Homegrown: OKC Episode 4: Go For It
Mar 12, 2024
Michael Fortier, an acquaintance who struggled with ambivalence about the plot, and Timothy McVeigh, the central perpetrator whose own words are read aloud. They discuss the months of detailed planning, fake IDs and cover tradecraft, acquiring fertilizer and barrels, rehearsal and setbacks, and the final drive toward the Murrah building.
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Turner Diaries Became The Bombing Blueprint
- Timothy McVeigh read The Turner Diaries and modeled his plan on Earl Turner's truck-bomb attack at a federal building.
- That novel became McVeigh's blueprint, turning abstract rage about Waco and gun laws into a concrete bombing plan.
Simple Ingredients Still Need A Catalyst
- Building an ammonium nitrate bomb required a specific catalyst explosive beyond fertilizer and fuel to create a powerful blast.
- McVeigh learned ratios from library books but needed costly dynamite-like containers to make the mixture detonate effectively.
Quarry Robbery Supplied Military Grade Explosives
- McVeigh and Terry Nichols stole 300 sticks of dynamite and 350 detonators from a poorly secured quarry storage in a nighttime raid.
- They drove the explosives west and narrowly avoided disaster when a near-collision almost detonated their haul.
