were soon broadcast around the country, and a mo-
tel owner in Junction City quickly identified McVeigh.
While all of this activity was occurring at the
bombing site, however, McVeigh and Nichols were
not making their way across country in an escape at-
tempt or going underground to safety. Indeed,
McVeigh was already in custody just sixty miles away,
pulled over while traveling north out of Oklahoma
City on Interstate 35 near Perry, Oklahoma, after a
state trooper stopped him because his car was lack-
ing a license plate. The police officer arrested him
for carrying a concealed weapon. Just before
McVeigh was scheduled to be released after a hear-
ing, federal agents arrived. McVeigh’s real driver’s li-
cense led to a Michigan farm owned by James
Nichols, the brother of Terry Nichols, who gave him-
self up two days after the bombing.
While McVeigh was making his failed getaway, at9:45a.m.Oklahoma governor Frank Keating de-
clared a state of emergency. Later that day, President
Bill Clinton declared a federal emergency and con-
soled the nation. The whole country, and indeed the
world, responded to the people of Oklahoma City
and donated so many supplies that drop-off centers
had to be set up to collect and disperse donations.
Citizens helped by donating blood, and restaurants
provided meals. Americans donated more than $15
million to help the victims. In all, 12,000 people
helped in relief and rescue efforts. K-9 units
searched for survivors and bodies, while about 200
tons of rubble were removed every day for ten days
in an attempt to uncover additional bodies. Recov-
ery efforts ceased on May 4, and on May 23 the build-
ing was demolished.
In 1996, the image of firefighter Chris Fields
holding the dying infant Baylee Almon won the Pu-
litzer Prize for Spot News Photography. Five years
later, on April 19, 2000, the Oklahoma City National
Memorial was dedicated, and the victims are remem-
bered annually on April 19 at 9:02a.m.The Trial The investigation, known as OKBOMB
and led by FBI Special Agent Weldon L. Kennedy,
was the nation’s largest criminal case in history. On
August 10, 1995, a grand jury indicted McVeigh and
Nichols. They were charged with one count of con-
spiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and one
count of death and injury, in addition to charges of
malicious destruction of federal property and the
murder of eight federal employees. An Army friend
of McVeigh and Nichols named Michael Fortier con-
fessed to charges of conspiracy and became the pros-
ecution’s star witness.
McVeigh and Nichols pleaded not guilty to all
charges, and the defense dismissed the prosecutor’s
case as “thin” and “circumstantial” by claiming that
the real bombers died in the explosion. It also con-
tended that Fortier could not be believed because
he had earlier lied to the FBI. The defense argued
for a change of venue, and the trial was moved to
Denver, Colorado.
Joseph Hartzler led the government’s prosecu-
tion, which called 137 witnesses. Fortier and his wife
Lori testified about McVeigh’s plans to blow up the
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. McVeigh’s sister
Jennifer McVeigh testified about his hatred for the
government. The defense, which presented twenty-
five witnesses, was led by Stephen Jones. In spite ofThe Nineties in America Oklahoma City bombing 633The remains of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building following
an explosion on April 19, 1995, that killed 168 people. Timothy
McVeigh was convicted of the terrorist act.(U.S. Department of
Defense)