[File:Aa McVeigh sketch and pic.jpg|thumb|left|alt=An FBI sketch is shown on the left of the image on the suspected bomber looking forward, and on the right, an image of McVeigh looking at the camera. Two brown bars are visible on the top and bottom of the comparison image.|FBI sketch (left) and McVeigh (right).]]
McVeigh was arrested within 90&nbsp;minutes of the explosion,<ref name="ISOCB">{{cite news|url=http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/crime/national/1995/oklahoma_city_bombing/ok.html |title=Library Factfiles: The Oklahoma City Bombing |work=[[The Indianapolis Star]] |date=August 9, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428230852/http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/crime/national/1995/oklahoma_city_bombing/ok.html |archive-date=April 28, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> as he was traveling north on [[Interstate 35 in Oklahoma|Interstate 35]] near [[Perry, Oklahoma|Perry]] in [[Noble County, Oklahoma|Noble County]], Oklahoma. [[Oklahoma Highway Patrol|Oklahoma State Trooper]] Charlie Hanger stopped McVeigh for driving his yellow 1977 [[Mercury Marquis]] without a license plate, and arrested him for having a concealed weapon.<ref name="VideoApprehend"/><ref name="LAW">{{cite news|last=Crogan |first=Jim |title=Secrets of Timothy McVeigh |work=[[LA Weekly]] |url=http://www.laweekly.com/2004-03-25/news/secrets-of-timothy-mcveigh/ |date=March 24, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525202850/http://www.laweekly.com/2004-03-25/news/secrets-of-timothy-mcveigh/ |archive-date=May 25, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> For his home address, McVeigh falsely claimed he resided at Terry Nichols's brother James's house in Michigan.<ref name="JamesTerryN">{{cite news|last=Zucchino|first=David|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB32BF154308505&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|format=Fee required|title=Tracing a Trail to Destruction; The Clues from the Oklahoma City Bombing Have Led to; A Small Circle of Malcontents&nbsp;– Not a Wide Network|work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|date=May 14, 1995|access-date=June 14, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609012019/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB32BF154308505&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|archive-date=June 9, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> After booking McVeigh into jail, Trooper Hanger searched his patrol car and found a business card which had been concealed by McVeigh after being handcuffed.<ref name="TrooperShares">{{cite news|last=Morava |first=Kim |title=Trooper who arrested Timothy McVeigh shares story |work=[[Lerner Newspapers|Shawnee News-Star]] |url=http://www.news-star.com/localnews/x844642367/Trooper-who-arrested-Timothy-McVeigh-shares-story |date=February 24, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609033905/http://www.news-star.com/localnews/x844642367/Trooper-who-arrested-Timothy-McVeigh-shares-story |archive-date=June 9, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Written on the back of the card, which was from a Wisconsin military surplus store, were the words "TNT at $5 a stick. Need more."<ref name="BusinessCard">{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|title=Turning to evidence: axle and fingerprints|work=[[Kingman Daily Miner]]|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=J3kNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5576,5737178&dq=mcveigh+business+card+fingerprint|date=April 21, 1997|access-date=June 27, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125212943/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=J3kNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0VIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5576,5737178&dq=mcveigh+business+card+fingerprint|archive-date=November 25, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The card was later used as evidence during McVeigh's trial.<ref name="BusinessCard"/>

While investigating the [[Vehicle Identification Number|VIN]] on an axle of the truck used in the explosion and the remnants of the license plate, federal agents were able to link the truck to a specific Ryder rental agency in Junction City, Kansas. Using a sketch created with the assistance of Eldon Elliot, owner of the agency, the agents were able to implicate McVeigh in the bombing.<ref name="OneOfOurs13941"/><ref name="TimeWeight"/><ref name="Apocalypse65">{{cite book|title=Apocalypse in Oklahoma|last=Hamm|first=Mark S|page=65|isbn=978-1-55553-300-7|year=1997|publisher=Northeastern University Press }}</ref> McVeigh was also identified by Lea McGown of the Dreamland Motel, who remembered him parking a large yellow Ryder truck in the lot; McVeigh had signed in under his real name at the motel, using an address that matched the one on his forged license and the charge sheet at the Perry Police Station.<ref name="OttleyTagSnag"/><ref name="TimeWeight"/> Before signing his real name at the motel, McVeigh had used false names for his transactions. However, McGown noted, "People are so used to signing their own name that when they go to sign a phony name, they almost always go to write, and then look up for a moment as if to remember the new name they want to use. That's what [McVeigh] did, and when he looked up I started talking to him, and it threw him."<ref name="TimeWeight"/>

[[File:TimothyMcVeighPerryOKApr2195.jpg|thumb|right|alt=McVeigh is located at the center of the image in a dark hallway wearing an orange jumpsuit and looking to the side. Around him are several FBI agents and police officers.|McVeigh about to exit the Perry, Oklahoma, courthouse on April 21, 1995]]
After an April 21, 1995 court hearing on the gun charges, but before McVeigh's release, federal agents took him into custody as they continued their investigation into the bombing.<ref name="TimeWeight"/> Rather than talk to investigators about the bombing, McVeigh demanded an attorney. Having been tipped off by the arrival of police and helicopters that a bombing suspect was inside, a restless crowd began to gather outside the jail. While McVeigh's requests for a bulletproof vest or transport by helicopter were denied,<ref name="OttleyInnocence">{{cite news|last=Ottley |first=Ted |url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/mcveigh/lost_3.html |title=Innocence Lost |publisher=truTV |date=April 14, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112165510/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/mcveigh/lost_3.html |archive-date=January 12, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> authorities did use a helicopter to transport him from Perry to Oklahoma City.<ref name="Charged">[http://archive.newsok.com/Default/Skins/Oklahoman/Client.asp?skin=Oklahoman&AW=1391108403156&AppName=2 April 22, 1995 Bomb Suspect Charged], ''The Oklahoman'', April 22, 1995. (accessed January 30, 2014, Registration Required)</ref>

Federal agents obtained a [[search warrant|warrant]] to search the house of McVeigh's father, Bill, after which they broke down the door and wired the house and telephone with [[listening device]]s.{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=270}} FBI investigators used the resulting information gained, along with the fake address McVeigh had been using, to begin their search for the Nichols brothers, Terry and James.<ref name="JamesTerryN"/> On April 21, 1995, Terry Nichols learned that he was being hunted, and turned himself in.<ref name="TerrorFamily">{{cite news|last=Witkin |first=Gordon |author2=Karen Roebuck |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/971006/archive_007972.htm |title=Terrorist or Family Man? Terry Nichols goes on trial for the Oklahoma City bombing |work=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |date=September 28, 1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018010025/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/971006/archive_007972.htm |archive-date=October 18, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Investigators discovered incriminating evidence at his home: ammonium nitrate and blasting caps, the electric drill used to drill out the locks at the quarry, books on bomb-making, a copy of ''[[Hunter (Pierce novel)|Hunter]]'' (a 1989 novel by [[William Luther Pierce]], the founder and chairman of the [[National Alliance (United States)|National Alliance]], a [[white nationalist]] group) and a hand-drawn map of downtown Oklahoma City, on which the Murrah Building and the spot where McVeigh's getaway car was hidden were marked.<ref name="HomelandStudyEpisode1107">{{cite episode|title=A Study of the Oklahoma City Bombing|series=Homeland Security Television|minutes=11:07|airdate=2006}}</ref>{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=274}} After a nine-hour interrogation, Terry Nichols was formally held in federal custody until his trial.<ref name="CTVN2">{{cite web|title=The Oklahoma City Bombing Case: The Second Trial|publisher=CourtTV News|url=http://www.courttv.com/archive/casefiles/oklahoma/reports/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213083520/http://www.courttv.com/archive/casefiles/oklahoma/reports/index.html|archive-date=February 13, 2008}}</ref> On April 25, 1995, James Nichols was also arrested, but he was released after 32&nbsp;days due to lack of evidence.<ref name="James32days">{{cite news|agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-02-20-moore-nichols_x.htm?POE=LIFISVA |title=Michael Moore didn't libel bomber's brother, court says |work=USA Today |date=February 20, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224065552/http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-02-20-moore-nichols_x.htm?POE=LIFISVA |archive-date=February 24, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> McVeigh's sister Jennifer was accused of illegally mailing ammunition to McVeigh,<ref name="JenniferBullets">{{cite news|last=Michel|first=Lou|author2=Susan Schulman|title=McVeigh Tried to Have Ammo Mailed His Sister Picked Up Supply After Store Refused His Request to Ship It|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BN&p_theme=bn&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF988289421A5C&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|format=Fee required|work=[[The Buffalo News]]|date=April 29, 1995|access-date=April 7, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609012448/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BN&p_theme=bn&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF988289421A5C&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|archive-date=June 9, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> but she was granted immunity in exchange for testifying against him.<ref name="JenniferImmunity">{{cite magazine |last=Church |first=George J. |author2=Patrick E. Cole |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,983291-1,00.html |title=The Matter of Tim McVeigh |magazine=Time |page=2 |date=August 14, 1995 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105071748/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,983291-1,00.html |archive-date=November 5, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

A Jordanian-American man traveling from his home in Oklahoma City to visit family in Jordan on April 19, 1995, was detained and questioned by the FBI at the airport. Several Arab-American groups criticized the FBI for [[racial profiling]], and the subsequent media coverage for publicizing the man's name.<ref name="AJR">{{cite news|last=Fuchs |first=Penny Bender |title=Jumping to Conclusions in Oklahoma City? |work=[[American Journalism Review]] |date=June 1995 |url=http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=1980 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205081115/http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=1980 |archive-date=December 5, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Apocalypse63">{{cite book|title=Apocalypse in Oklahoma|last=Hamm|first=Mark S|page=63|isbn=978-1-55553-300-7|year=1997|publisher=Northeastern University Press }}</ref> Attorney General Reno denied claims that the federal government relied on racial profiling, while FBI director [[Louis J. Freeh]] told a press conference that the man was never a suspect, and was instead treated as a "witness" to the Oklahoma City bombing, who assisted the government's investigation.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kempster|first=Norman|title=TERROR IN OKLAHOMA CITY : Man Returned to United States Is Not a Suspect|newspaper=[[LA Times]]|date=April 1995|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-22-mn-57461-story.html}}</ref>