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Timothy McVeigh Quotes

Timothy James McVeigh was an American domestic terrorist who perpetrated the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people and injured over 680 others. The bombing was the deadliest act of terrorism in the United States prior to the September 11 attacks, and remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in United States history.

A Gulf War veteran, McVeigh sought revenge against the federal government for the 1993 Waco siege that ended in the deaths of 86 people, many of whom were children, exactly two years before the bombing, as well as the 1992 Ruby Ridge incident and American foreign policy. He hoped to inspire a revolution against the federal government, and defended the bombing as a legitimate tactic against what he saw as a tyrannical government. He was arrested shortly after the bombing and indicted on 160 state offenses and 11 federal offenses, including the use of a weapon of mass destruction. He was found guilty on all counts in 1997 and sentenced to death.McVeigh was executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001 at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. His execution was carried out in a considerably shorter time than most inmates awaiting the death penalty, as most convicts on death row in the United States spend an average of 15 years there. Terry Nichols and Michael Fortier were also convicted as conspirators in the plot. Nichols was sentenced to eight life terms for the deaths of eight federal agents, and to 161 life terms without parole by the state of Oklahoma for the deaths of the others. Fortier was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment and has since been released. Wikipedia  

✵ 23. April 1968 – 11. June 2001
Timothy McVeigh photo
Timothy McVeigh: 32   quotes 20   likes

Famous Timothy McVeigh Quotes

“Maybe we have to contribute ideologies to achieve the perfect utopian government. Remember, government-sponsored health care was a communist idea. Should only the rich be allowed to live long? Does that say that because a person is poor, he is a lesser human being; and doesn't deserve to live as long, because he doesn't wear a tie to work?”

Timothy McVeigh

1990s, Letter to the Union-Sun & Journal (1992)

“I have great respect for human life. My decision to take human life at the Murrah Building – I did not do it for personal gain. I ease my mind in that… I did it for the larger good.”

Timothy McVeigh

Interview for American Terrorist (2001) by Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck
2000s

“For those diehard conspiracy theorists who will refuse to believe this, I turn the tables and say: show me where I needed anyone else. Financing? Logistics? Specialised tech skills? Brainpower? Strategy? Show me where I needed a dark, mysterious 'Mr X!”

Timothy McVeigh

Letters published in the Buffalo News (10 June 2001)
2000s

“If there is a hell, then I'll be in good company with a lot of fighter pilots who also had to bomb innocents to win the war.”

Timothy McVeigh

Dead Man Talking http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/apr/22/mcveigh.usa, The Observer (April 22, 2001)
2000s

“It is a lie if we tell ourselves that the police can protect us everywhere, at all times. Firearms restrictions are bad enough, but now a woman can't even carry Mace in her purse?”

Timothy McVeigh

1990s, Letter to John J. LaFalce (1992)

“Taxes are a joke. Regardless of what a political candidate 'promises', they will increase. More taxes are always the answer to government mismanagement. They mess up. We suffer. Taxes are reaching cataclysmic levels, with no slowdown in sight.”

Timothy McVeigh

1990s, Letter to the Union-Sun & Journal (1992)

Timothy McVeigh Quotes about personality

“Should any other person or governing body be able to tell another person that he/she cannot save their own life, because it would be a violation of a law?”

Timothy McVeigh

1990s, Letter to John J. LaFalce (1992)

“With your recent interview in Pitch, you become the first person I've heard of (or from) that has figured me out.”

Timothy McVeigh

Letter http://juniperhills.net/mcveigh419.pdf to David Woodard (April 19, 2001)
2000s

“Additionally, borrowing a page from U. S. foreign policy, I decided to send a message to a government that was becoming increasingly hostile, by bombing a government building and the government employees within that building who represent that government. Bombing the Murrah Federal Building was morally and strategically equivalent to the U. S. hitting a government building in Serbia, Iraq, or other nations. Based on observations of the policies of my own government, I viewed this action as an acceptable option. From this perspective, what occurred in Oklahoma City was no different than what Americans rain on the heads of others all the time, and subsequently, my mindset was and is one of clinical detachment. The bombing of the Murrah building was not personal, no more than when Air Force, Army, Navy, or Marine personnel bomb or launch cruise missiles against government installations and their personnel. I hope that this clarification amply addresses your question. Sincerely, Timothy J. McVeigh. USP Terre Haute”

Timothy McVeigh

IN
2000s, Why I Bombed the Murrah Federal Building (2001)

“Politicians are out of control. Their yearly salaries are more than an average person will see in a lifetime. They have been entrusted with the power to regulate their own salaries, and have grossly violated that trust to live in their own luxury.”

Timothy McVeigh

1990s, Letter to the Union-Sun & Journal (1992)

Timothy McVeigh Quotes

“Death penalty, is would you call it and Oxymoron. Death is not a penalty. It's an escape. They treat me like a trophy, like they got me, their gonna kill me, and we won. They didn't win. In the crudest terms, 168 to 1.”

Timothy McVeigh

Interview for American Terrorist (2001) by Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck
2000s

Death , Penalty

“Racism on the rise? You had better believe it! Is this America's frustrations venting themselves? Is it a valid frustration? Who is to blame for the mess? At a point when the world has seen communism falter as an imperfect system to manage people; democracy seems to be headed down the same road. No one is seeing the 'big' picture.”

Timothy McVeigh

1990s, Letter to the Union-Sun & Journal (1992)

People , World , Democracy , Communication

“The 'American Dream' of the middle class has all but disappeared, substituted with people struggling just to buy next week's groceries. Heaven forbid the car breaks down!”

Timothy McVeigh

1990s, Letter to the Union-Sun & Journal (1992)

People , Dreams , Cars

“A man with nothing left to lose is a very dangerous man and his energy/anger can be focused toward a common/righteous goal. What I'm asking you to do, then, is sit back and be honest with yourself. Do you have kids/wife? Would you back out at the last minute to care for the family? Are you interested in keeping your firearms for their current/future monetary value, or would you drag that '06 through rock, swamp and cactus…to get off the needed shot? In short, I'm not looking for talkers, I'm looking for fighters…And if you are a fed, think twice. Think twice about the Constitution you are supposedly enforcing (isn't "enforcing freedom" an oxymoron?) and think twice about catching us with our guard down – you will lose just like Degan did – and your family will lose. [”

Timothy McVeigh

Letter to Steve Colbern, as quoted in American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0060394072 (2001), by Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck, New York: ReganBooks (HarperCollins), pp. 184-185.
1990s

Family , Thinking , Freedom , Future

“Those who betray or subvert the Constitution are guilty of sedition and/or treason, are domestic enemies and should and will be punished accordingly. It also stands to reason that anyone who sympathizes with the enemy or gives aid or comfort to said enemy is likewise guilty. I have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic and I will. And I will because not only did I swear to, but I believe in what it stands for in every bit of my heart, soul and being. I know in my heart that I am right in my struggle, Steve. I have come to peace with myself, my God and my cause. Blood will flow in the streets, Steve. Good vs. Evil. Free Men vs. Socialist Wannabe Slaves. Pray it is not your blood, my friend.”

Timothy McVeigh

Letter to Steve Hodge.
1990s

Men , God , Peace , Soul

“ATF, all you tyrannical people will swing in the wind one day for your treasonous actions against the Constitution of the United States. Remember the Nuremberg War Trials.”

Timothy McVeigh

As quoted in "Timothy McVeigh & Terry Nichols: Oklahoma Bombing" (2010), TruTv.

War , People

“Politicians are further eroding the 'American Dream' by passing laws which are supposed to be a 'quick fix', when all they are really designed for is to get the official re-elected. These laws tend to "dilute" a problem for a while, until the problem comes roaring back in a worsened form much like a strain of bacteria will alter itself to defeat a known medication.”

Timothy McVeigh

1990s, Letter to the Union-Sun & Journal (1992)

Law , Dreams , Problem

“I understand what they felt in Oklahoma City. I have no sympathy for them.”

Timothy McVeigh

Dead Man Talking http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/apr/22/mcveigh.usa, The Observer (April 22, 2001)
2000s

Understanding

“I explain herein why I bombed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. I explain this not for publicity, nor seeking to win an argument of right or wrong. I explain so that the record is clear as to my thinking and motivations in bombing a government installation.”

Timothy McVeigh

2000s, Why I Bombed the Murrah Federal Building (2001)

Motivation , Thinking

“You can't handle the truth. Because the truth is, I blew up the Murrah building and isn't it kind of scary that one man could reap this kind of hell?”

Timothy McVeigh

Dead Man Talking http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/apr/22/mcveigh.usa, The Observer (April 22, 2001)
2000s

Truth , Hell

“I like the phrase "shot heard 'round the world," and I don't think there's any doubt the Oklahoma City blast was heard around the world.”

Timothy McVeigh

Interview for American Terrorist (2001) by Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck
2000s

World , Thinking

“Knowledge of these multiple and ever-more aggressive raids across the country constituted an identifiable pattern of conduct within and by the federal government and amongst its various agencies. For all intents and purposes, federal agents had become 'soldiers' using military training, tactics, techniques, equipment, language, dress, organization, and mindset and they were escalating their behavior. Therefore, this bombing was also meant as a pre-emptive or pro-active strike against these forces and their command and control centers within the federal building. When an aggressor force continually launches attacks from a particular base of operation, it is sound military strategy to take the fight to the enemy.”

Timothy McVeigh

2000s, Why I Bombed the Murrah Federal Building (2001)

Behavior , Knowledge , Fight , Training

“We have no proverbial tea to dump, should we instead sink a ship full of Japanese imports? Is a Civil War Imminent? Do we have to shed blood to reform the current system? I hope it doesn't come to that. But it might.”

Timothy McVeigh

1990s, Letter to the Union-Sun & Journal (1992)

War , Hope , Tea

“Crime is so out of control. Criminals have no fear of punishment. Prisons are overcrowded so they know they will not be imprisoned long. This breeds more crime, in an escalating cyclic pattern.”

Timothy McVeigh

1990s, Letter to the Union-Sun & Journal (1992)

Fear

“Being face to face with these people, you realize, they're just people like you.”

Timothy McVeigh

Interview http://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=mHscpPZLwWg#Timothy_McVeigh_talks_about_the_Gulf_War.

People

“I am sorry these people had to lose their lives. But that's the nature of the beast. It's understood going in what the human toll will be.”

Timothy McVeigh

Letters published in the Buffalo News (10 June 2001)
2000s

People , Nature

“Think of it this way. When I was in the Army, you didn't see me for years. Think of me that way now, like I'm away in the Army again, on an assignment for the military.”

Timothy McVeigh

To his mother (1997), as quoted in American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0060394072 (2001), by Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck, New York: ReganBooks (HarperCollins), p. 347.
1990s

Way , Thinking

“With Oklahoma City being a counterattack, I was only fighting by the rules of engagement that were introduced by the aggressor. Waco started this war. Hopefully Oklahoma would end it.”

Timothy McVeigh
War , Fight

“I chose to bomb a federal building because such an action served more purposes than other options. Foremost, the bombing was a retaliatory strike; a counter attack, for the cumulative raids and subsequent violence and damage that federal agents had participated in over the preceding years (including, but not limited to, Waco.) From the formation of such units as the FBI's 'Hostage Rescue' and other assault teams amongst federal agencies during the '80s; culminating in the Waco incident, federal actions grew increasingly militaristic and violent, to the point where at Waco, our government - like the Chinese - was deploying tanks against its own citizens.”

Timothy McVeigh

2000s, Why I Bombed the Murrah Federal Building (2001)

“I strongly believe in a God-given right to self-defense.”

Timothy McVeigh

1990s, Letter to John J. LaFalce (1992)

God

“What is it going to take to open the eyes of our elected officials? America is in serious decline!”

Timothy McVeigh

1990s, Letter to the Union-Sun & Journal (1992)

“If there would not have been a Waco, I would have put down roots somewhere and not been so unsettled with the fact that my government … was a threat to me. Everything that Waco implies was on the forefront of my thoughts. That sort of guided my path for the next couple of years.”

Timothy McVeigh

Letters published in the Buffalo News (10 June 2001).
2000s

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