What happened to Timothy McVeigh? Details about Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror

Timothy McVeigh was a U.S. soldier, but his hatred toward the federal government kept growing until it pushed him to commit the deadliest act of domestic terrorism America has ever seen.

On the morning of April 19, 1995, a Ryder truck rolled up to the front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. That truck held a bomb strong enough to rip through solid walls and bring down entire floors. McVeigh played the leading role in planning and carrying out the attack.

Nearly thirty years later, Netflix released Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror, released on April 18, 2025, just one day before the 30th anniversary of the attack. The documentary goes deep into the mind of McVeigh and shows how investigators found him.

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Timothy McVeigh was executed by lethal injection in 2001, the first federal execution since 1963

After a high-profile trial and four years on death row, Timothy McVeigh was executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001, at a federal facility in Terre Haute, Indiana. This marked the first time the U.S. federal government had executed since 1963. McVeigh had been found guilty in 1997 of 11 federal charges, including the use of a weapon of mass destruction and the murder of federal personnel.

On April 19, 1995, at 9:02 a.m., the bomb detonated and destroyed roughly a third of the Murrah Building. Offices for agencies like the ATF, FBI, Social Security, and a children’s daycare center were all inside. The casualties included babies, federal employees, and ordinary citizens.

According to a TIME report dated April 19, 2025, and documents from Fbi.gov, the explosive device was made from ammonium nitrate mixed with diesel fuel. Timothy McVeigh had parked the truck directly outside the building and lit a timed fuse before walking off toward a getaway car. The damage extended far beyond the building, with over 300 nearby structures affected by the shockwave.

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How McVeigh got caught and what led him there

Just 90 minutes after the explosion, Timothy McVeigh was pulled over for driving without a license plate. A concealed firearm sealed the deal, and he was taken into custody on the spot. Authorities wouldn’t realize until later that they already had their man.

Within days, investigators traced the rented Ryder truck back to a body shop in Junction City, Kansas. An employee there provided a sketch that resembled Timothy McVeigh. That, paired with hotel records and a recent arrest in Perry, Oklahoma, allowed law enforcement to make the connection.

United States - Crime - Timothy McVeigh (Image via Getty)

Timothy McVeigh’s motivations were shaped by events like the 1993 Waco siege and the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff. He saw the federal government as overreaching and violent. He even timed the bombing to coincide with the second anniversary of Waco’s fiery end.

According to Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror, he was also influenced by The Turner Diaries, a novel that describes a similar bombing of a federal building.

Terry Nichols, Timothy McVeigh’s Army buddy, helped gather materials for the bomb and was convicted of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter. Another acquaintance, Michael Fortier, knew about the plot and later testified in exchange for a lighter sentence.

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The final days, execution, and legacy

Oklahoma City Marks 21st Anniversary Of Terror Bombing (Image via Getty)

McVeigh never expressed public remorse. According to ABC News, on June 11, 2001, he declined to give any final words before his execution. Instead, he handed officials a handwritten copy of Invictus—a poem often associated with self-determination and defiance. Media witnesses described him as calm and emotionless as the drugs took effect.

The Netflix documentary Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror uses audio from nearly 60 hours of prison interviews to present McVeigh’s thoughts in his own words. Journalist Lou Michel, who conducted those interviews, helps paint a clearer picture of the man behind the attack and how he viewed what he’d done.

Today, the Oklahoma City National Memorial honors the 168 victims with a striking field of empty chairs, nineteen of them child-sized.

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Stay tuned for more updates.