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Why the Oklahoma bombing continues to cast a shadow over America
By:   []
Date:None

More than 25 years ago, on 19 April 1995, Timothy McVeigh launched an attack against a federal building in Oklahoma using explosives. This came to be known as the Oklahoma City bombing, and resulted in the death of 168 people, including 19 children, along with several hundred more injured.

The bloody attack continues to influence the radical Right. This is clear in later terrorist attacks, like those committed by Anders Brevik and Dylann Roof, who praised McVeigh. This influence also appears in radical Right propaganda material, recruitment tactics, as well as the stockpiling of guns, ammo, and explosives.

Whether through lone actors or groups, the radical Right is passionate about a plethora of issues. In the US, many radical Right groups are concerned about taxes, the Second Amendment (the right to bear arms), the US government’s perceived overreach on land and property rights, the prison overcrowding, the perceived naivety of elected officials, and a potential race war. Some of these concerns are echoed in letters McVeigh wrote in 1992.

In fact, before his attacks, McVeigh read ‘The Turner Diaries’ a novel about the violent overthrow of the federal government that eventually leads to a race war. The novel plays a crucial role in solidifying white dominance by glorifying violence and continues to be a source of inspiration for radical Right organisations and lone actors today. It provides the narrative for a race war and a ‘blueprint’ for an attack.

White supremacist groups, like the League of the South (LOS) and the Order, and some militia movements, like American Patriots USA (APUSA), sometimes require members to read ‘The Turner Diaries’ as part of their training. Other self-proclaimed militia groups focus on some parts of McVeigh’s tactics, like using explosives to target vulnerable populations to show the government that no one is untouchable, including children, in the hopes of inspiring others to do the same and start a race war.

Extremists such as Dylann Roof, Timothy Wilson, Jerry Varnell, Jeremy Christian, Anders Breivik, and others have also turned to a dangerous combination of McVeigh and ‘The Turner Diaries’ for inspiration, as shown in their manifestos, tactics, and justifications for their attacks.

McVeigh is known as “the most ruthless domestic terrorist in US history,” which is a coveted title to some on the radical Right. Organisations like the Oath Keepers, the Three Percenters, and other ‘patriot’ militias take great pride in being called domestic terrorists and idolise McVeigh’s ability to cause massive destruction to a US government building in a way that continues to be talked about to this day.
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