Final Paper. Timothy McVeigh the American Terrorist
Kyle Jones
English Composition II
Instructor John Henson
Upper Iowa University
08/15/2015
When most people think of Domestic terrorism one name comes to mind. Timothy McVeigh, who is a well known name and most people, can identify him as the Oklahoma City bomber. He is the man behind the second biggest terrorist attack on American soil to date. The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma killed 168 people and injured hundreds more. History.com Staff. (2009). Which at the time was the biggest terrorist attack before September 11th 2001. Timothy McVeigh lived a rather normal childhood, where he acted just like other kids in his rural town of
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Kifner, John. (1995). It was long after that he took an interest in guns and he spent a lot of time with his grandfather. As a child Timothy was raised Catholic but slowly grew away from his religious beliefs while serving in the Army. Kifner, John. (1995). On May 24th 1988 Timothy took a huge step to fulfill his dream of becoming a member of the United States Special Forces. In Basic training McVeigh met an individual named Terry Nichols, Nichols was much older than most of the recruits and held his own pretty well. McVeigh and Nichols became close friends and even got stationed at Fort Riley Kansas Together. Kifner, John. (1995). Terry Nichols was one of the master minds behind the attack of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. As stated by former FBI agent "These two are birds of a feather. Each feeds off the other 's inadequacies." McVeigh and Nichols would later deploy to Iraq to fight in the Gulf War where McVeigh served as a Bradley Gunner. During his time in Iraq McVeigh was awarded the combat Infantry badge and a bronze star. Kifner, (1995). During his time in the Army McVeigh begin to change for the worse. He became disconnected with his Catholic roots in which he was raised. He also started an obsession with a book called the Turner Diaries. The Turner Diaries is a book that is based on a race war and a war against the government.
The Oklahoma City Bombing would be considered the worst terrorist attack on America prior to the 9/11 World Trade Center attack. Just outside of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, on April 19th, 1995 a truck exploded, killing 168 people. 19 of those 168 being children. The explosion caused damage to 300 surrounding buildings. Oklahoma City was going through a tragedy and needed guidance from a leader.
Timothy McVeigh left a moving truck he had leased before the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in the downtown area of Oklahoma City. McVeigh intentionally had plans to execute and kill people, the federal government as the target, by way of a massive bomb. He carried out the plan that rocked the Oklahoma City and caught the U. S. by surprise, however, which it did not take the FBI long to find the person behind the act. On April 20, the back hub of the Ryder was found, which produced a vehicle number that was led FBI to shop in Kansas. Personnel at the shop assisted FBI by rapidly giving them a composite drawing of the person who leased the van. Specialists revealed the drawing throughout the town, nevertheless, nearby hotel workers identified the person in the sketched drawing as Timothy McVeigh. A prompt call to the FBI in West Virginia on April 21 led to a shocking disclosure: McVeigh was at that point in prison. This was an amazing discovery for the investigators who classified McVeigh as a suspect responsible for the bombing on the Federal Building and he was charged.
The bomb was set off by Timothy McVeigh, a Persian Gulf Veteran. He was a right wing radical linked to anti-government, white-supremacist, survivalist and militia groups. The events at Waco and Ruby Ridge influenced Timothy McVeigh, prompting him to take action against the United States government (“FBI”, The Oklahoma City Bombing: 20 Years After). Right wing ideology, as in the Turner Diaries, led him
On April 19th, 1995 a homemade bomb made of a concoction of agricultural fertilizer, fuel, and other dangerous chemicals was left in a truck parked outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City. At 9:02 in the morning, it’s blast damaged over 300 buildings surrounding the vehicle and even flattened a third of the federal building. (Strom, 2015) The bomb took the lives of 168 people, including 19 children. It was found that two men, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Lynn Nichols were the ones who planted the device. Both men were found to be associated with a radical militia movement that sought revenge for a siege in Waco, Texas two years prior. The siege killed 82 Branch Davidians, of whom, multiple were related to the militia movement.
On the morning of April 19, 1995 Timothy McVeigh parked a Ryder rental truck packed with explosives outside of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building more than ready to commit a mass execution that would change the state of Oklahoma forever. Until September 11, 2001 the Oklahoma City Bombing was the most vicious terrorist attack to happen in the United States. As rescue operations were finalized the death tolls were high including 19 children.. The explosion blew off the entire north wall and either destroyed or damaged buildings as far as three blocks away. McVeigh was “anti-government” and wanted revenge against the federal government for what had
On April 19, 1995, a man by the name of Timothy McVeigh carried out an attack that would leave the United States, along with other countries, devastated. At 9:02 A.M, a truck bomb explosion outside of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, left 168 people dead and hundreds more injured. Many people apprehend that McVeigh carried out this attack because he was mentally unstable. He was actually thinking logically. McVeigh planned out the attack based on his life experiences and by what he read in books. He retaliated against the government because of his personal beliefs and he wanted to be recognized for the bombing.
Timothy McVeigh committed the most deadly act of domestic terrorism in United States history. His actions resulted in both outrage and fascination, and lead to significant inquiry into why he did what he did. Many at the time, already scared by the rising trends of Jihadist terrorism felt that McVeigh’s actions were in large part something new, something atypical to the American experience. However, such was not the case. Terrorism has been prevalent throughout American history and tied to various trends and movements, including abolitionism. Ultimately John Brown and Timothy McVeigh have striking similarities, such as the presence of their action outside of the more established and organized groups of their respective movements and the media
McVeigh, before joining the military, already had a long history in the survivalist movement. The Survivalist movement is well known by the federal government for its anti-government activities and beliefs, McVeigh shared these beliefs and was set off after the
Timothy McVeigh (33) sentenced to death on 11 federal offenses because he bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. McVeigh’s execution took place on June 11, 2001 in the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. The high security federal complex where his execution took place located on Highway 63, which is just two miles south of the city of Terre Haute. McVeigh had two co-conspirators Terry Nichols and Michael Fortier.
When the Oklahoma City bombing happened, it remained the largest terrorist attack to happen on American soil until the attack on 9/11. On April 19, 1995, a rental truck was loaded up with 4,800 pounds of explosives and detonated just after 9:00 am (Krung, Nixon, & Vincent, 1996). The attack was focused on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. This tragic event killed one hundred sixty-eight people and also injured hundreds more (Nacos, 2016). A dare care facility was also located within the building and nineteen children perished in the attack (Nacos, 2016). There were hundreds more victims which were treated by area hospitals and private doctor offices. This explosion was so large, a shockwave was sent across the city which damaged or destroyed an additional 300 buildings in the immediate area (History, 2009). Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nicholas were the two men responsible for this devastating attack.
On April 19th 1995 the worst terrorist attack on US soil took place in the heartland of America. The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma was targeted and almost completely blown to pieces by one enormous homemade bomb. The unthinkable had happened at the beginning of an average day at the office. This day would be remembered for the rest of America's history, unlike any other day, as a blatant attack on the United States government.
Running up and down the halls without a care in the world, Aaron had no idea that he was destined to breathe his very last breath in a few short seconds. Unfortunately, Aaron’s story would only become one of the many lives ripped apart during the Oklahoma City Bombing. The world would never be the same. Instead of making the assassin, Timothy McVeigh, suffer like so many others will for the rest of their lives, he got exactly what he wanted; he received the easy way out.
Timothy McVeigh was a young child who grew up just like any other kid in America. He grew up in a town called
Yesterday April 19th,1995 Ex-Army soldier and security guard Timothy McVeigh parked his truck lined with explosives in front of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building downtown Oklahoma City.
On September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists who were members of the Islamic terrorist organization named al-Qaeda, hijacked four commercial airplanes and committed suicide attacks against the United States. Two of the planes were ran into the towers of the World Trade Center (Twin Towers) in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside of Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. The attacks resulted in mass death and destruction, triggering the United States initiatives to fight terrorism and defend our country. Over 3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., among these people were more than 400 police officers and 300 firefighters, these heros lost their lives