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Okc Murrah Building Bombing

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Shelbey Brian
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OKC Alfred P. Murrah Building Bombing

On April 19th, 1995 a horrific terrorist attack on U.S. soil took place in the heartland of Oklahoma. The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma was targeted and was completely blown to pieces by one gigantic homemade bomb. The unimaginable had happened at the starting of a typical day at work. This day would be forever commemorated for the rest of America's history, unlike any other day until 9/11, as a prominent attack on the government of the United States.

At 9:03 a.m. a massive bomb resting inside a rented Ryder truck destroyed half of the nine story federal building in downtown Oklahoma City. Within moments, the surrounding area looked like a …show more content…

The keys to that truck were found in the alley. In addition, testimony proclaimed that McVeigh was stopped 1 ½ hours after the bombing; explosive residue was found on ear plugs inside his vehicle; he had an envelope packed with newspaper clippings and papers with revolutionary writings; he wore a tee-shirt with the slogan: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."(Wilmsen & Simpson, 1997).

The trial for Terry Nichols had a different result compared to the one for McVeigh. Nichols' trial took place after McVeigh's trial. On December 24th 1997, the jury found Nichols not guilty in 10 of the 11 original charges against him. He was found guilty of one charge of conspiracy and eight lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter. The jury deadlocked as how to sentence Nichols and left it up to the judge (Gorov, 1998). On June 5th 1998 the judge, US District Court Judge Richard P. Matsch, gave the 43-year-old Nichols a life sentence for his role in the bombing (Haynes, 1998).

The bombing was quickly solved, but the investigation turned out to be one of the most exhaustive in FBI history. No stone was left unturned to make sure every clue was found and all the culprits identified. By the time it was over, the Bureau had conducted more than 28,000 interviews, followed some 43,000 investigative leads, amassed three-and-a-half tons of evidence, and reviewed nearly a billion pieces of information. In the

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