December 30, 1995
Web posted at: 11 p.m. EST
From Correspondent Tony Clark
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma (CNN) -- One month from Saturday, the two men charged with bombing the federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19, that killed 169 men, women and children will be back in court.
The newly appointed judge wants to hear arguments on where and when the bombing trial will take place. Prosecutors want the trial to stay in Oklahoma, so that families of the victims can attend. Defense attorneys want it as far away from Oklahoma as possible, saying that emotions are too high for the defendants to get a fair trial.
The cleared ground and newly laid sod disguise the fact that a plot of land in downtown Oklahoma City was the site of the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history.
On April 19, at 9:02 a.m., a truck bomb exploded in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The bomb was made from a potent mixture of fertilizer and a fuel oil and packed in the back of a Ryder truck. The blast blew off the front side of the nine-story federal building, collapsing floors and burying victims under masses of concrete and steel.
The victims of the blast who made it out of the building sat on the ground near the site, bleeding from cuts and lacerations, telling their personal accounts of what happened. "It was just like an atomic bomb went off. The ceiling went in and all the windows came in and there was a deafening roar. Then there was just dust and everything," one man said. (119K AIFF sound or 119K WAV sound : Sound Courtesy of KOCO)
Rescue workers pulled 169 bodies from the rubble, some of them children from a daycare inside the building. Hundreds were injured.
The nation joined the families and loved ones of the victims to mourn. A massive memorial service was held shortly after the bomb attack in Oklahoma City, attended by the families and friends of the victims, the citizens of Oklahoma and the president and first lady. "There are forces that threaten our common peace, our freedom, our way of life. Let us teach our children that the God of comfort is also the God of righteousness," President Clinton told the crowd. "Those who trouble their own house will inherit the wind. Justice will prevail." (221K AIFF sound or 221K WAV sound)
Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols have been charged with the bombing. A third man, Michael Fortier, pleaded guilty to lesser charges and will testify at the trial of McVeigh and Nichols, who could get the death penalty if convicted.
And the question surrounding the mysterious John Doe, identified by some eyewitnesses previous to the bombing as having been seen with McVeigh, continues unanswered. "We will continue the investigation until we determine whether anyone else has assisted these charged conspirators with the bombing," Assistant U.S. attorney Joseph Hartzler said.
Prosecutors believe that the attack was motivated by anti-government feelings over the failed 1993 government raid on the Branch Davidians, a religious group that set up a large compound in Mount Carmel, Texas. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms believed that the group had stockpiled weapons. The ATF attempted to stage a surprise attack on the compound but sources said that the Branch Davidians knew they were coming. During the initial siege, four ATF agents and six Branch Davidians were killed. After a 51-day standoff, the FBI stormed the compound on April 19. The group of buildings caught on fire and burned to the ground, killing more than 80 men, women and children people inside.
The Oklahoma City bombing occurred on the second anniversary of the fire that destroyed the Branch Davidian complex. "I don't think what happened to us justifies any further terrorism or crimes or death of innocent people," Branch Davidian Clive Doyle said.
James Nichols is the brother of bombing defendant Terry Nichols and was held for a time as a material witness. Nichols believes that his brother and Timothy McVeigh are being framed by the federal government and that it is all linked to the raid on the Davidians. "This thing started at Waco. Tim was (at Waco) and we were the first people he visited after he visited Waco. Isn't it quite a coincidence that we are dragged into the same thing?" James Nichols said.
The bombing put a spotlight on groups with anti-government sentiments. During the upcoming trial, defense attorneys are expected to delve into the reason some people are so fearful and angry with the U.S. government. "If we close our eyes to the social and political reality in which this crime occurred, we are fools," defense attorney Richard Burr said.
In January, the newly appointed judge, Richard Matsch, will hear arguments on where and when the trial will take place. While prosecutors and defense attorneys vehemently state where they want the trial to be held, the survivors and families of bombing victims want something too. "It's the 'why' question," bombing survivor Dr. Paul Heath said. "Why did they do that to me? Why did they do that to our country?"
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