Details

Release year: 2025

Storyline

Examines the devastating 1995 Oklahoma City federal building bombing - the worst domestic terror attack in US history.

Top credits

Directors

Greg Tillman

Cast

Amy Downs — Self - Credit Union Clerk
Renee Moore — Self - County Court Bailiff
Robin Marsh — Self - KWTV Reporter
Carl Spengler — Self - Emergency Doctor

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Did you know

• The connection between Timothy McVeigh, the man behind the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995 and the Waco siege (1993) was direct and central to his motivation for carrying out the attack. McVeigh was deeply angered by how the U.S. government handled the 51-day standoff with the Branch Davidians, led by David Koresh, in Waco, Texas. On April 19, 1993, the FBI used tear gas and armored vehicles to force the Davidians out. A massive fire consumed the compound, killing 76 people, including women and children. The images of the burning building horrified McVeigh and became a turning point in his radicalization. Exactly two years later, on April 19, 1995, McVeigh intentionally chose that date to bomb the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City as an act of "revenge" for Waco. McVeigh actually traveled to Waco in 1993 while the standoff was still ongoing. He set up a roadside stand near the compound, selling anti-government bumper stickers and pamphlets, as well as copies of The Turner Diaries, a violent extremist novel. He spoke with people there and closely observed the federal operation, which solidified his belief that the government was tyrannical. McVeigh saw Waco and the earlier Ruby Ridge standoff (1992) as proof that the federal government was willing to murder its own citizens. He viewed the FBI and ATF's actions in Waco as an assault on Second Amendment rights and an example of government oppression. In his own words after his arrest: "Waco was the turning point. It was when I realized there was no reforming the system from within." McVeigh targeted the Murrah Federal Building because it housed offices of federal agencies involved in Waco, including the ATF. He chose April 19 deliberately to coincide with the anniversary of the Waco fire. He believed the bombing would serve as a "warning" against government tyranny. Result: The explosion killed 168 people, including 19 children, and injured more than 680, the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Evidence linking McVeigh to Waco: He wore shirts with quotes like: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed with the blood of patriots and tyrants.". After his arrest, letters and writings revealed that he viewed Waco as a government massacre that demanded retaliation. In interviews before his execution (2001), McVeigh confirmed that Waco was the main trigger that pushed him to plan the bombing.

• Timothy McVeigh, the perpetrator of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, was executed on June 11, 2001, by lethal injection, at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana (not in Oklahoma, since it was a federal case). He was 33 years old. He was the first prisoner executed by the U.S. federal government since 1963. Death penalty still exists in Oklahoma. The state uses lethal injection as its official method (and has adopted controversial drug protocols in the past). Oklahoma has one of the highest execution rates per capita in the United States. As of 2025, the death penalty remains in use, although it is the subject of legal disputes and public debate.