Timothy McVeigh, a 26-year-old former soldier, was arrested in Oklahoma. He had just executed one of the most lethal acts of terrorism in U.S. history. On April 19, 1995, he detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. This monstrous act resulted in the deaths of 168 people, including 19 children under the age of 6. Even after his arrest, authorities shackled McVeigh as they escorted him from a rural courthouse. A hostile House Committee crowd chanted “baby killer” and other epithets at him.
The violence that McVeigh inflicted was the result of a long, radical ideological trajectory and a set of personal animus towards detaching or breaking up with the federal government. The Waco siege of 1993 had a direct impact on his worldview. He was dismayed to just observe a few months later the deployment of Bradley fighting vehicles rolling in to crush a protest and to crush a standoff. McVeigh, a military gunner who was trained in the first Gulf War, knew the raw destructive force of weaponry. After all, he’d seen personally the devastation that like machinery could bring.
McVeigh’s military past was instrumental in contributing to and solidifying his philosophy. He was a highly decorated veteran but washed out of the Army in 1991. His passion from combat experience made him think everyone should arm themselves in opposition. He believed the federal government had become tyrannical and it was their responsibility to revolt. He made an interesting comparison between his ideologies and that of America’s early revolutionaries in the midst of the American Civil War.
His anger conservatively directed against government actions radicalized him. He was particularly incensed by the killing of bystanders in police shootouts. The tragic events surrounding the Waco siege haunted him. Taking the lives of 76 people, including 13 children of his own, was a heavy burden on his conscience. McVeigh intentionally attacked the daycare center that was housed inside the Murrah building as retribution for the people who died at Waco.
When he was apprehended, McVeigh wore a T-shirt emblazoned with a quote from Thomas Jefferson: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” This quote summed up his attitude that violent actions were justified in order to fight against the tyranny that he felt the government had become.
In the aftermath of the bombing, reactions from public figures highlighted the troubling nature of McVeigh’s ideology and its resonance with certain segments of society. As former President Bill Clinton said, “The words [McVeigh] used, the arguments he made, are the mainstream literally today. Like he won!” Yet these assertions are symptomatic of the spiritual desensitization to radical discourse that has invaded today’s evangelical dialogue.
Janet Napolitano, the former Secretary of Homeland Security, threw down the gauntlet. She added, “Those far-right groups – they’ve all been given permission – ” explaining how McVeigh’s heroics have empowered more extreme elements within society. A friend of McVeigh even said he was “furious” at what McVeigh had done to help the extremist movement. He’s called for his imprisonment and said, “The bastard has set the Patriot movement back 30 years.”
Louis Beam, an associated figure in far-right movements, noted a chilling prediction about acts of violence stemming from similar ideologies: “Some kid” was going to blow up a building in Denver, Dallas, or Oklahoma City in revenge for Waco. This foreshadowing further highlights the cyclical reality of radicalization and violence.
Even though he was convicted for his crimes, the debate continues among McVeigh’s supporters on his legacy within the extremist movement. Frank Keating, then – as now – the Governor of Oklahoma at the time of the bombing, declared, “Two evil men did this.” He was talking about McVeigh and his accomplice, who were brought to justice for their actions. Kenneth Williams, who had connections to McVeigh’s circle, expressed resentment towards those who evaded consequences for their roles in fostering extremism: “Some people got away with bloody murder, Fortier being one of them.”
The horrific scenes we saw in Oklahoma City are painful, powerful reminders that these radical ideologies can cause serious harm. These ideologies can easily radicalize the violence in our communities. As a result, McVeigh’s actions led to tremendous pain and damage. Moreover, they exposed a more insidious societal current concerning the spread of extremism and the distrust in our government.