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Oklahoma City Bombing Analysis

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Analysis of the Oklahoma City Bombing On April 19th, 1995, at 9:02 AM a bomb exploded outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Office Building in Oklahoma City. The cause of the explosion was an Ammonium Nitrate and Fuel Oil bomb in a 24 foot rental truck parked in the street on the north side of the building (Oklahoma City Fire Department Report of the Bombing). The building was home to sixteen federal agencies. This was the most destructive terrorist act on American soil until the 9/11 attacks. The chief conspirators in this attack have been Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols which met in 1988 at Fort Benning during basic training for the U.S. Army. Michael Fortier which also had some degree in involvement had been McVeigh’s army …show more content…

After the April 21, 1995, court hearing on the gun charges, but before McVeigh 's release, federal agents managed to take him into custody as they continued their investigation into the bombing. After a nine-hour interrogation, Terry Nichols was formally held in federal custody until his trial. On April 25, 1995, James Nichols was also arrested, but he was released after 32 days due to lack of evidence. McVeigh 's sister Jennifer was accused of illegally mailing bullets to McVeigh, but she was granted immunity in exchange for testifying against him. The official FBI investigation was named the OK-BOMB. After the trials McVeigh was found guilty on eleven counts of murder and conspiracy. He was sentenced to death and executed finally after President George W. Bush approved the execution on June 11th, 2001 through lethal injection. Nichols stood trial twice. He was first tried by the federal government in 1997 and found guilty of conspiring to build a weapon of mass destruction and of eight counts of involuntary manslaughter of federal officers. He was sentenced on June 4, 1998 to life without parole. Michael and Lori Fortier were considered accomplices for their foreknowledge of the planning of the bombing. In addition to Michael assisting McVeigh in scouting the federal building, Lori had helped McVeigh laminate a fake driver 's license which was later used to rent the Ryder truck. Michael agreed to testify against McVeigh and Nichols in

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