April 23, 1968 - Timothy McVeigh
McVeigh carried out what was, at the time, the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in American history — a premeditated strike on a federal building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people, among them 19 children in a daycare center. His radicalization followed military service in the Gulf War and deepened through his interpretation of events at Ruby Ridge and Waco, which he framed as justifications for violence against the federal government. What distinguished him was not impulsiveness but deliberate planning, ideological conviction, and the belief that mass casualties constituted a legitimate political act.
From Wikipedia
Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was an American domestic terrorist who masterminded and perpetrated the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. The bombing itself killed 167 people (including 19 children), injured 684 people, and destroyed one-third of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. A rescue worker was killed after the bombing when debris struck her head, bringing the total to 168 killed. It remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.
A Gulf War veteran, McVeigh became radicalized by antigovernment beliefs. He sought revenge against the United States federal government for the 1993 Waco siege, as well as the 1992 Ruby Ridge incident. McVeigh expressed particular disapproval of federal agencies such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for their handling of issues regarding private citizens. He hoped to inspire a revolution against the federal government, and he defended the bombing as a legitimate tactic against what he saw as a tyrannical government.
Further reading
- American Terrorist
Drawing on hundreds of interviews with survivors, families, investigators, and McVeigh himself, this book reconstructs the full story of the Oklahoma City bombing.
View on Amazon → - One of Ours
Based on exclusive interviews with McVeigh, this account follows his cross-country journey assembling bomb components as an ordinary young man transforms into a determined anti-government extremist.
View on Amazon → - Homegrown
Acclaimed journalist Jeffrey Toobin offers a definitive account of McVeigh's 1995 attack and its lasting ideological influence, tracing a throughline to the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
View on Amazon →
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