TIMOTHY McVeigh was a terrorist behind the deadliest domestic attack in US history. 

His brutal crime, which claimed 168 lives, will be examined in the Netflix documentary Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror.

McVeigh’s radicalisation

McVeigh met his accomplice Terry Nichols in 1988, during basic training for the US army. 

Interested at first in survivalism, they were radicalized by white supremacist ideas and antigovernment propaganda. 

They became obsessed with an FBI standoff at Ruby Ridge in 1992 and the Waco Siege – which was a 51 day stand off between the FBI and Branch Davidian. 

Initially considering a string of assassinations, McVeigh decided to conduct a larger scale attack. 

Eventually, the Murrah building in Oklahoma City was chosen as McVeigh believed he could cause maximum harm to government workers while avoiding other civilian casualties. 

The attack was scheduled to take place on the day of Richard Snell’s, a white supremacist, execution.

McVeigh carries out the attack

The explosion was scheduled to destroy the building at 9am on April 19, 1995, which was two hours ahead of the original plan.

Wearing a T-shirt bearing the words Brutus allegedly said as he assassinated Julius Ceaser, he skulked around the planned explosion site and waited. 

He planned to detonate a truck containing 2,200kg of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, nitromethane, and diesel fuel mixture before fleeing.

At 9.02am, minutes after McVeigh vanished, the truck exploded. 

In total, 168 were killed and a 30-foot-wide, 8-foot-deep crater was created. 

Over 320 nearby buildings were seriously damaged, resulting in $652 million in damages. 

Bringing McVeigh to justice

The FBI scrambled to find the person responsible for the explosion. 

McVeigh was arrested within 90 minutes of the explosion, after a state trooper named Charlie hanger stopped him for driving his car without a number plate and for carrying a concealed weapon. 

When he was searched at the station, McVeigh was found in possession of a business card bearing the note: “TNT at $5 a stick. Need more.”

McVeigh was quickly linked to the crime, prompting a court trial which began on April 24, 1997.

The prosecution called over 137 witnesses and pointed out that Nichols’ home contained ammonium nitrate and blasting caps, books on bomb making and a map of Oklahoma City on which the Murrah Building and McVeigh’s getaway car were marked. 

The jury deliberated for 23 hours, before finding him guilty of 11 counts of murder and conspiracy on June 2. 

He was sentenced to death and was eventually executed on June 11, 2001.

His death was the first federal execution in 38 years.

Nichols was handed 161 life sentences which is the longest prison sentence ever given in the United States. 

American Terror 

McVeigh and Nichols’ horrifying attack is explored in Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror, which is being released on the 30th anniversary of the attack. 

The Netflix show features crime scene recreations and interviews with survivors and the people who helped bring McVeigh to justice. 

Viewers can catch the show when it lands on April 18, 2025.