It was 30 years ago today at the time of this posting at 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995 domestic terrorism had burst on to the main scene for the first time since the 1970s during the era of the Weather Underground.
Ted Kaczynski, otherwise known as The Unabomber, had been terrorizing people delivering bombs through the mail. But his terrorism was so sporadic and targeted so few people at one time.
Not to diminish the lives of those that Kaczynski killed, but the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City changed America. The country was still recovering from the bombing at the World Trade Centers in 1993 so it was only natural people assumed it was Middle-Eastern terrorists claiming Islamic extremism.
But it was homegrown terrorism. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols along with others alleged such as Nichols’ brother, James, orchestrated the attack that killed 168 people including children. One of those was a young child, Baylee Almon, had just turned 1 the day before the bombing. She would’ve been 31 today, maybe married with children.
But the image of her being cradled in the arms by Chris Fields, a firefighter, became the central image of the devastation that day. McVeigh was later convicted and executed for the murder of eight federal employees and Nichols was convicted and sentenced to life. His brother was never charged even though named as an possible accomplice. He died in 2017.
Nichols is now 70 and in 2004 the State of Oklahoma, despite some criticism of wasted money, tried and convicted him of the murders of Baylee and the 159 other people killed. One of the victims was pregnant at the time of her death so he was also convicted of her murder. Oklahoma spent $8 million to convict him and that’s about $50,000 per victim. It’s a bargain if you ask me because every life was priceless.
I’m sure there wouldn’t be the same criticism of the cost of the trial today. Most serial killers don’t get convicted of all their murders. This sent a message to all those who went to work on this day only to never return home. This is for all the spouses, children and parents who went through their own personal hell. This is for all the dogs and cats who never understand why their “buddies” never came back.
When someone dies, something in each person still living dies as well. And when you lose a child or a partner, it cuts deeper. People lost friends, church members, colleagues and much more. They lost the feeling of being safe even in a federal building. McVeigh parked the rented Ryder truck with the explosives in the cargo hold outside on the north side of the building. If it had been parked in an underground parking lot, who knows how many more would’ve perished in the blast?
McVeigh reportedly got the idea from a bullshit novel The Turner Diaries, which has been viewed by cowardly white supremacists as a manual for domestic terrorism. McVeigh was reportedly upset over the siege at Waco and was recorded in news reports supporting that psychopath David Koresh and his followers. The siege had ended controversially on April 19, 1993 when the compound burned down. Some say it was caused by tear gas. Others say the Branch Davidians started the fires.
Thirty years may seem a long time but those who were there will never forget. A lot was changed. For whatever reasons McVeigh and Nichols might have had for committing a cowardly act of violence, it is not excused. Neither man, who had military training, would’ve never aimed a firearm at Baylee or any other child or woman. Only true madmen do that. My opinions have changed over time about the death penalty but if there is one person who deserved it, it was McVeigh.
I believe it was Dennis Miller, who I used to like, but his comedy and beliefs aren’t my cup of tea anymore, said it best on the execution of McVeigh, “They could only kill him once.”
There’s nothing more than can be said than what has been said already by others. If you ever make it to OKC, please check out the memorial and remember those who died 30 years today.
For more about those who died, go to https://memorialmuseum.com/
Zane Says 