Timothy Mcveigh's American Terrorist

Words: 1575

Pages: 7

Open Document

American Terrorist chronicles the life of one of the Oklahoma City bombers, Timothy McVeigh, from when he was a child until his execution. Written by Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck, this book is the only biography that was authorized by McVeigh before his death. The authors spent countless hours interviewing McVeigh for the book. The book begins with McVeigh’s childhood; he grew up in Lockport, New York until his parents divorced and he moved to Pendleton, New York where he was raised by his father. According to McVeigh, he was bullied throughout his childhood and would often fantasize about retaliation (Michel and Herbeck, 20). In high school, McVeigh was not a stand out guy and many remembered him as shy. During this time, he took an interest …show more content…
For two days, they developed the bomb at Geary Lake State, nailing boards onto the floor if the truck so it could hold all 13 barrels filled with the chemicals. The bomb was approximately 5,000 pounds, composed of ammonium nitrate and nitromethane. Finally, on April 19th, 1995, McVeigh drove the rented truck to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building early in the morning, only stopping to detonate a fuse. The blast killed 168 people, including 19 children who were in the buildings daycare. 90 minutes after the bombing, McVeigh was stopped by local police because he did not have a license plate. After learning that he was armed, he was arrested. The FBI continued their search for the bombers, getting sketches from the Ryder renters. The sketch had been shown to motel owner, where McVeigh and Nichols had been spotted, and she identified him. Four months later, McVeigh was indicted on eleven federal counts and eight counts of murder. Two years after being charged, McVeigh was convicted on all counts and received the death penalty. After dropping his appeals, his execution date was set for May 16, 2001 but was pushed back a month to June 11,

Timothy Mcveigh's Attack On Oklahoma City

Oklahoma bombing was 9:02 am, just 13 minutes earlier than the time of the FBI bombing in the novel” (Egan). Influence from this novel obviously influenced his decisions in targeting the Alfred P. Murrah building and greatly affected how he thought. Timothy McVeigh was also soldier in the United States Army who he served in the Persian Gulf War and was discharged in the fall of 1991 (History.com Staff). Being a soldier could have helped McVeigh in killing so many innocent people because he was used to…

Words 1446 - Pages 6

Timothy Mcveigh's Argumentative Essay

2001, the World Trade Center was taken down. Many Americans frantically grasped for answers as to what exactly happened and who had done such a deed. The harsh reality is that there was nobody to be directly accountable for the blast. Native New Yorkers were outraged, whether their reason lay with the loss of a family member or their incredible patriotism. Regardless, fear and trepidatious feelings swam through the country, chiseling away at the American pride little by little. With nobody accountable…

Words 949 - Pages 4

1991 Oklahoma City Bombing Analysis

Unfortunately, due to growing threats of fear, trauma, stress, hatred, and discontent among some Americans, the only way they feel that they can be heard is to lash out violently. Domestic terrorism can take many forms, from attacking federal buildings to lashing out at a group or class of people that the domestic terrorist may feel has wronged them. One of the worst examples of this was the 1991 Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, who was said to have been frustrated at the federal government. In many ways…

Words 2024 - Pages 9

Criminal Justice System Essay

way, and he was a Dexter!! The terrorist and criminals of today are always trying and not succeeding with many ideas that they would think would kill millions here in America. But we as Americans are also trying and not succeeding but the ones you think that are the kind quiet shy types, are the ones you’d never think that could potentially be that killer. The Oklahoma bombing devastated the people here in America. Who would have thought that our own American people would want to hurt our…

Words 1002 - Pages 5

Daedaus And Icarus Literary Analysis

the Unites States’ government must find that “happy medium” between security and freedom. As within the parable, both extremes are essential to life as we know it, but favoring one over the other can cause chaos and destruction. As a young man, Timothy McVeigh began to express an interest in guns and ammunition.…

Words 1285 - Pages 6

Oklahoma City Bombing Research Paper

was set off. At 9:03 a.m. 168 lives were lost and millions more impacted. Although a horrific event took place, not only the Oklahoma people, but the world instantly assumed the bombing was detonated by Middle Eastern decent, not a home-grown, American terrorist. “The searing destruction of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995, was the most traumatic event in the United States since the assassination of President Kennedy” (Evans). After 9:03 a.m. life became forever changed. Mothers…

Words 1833 - Pages 8

American Fascism Is on the Rise Essay example

American Fascism Is on the Rise by Stan Goff Truthdig www.alternet.org/, October 14, 2006 [pic] The precursors of fascism -- militarization of culture, vigilantism, masculine fear of female power, xenophobia and economic destabilization -- are ascendant in America today. When I was 18, before student tracking in the public schools had been formalized, an informal tracking system was nevertheless in place: the university track, the craft track, the poultry worker track, and the prison track…

Words 6123 - Pages 25

Bombing Forensics Essay

Bombing Forensics CRJ311 Forensics 12 November 2012 Bombing Forensics Forensics has become a critical piece of not only our justice system, but as well as being utilized by our American Armed Forces. Every day we hear about soldier being killed by roadside bombs commonly known as Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). They have been the number one threat not only to our soldiers fighting in foreign wars in our history, but more presently and more widely known are events like the World…

Words 3558 - Pages 15