Oklahoma City bombing

===Media coverage===
Hundreds of news trucks and members of the press arrived at the site to cover the story. The press immediately noticed that the bombing took place on the second anniversary of the [[Waco Siege|Waco incident]].<ref name="Jennings 1995-04-19"/>

Many initial news stories hypothesized the attack had been undertaken by Islamic terrorists, such as those who had masterminded the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]].{{sfnp|Michel|Herbeck|2001|p=249}}<ref name="GuysGunsAmok102">{{cite book|title=Guys and Guns Amok|last=Kellner|first=Douglas|page=102|isbn=978-1-59451-493-7|date=January 1, 2008|publisher=Paradigm Publishers }}</ref><ref name="Apocalypse55">{{cite book|title=Apocalypse in Oklahoma|last=Hamm|first=Mark S|page=55|isbn=978-1-55553-300-7|year=1997|publisher=Northeastern University Press }}</ref> Some media reported that investigators wanted to question men of Middle Eastern appearance.<ref name="New York Times">{{cite news|title=At Least 31 Are Dead, Scores Are Missing After Car Bomb Attack in Oklahoma City Wrecks 9-Story Federal Building|author=Johnson, David|page=1|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/20/us/terror-oklahoma-city-investigation-least-31-are-dead-scores-are-missing-after.html|access-date=November 10, 2012|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 20, 1995|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205001243/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/20/us/terror-oklahoma-city-investigation-least-31-are-dead-scores-are-missing-after.html|archive-date=February 5, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Hamzi Moghrabi, chairman of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, blamed the media for harassment of Muslims and Arabs that took place after the bombing.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jumping to Conclusions in Oklahoma City?|author=Fuchs, Penny|pages=1–2|url=http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=1980|access-date=November 10, 2012|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>

As the rescue effort wound down, the media interest shifted to the investigation, arrests, and trials of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, and on the search for an additional suspect named "John Doe Number Two." Several witnesses claimed to have seen a second suspect, who did not resemble Nichols, with McVeigh.<ref name="NYTimes">{{cite news|last=Kifner |first=John |title=June&nbsp;11–17: John Doe No. 2; A Dragnet Leads Down One More Blind Alley |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 18, 1995 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/18/weekinreview/june-11-17-john-doe-no-2-a-dragnet-leads-down-one-more-blind-alley.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605153620/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/18/weekinreview/june-11-17-john-doe-no-2-a-dragnet-leads-down-one-more-blind-alley.html |archive-date=June 5, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ChicSunTimes">{{cite news|last = Krall|first = Jay|title = Conspiracy buffs see Padilla, Oklahoma City link|date = June 18, 2002|work = [[Chicago Sun-Times]]|url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1445621.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140611112955/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1445621.html|url-status=dead|archive-date = June 11, 2014|access-date = June 30, 2015|via = [[HighBeam]] }}</ref>

Those who expressed sympathy for McVeigh typically described his deed as an act of war, as in the case of [[Gore Vidal]]'s essay ''The Meaning of Timothy McVeigh''.<ref name="MeaningMcVeigh">{{cite news|last=Vidal |first=Gore |title=The Meaning of Timothy McVeigh |date=September 2001 |work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2001/09/mcveigh200109 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301074302/http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2001/09/mcveigh200109 |archive-date=March 1, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="McVeighRevere">{{cite news|last=Gibbons |first=Fiachra |title=Vidal Praises Oklahoma Bomber for Heroic Aims |date=August 17, 2001 |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/aug/17/edinburghbookfestival2001.mcveigh |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110307200124/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/17/edinburghbookfestival2001.mcveigh |archive-date=March 7, 2011 |location=London |url-status=dead}}</ref>