To this day, the 1995 bombing of Oklahoma City’s Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building remains the deadliest instance of domestic terrorism in United States history. Spurred to action by a standoff between the FBI and a cult in Waco, Texas, and inspired by white nationalist literature, ex-soldier Timothy McVeigh chose to target the Murrah building because it could provide a high body count: The concrete building held a day-care center and offices of several government agencies, including the Social Security Administration, Housing and Urban Development, and the ATF. Oklahoma City, a new documentary from PBS, explores both the attack, which killed 168 people, and the ideology of white nationalism that enabled McVeigh’s terrorism. “From a military perspective, to get a message across you need to hurt them where they hurt the most,†McVeigh recounts in a jailhouse interview excerpted in this clip. “The only way they’re going to feel something and the only way they’re going to get the message is with a body count.†Oklahoma City opens in limited release on February 3 and airs February 7 on American Experience/PBS.
Timothy McVeigh Recounts His Plan for the OKC Bombing in a Clip From PBS Documentary Oklahoma City
