Why would anyone want to read about Army veteran-turned violent anarchist Timothy McVeigh, bomber of the Oklahoma City Murrah Federal Building in 1995? The premeditated attack killed 168 people (including 19 children). McVeigh believed that his act of violence would start a revolution and bring down the federal government.
He believed he was on the right side of the Constitution, and he tried to proclaim, through his monstrous act, another declaration of independence.
Toobin notes, however, “He didn’t mention slavery.” Or women not having the right to vote.
McVeigh washed out of Green Beret training and left the Army before fulfilling his contract, so had to pay back $3,000 to the government. He believed in a host of conspiracies and held numerous grievances, much like the ultra-MAGA followers who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
Among the characters in the first paragraph of the prologue to “Homegrown” is Alex Jones, the host of Info Wars and conspiracy theorist who posited that the Sandy Hook massacre of children was a hoax. Jones stoked the flames of grievance on the eve of the insurrection, saying, “We declare 1776 against the New World Order. We need to understand we’re under attack, and we need to understand this is 21st century warfare and get on a war-footing.”
Alex Jones wasn’t the only one to encourage violence. Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani called for “trial by combat” on January 6. Trump himself told the crowd that morning, “And we’re going to the Capitol. And we fight. We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” Trump, who has been impeached twice and indicted twice for separate alleged crimes, might be indicted again, perhaps in more than one jurisdiction, for his role in subverting the Constitution and interfering in the 2020 election.
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| Murrah Building, Oklahoma City (FBI) |
Another Army pal, Michael Fortier, knew about the plan in advance and even went with McVeigh to Oklahoma City to case the Murrah building.
Fortier and his wife, Lori, who had a role in assisting the bomber, eventually testified for the prosecution and were provided with new identities and relocated under the federal witness protection program.
Nichols and Fortier, like McVeigh, believed they were on the right side of the Constitution. "They regarded the right to 'bear arms' as a license for citizens to fight back against the government."
Toobin recounts a chilling interview with Fortier.
When interviewed by the FBI’s Danny Coulson, special agent in charge, Fortier tried to hide behind the Constitution:
“‘We’re at war,’ Fortier told Coulson. ‘You don’t understand.’
Coulson was having none of it. ‘No we’re not,’ he said. ‘If we were at war, I would have killed McVeigh, and I would have killed you, because I have the capability. You may be at war with your country, but your country is not at war with you.’
‘Well,’ Fortier answered. ‘It’s about the Constitution.’
‘Oh, you’re right,’ the agent responded. ‘It is about the Constitution, and we’re going to investigate you under the Constitution, and the Attorney General has said this is a death penalty case. And I can put every agent in the FBI on you, and we’re going to indict you under the Constitution.’
Coulson leaned in to the tiny table where they were sitting, their knees nearly touching. ‘And then we’re going to convict you under the Constitution, and we’ll handle your appeal under the Constitution,’ Coulson went on, his voice lowering to nearly a whisper. ‘And one day we’re going to stick a needle in you, and kill you under the Constitution.’
Fortier’s eyes widened, and he didn’t have much to say in response.”
The initial Justice Department lead supervisor investigating the bombing was then-Principal Deputy Attorney General Merrick Garland, who was called away to investigate the Unabomber’s terrorism campaign. Toobin notes Garland’s role then and now as Attorney General after Garland appointed Special Counsel Jack Smith to investigate Trump’s mishandling of classified information as well as his role instigating the J6 insurrection.
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| Toobin |
Trump praised Ashlii Babbitt as a martyr and condemned the federal officer who shot her as a “thug” and a “murderer.” He recorded the national anthem with imprisoned J6 insurrectionists. He predicted violence if indicted for various crimes he allegedly committed. And, amazingly, “He called for the ‘termination’ of the Constitution, pledged support for the January 6 rioters [saying several times he would offer pardons if re-elected], and dined with notorious white supremacists.”
Trump expressed a demand to change the Constitution in order to keep him in power, claiming as part of a Big Lie, that the 2020 election was stolen from him: “A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” Trump wrote in a post on his social network Truth Social. The former commander in chief announced his 2024 campaign for re-election in Waco during the 30th anniversary of the seige that inspired McVeigh to bomb the Murrah Building.
Toobin concludes, “In the nearly 30 years since the Oklahoma City bombing, the country took an extraordinary journey –– from nearly universal horror at the action of a right-wing extremist to wide embrace of a former president (also possibly a future president) who reflected the bomber’s values.”
“As we have seen, too, the rioters and their allies in the January 6 insurrection dressed up their arguments with invocations of the American Revolution. They chanted ‘1776’ as their attempt to overthrow a democracy were comparable to the Founders’ effort to create one.” The yellow Gadsden flag (Don’t Tread on Me), which flew during the American Revolution, was almost as popular as QAnon flags on January 6.
In 2021, the Big Lie was the phantom conspiracy that resulted in an actual conspiracy: to create fake electors, pressure the vice president to overturn the election, and storm the Capitol in a coup attempt by Trump supporters.
“The events of January 6, 2021, saw the full flowering of McVeigh’s legacy in contemporary politics. McVeigh was obsessed with gun rights; he saw the bombing as akin to the revolutionary struggle of the Founding Fathers; and he believed that violence was justified to achieve his goals. So did the rioters on January 6.
“Among those at the Capitol, there was, to an unappreciated degree, a substantial focus on gun rights and the Second Amendment. The Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, the two most prominent extremist groups involved in the January 6 assault, embraced gun rights above all other issues, just as McVeigh did. Joe Biggs of the Proud Boys was prominently featured at National Rifle Association events, and much of the group’s merchandise features guns and slogans like 'From my cold dead hands' –– a reference to NRA leader Charlton Heston’s famous boast. The Oath Keepers are descended even more directly from the Oklahoma City conspirators, with their shared obsession with gun rights.”
Not surprisingly, The Oklahoma City bombing prompted conspiracies, especially in right-wing circles, with some saying the bombing was done by left-wing groups, Filipino insurrectionists, Islamist terrorists, or the U.S. government itself.
During President George W. Bush’s administration, the Department of Homeland Security was commissioned to assess and report on terrorism, including within the borders of the country. The report was issued in April 2009 shortly after President Barack Obama became president. Many conservatives, including right-wing media and politicians, took exception to the findings of the threat of far-right extremism on the homefront.
U.S. Representative Lamar Smith of Texas blasted the Obama administration for being “awfully willing to paint law-abiding Americans, including war veterans, as ‘extremists.’” According to Toobin, “Representative Steve Buyer [of Indiana] the top Republican on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said it was ‘inconceivable’ that veterans could pose a threat.
Today, Republicans have caused a halt in stand-downs by the Department of Defense to evaluate how much anti-government violent extremists are serving in uniform. Though coming from a party purporting to back law and order, some MAGA extremists have targeted the FBI and other federal law enforcement, some even calling for disbanding the agency.
Why would anyone want to read about Army veteran-turned violent anarchist Timothy McVeigh, bomber of the Oklahoma City Murrah Federal Building in 1995? Perhaps to understand extremism, learn how people can believe in such violence, and see the links to a potential constitutional crisis. And maybe as a warning about what might happen after the 2024 election if believers in the Big Lie don’t get their way –– or if they do.
The best antidote to ignorance is education and being open to new information. In the words of Jeffrey Toobin, “Extremism is defined, at least in part, by aversion to accepted wisdom.”
McVeigh's lead lawyer, Stephen Jones (right) and second-in-command Rob Nigh with Timothy McVeigh in Oklahoma's El Reno prison. They wanted another picture of their client for media use besides the sinister-looking image at the perp walk. (AP Photo/Kathy Roberts, Courtesy of Simon & Schuster)
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