The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. The bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U. Perpetrated by anti-government extremists Timothy McVeigh , the mastermind, [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] and Terry Nichols , the bombing occurred at a. Within 90 minutes of the explosion, McVeigh was stopped by Oklahoma Highway Patrolman Charlie Hanger for driving without a license plate and arrested for illegal weapons possession.
Michael and Lori Fortier were later identified as accomplices. McVeigh, a veteran of the Gulf War and a sympathizer with the U.
Nichols had assisted with the bomb's preparation. Motivated by his dislike for the U. McVeigh was executed by lethal injection on June 11, , at the U. Nichols was sentenced to life in prison in In response to the bombing, the U. Congress passed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of , which limited access to habeas corpus in the United States , among other provisions.
There was a firefight and ultimately a siege of the compound, resulting in the burning and shooting deaths of David Koresh and 75 others. McVeigh later said that, instead of bombing a building, he had contemplated a "campaign of individual assassination".
He regarded the presence of additional law enforcement agencies, such as the Secret Service or the U. Marshals Service , as a bonus. Murrah Federal Building.
