Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols and Michael Fortier enlist in the U.S. Army.
McVeigh drops out of eligibility test for Army
Special Forces.
McVeigh receives honorable discharge.
FBI wounds Randy Weaver and kills his wife at Ruby Ridge, Idaho.
Some 80 Branch Davidians (including
leader David Koresh and at least 17 children)
die as fire consumes their Waco, Texas,
compound after a 51-day standoff with
the FBI. Bob Ricks, special agent in charge
of the FBI’s Oklahoma City office, is the agency’s chief spokesman at Waco.
McVeigh uses soup
cans to show how he
would arrange explosives
in a V shape inside a truck
for maximum destruction.
McVeigh rents a
Ryder truck in
Junction City, Kan.
McVeigh and Nichols
mix the fertilizer and
fuel oil bomb at Geary
Lake, near Junction City.
At 9:02 a.m., a 4,000-pound truck bomb destroys
the nine-story Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in
downtown Oklahoma City, killing 168 people
including 19 children, and injuring scores.
At about 10:20 a.m., Oklahoma Highway Patrol
Trooper Charlie Hanger stops McVeigh on Interstate
35 near Billings for driving with no tag on his yellow
1977 Mercury and carrying a concealed weapon.
Shortly before he is to be
released from the Noble
County Jail on the traffic
arrest, McVeigh is identified
as a bombing suspect and
turned over to the FBI. Nichols surrenders in
Herington, Kan.
President Bill Clinton and
the Rev. Billy Graham
attend a memorial service,
“A Time for Healing,” in
Oklahoma City.
McVeigh, Nichols and Fortier are indicted. Fortier pleads guilty.
Dallas Morning News
reports McVeigh admitted
to his defense team that
he had set off the bomb.
McVeigh’s trial begins
with jury selection.
Prosecutors and
defense attorneys
make opening
statements.
Jury convicts McVeigh on all 11
counts of murder and conspiracy.
Jury condemns
McVeigh to die
by injection.
McVeigh formally
sentenced to death.
10th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals
affirms conviction.
Nichols is found
guilty on one count
of conspiracy and eight
counts of involuntary
manslaughter. Jury
deadlock spares him
the death penalty.
Nichols is sentenced
to life without parole.
Oklahoma County District
Attorney Bob Macy files 160
state murder charges against
Nichols and asks for the
death penalty.
Senate approves
$15 million for Oklahoma
City National Memorial
Institute for Prevention
of Terrorism.
President Bill Clinton
attends dedication
ceremonies for
Oklahoma City
National Memorial.
U.S. District court
in Denver denies
McVeigh’s request
for a new trial.
U.S. District Court
Judge Matsch holds
hearing to make sure
McVeigh understands
he’s dropping appeals.
McVeigh says he wants
execution date set but
reserves right to seek
presidential clemency.
McVeigh lets deadline
pass for changing
his decision.
Oklahoma City National
Memorial museum is
dedicated. The $7.9 million,
30,000-square-foot museum
is housed in the old Journal
Record Building, which was
heavily damaged in the bombing.
Justice Department
begins turning over
thousands of FBI bombing
investigation documents
to McVeigh’s attorney.
Attorney General
John Ashcroft delays
McVeigh’s execution
until June 11.
McVeigh is executed at a Terre Haute, Ind., federal
prison. His remains are cremated and disposed of at
an undisclosed location.
Nichols ordered to
stand trial on state
murder charges.
Trial moves to
McAlester.
McAlester jury finds
Nichols guilty on 161
first-degree murder
counts, one count of
arson and one count
of conspiracy.
District Judge
Stephen Taylor
sentences Nichols
to 161 consecutive
life sentences without
parole.
Fortier is released
from prison. His
location is not
revealed, prompting
speculation that he
may be entering a
witness protection
program.
Gov. Brad Henry
signs into law a bill
directing the state
Board of Education
to incorporate facts
about the Oklahoma
City bombing into
Oklahoma history
and social studies
core curriculum.
