Oklahoma City bomber: Timothy McVeigh
Overview
Timothy McVeigh was found guilty of bombing the P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma, United States. The incident occurred on 19 th April 1995; Timothy executed the attack through a huge homemade bomb that he hid in a rental truck that he parked in front of the building (Michel & Herbeck, 2015). At the time of the attack, children were arriving on the building’s second floor at the day-care center; while on the other hand, people were still coming to work. The massive explosion tore the building’s entire north wall, damaging all its nine floors. The attack also saw over 300 buildings within the area destroyed or damaged. There were 168 victims in the rubble who included 19 children, and over 650 individuals wounded (Michel & Herbeck, 2015). At first, it was suspected that terrorist groups based in the Middle East were responsible for the attack; however, Timothy, who had been arrested just after the explosion for violating traffic rules, and his friend, Terry Nichols, were eventually linked to the attack. Both Nichols and Timothy formerly served as soldiers in the U.S. Army and the extreme militant Patriot movement, which termed the government as oppressive. Timothy was convicted for using weapons of mass destruction, conspiracy, and 11 counts of murder and executed in 2001.
Motive
Timothy held views that resonated with the Patriotic movement, particularly the fear of authoritarian schemes by the corporate elites and the U.S. federal government. The movement extensively denied the legitimacy of law enforcement and the federal government, leading to the formation of militia groups that shared the movement’s ideals, with approximately 30,000 members by mid 1990’s ( Michel & Herbeck, 2015) . Specifically, Timothy’s decision to execute the attack was influenced by the anger he developed after two significant events supported by the government contributed to the death of innocent people, including children. The first event occurred in 1992, when the FBI suspected Randy Weaver, a white separatist, of selling illegal guns. The FBI then attacked Weaver’s cabin located in Ruby Ridge, causing the death of his wife and son, who were both innocent. The second event took place in 1993 when federal agents invaded the compound of the Branch Davidians, a religious organization, with the aim of arresting David Korresh, their leader on grounds of possessing illegal weapons ( Michel & Herbeck, 2015) . The invasion contributed to the death of dozens of members of the organization, including children.
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Intent:
The day Timothy executed the attack was highly significant in achieving his objective since it was both Patriot’s Day as well as the day federal agents raided the Branch Davidian religious group in Waco. Timothy noted that by bombing the Oklahoma building, he sought to avenge the over 70 deaths that occurred at Waco as a result of government action. Hence, the building was ideal in acting as a platform for spreading his anti-government messages since it provides exceptional camera angles for media coverage.
Device Used
Timothy used a home-made bomb created using gallons of fuel and tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, which resulted to a highly volatile explosive.
Unabomber: Theodore Kaczynski
Overview
Unabomber refers to a nickname given to Ted Kaczynski, an American domestic terrorist, who conducted attacks for a period of 17 years without getting caught ( Zierhoffer, 2014) . Ted conducted the attacks using letter bombs; he managed to kill three people and injured 23. His major targets included academics, university professors, and airliners. In some cases, bombs missed targets and ended up hurting receptionists and postal workers by blowing shrapnel into their bodies. Ted’s bombing campaign started in 1970 and ended when he was finally captured in 1996 after the FBI launched a nationwide manhunt for the bomber ( Zierhoffer, 2014) . Ted’s arrest marked the end of one of the most expensive and longest manhunt the FBI has ever launched.
Motive
Ted’s motive to commit the crimes is illustrated through his manifesto, ‘Industrial Society and its Future’. In the 35,000 word document, Ted argues that technology has shifted human beings from nature and led them towards such surrogate activities as sports and popular entertainment ( Zierhoffer, 2014). He urges human beings to return to wild nature, which also indicates that all scientific research should end. One of the key factors that influenced Ted to fight against technology and modernity is the encroachment of industrial development and real estate in the area surrounding his home. His beliefs were further enhanced by Jacques Ellul’s writings; Ellul was a French Christian anarchist philosopher. The writings influenced Ted to start sabotaging development in the Lincoln area through vandalizing construction sites before he began using the letter bombs.
Intent
Ted’s key intent was hurting the individuals who influence and support development, such as university professors with the aim of sabotaging development.
Device used
Ted used mail bombs made out of razor blades, potassium nitrate, nails, match heads, smokeless powder, and other numerous caustic substances, which he sent through the U.S. Postal Service.
Atlanta Olympic and Abortion Clinic bomber: Eric Rudolph
Overview
Rudolph conducted three major bombings, including at a gay nightclub in Atlanta, abortion clinics, and at the Olympic Games held in Atlanta in 1996 ( Winter, 2014) . His attacks lasted between 1996 and 1998, and they wounded over 110 people and killed two. He was finally arrested in 2003 after a 5-year manhunt ( Winter, 2014) .
Motive
Rudolf’s motive is highlighted in his detailed manifesto, which outlines his anti-gay and anti-abortion beliefs. He clearly stated that he believes that since abortion is murder, force is acceptable in seeking to stop the vice. Given his Christian beliefs, he was strongly against the legalization of homosexuality and abortion.
Intent
Rudolf argued that the regime in Washington forfeited their moral authority and legitimacy to govern the moment they legitimized, sanctioned, and legalized abortion. Hence, he attacked the abortion clinics to express his anti-abortion values ( Winter, 2014) . On the other hand, he expressed that his intent to bomb the Olympics was to embarrass, anger, and confound the government for legalizing abortion.
Device Used
Rudolf used home-made bombs that contained nails and other sharp objects aimed at killing and maiming the victims.
Mad Bomber: George Metesky
Overview
Mad Bomber, a name given to George Metesky was an American terrorist, famous for planting approximately 33 bombs in different locations in New York in the 1940’s and 1950’s ( Gittens & Whitfield, 2017) . 22 of the bombs exploded and injured 15 people. It took 16 years before George was captured. George mainly targeted such public places as movie theatres, offices, and libraries. He left the bombs in the restrooms, storage lockers, or phone booths found in the public areas or buildings. Some of the most notable areas that he attacked include the New York Subway, the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the New York Public Library, the Radio City Music Hall, the RCA building, the Pennsylvania Station, and the Grand Central Terminal. In some incidences, George bombed movie theatres by slipping explosive devices into seat upholstery.
Motive
George’s desire of attacking public places emanated from his experience after suffering an injury at the workplace, where he worked as a generator wiper. The accident, which involved hot gases from a broiler backfire, left George disabled and he lost his job shortly after collecting sick pay ( Gittens & Whitfield, 2017) . He was also denied a worker’s compensation claim since on grounds that he filed late, leading to his development of hatred towards the company’s attorneys and the co-workers involved in his case.
Intent
George had intense hatred for the company he worked for as well as other public establishments. He was declared legally insane, indicating that he was not mentally stable, a factor that contributed to his crimes ( Gittens & Whitfield, 2017) .
Device Used
George used homemade explosives made gunpowder, and which used timers created from cheap pocket watches and flashlight batteries.
Courthouse Bomber: Donny Love
Overview
Love was sentenced to pay $325,000 and 55 years in prison after he was convicted for using a weapon of mass destruction among other charges (FBI, 2013). Love was the key mastermind of the Federal Courthouse bombing in San Diego in 2008 (FBI, 2013). The bombing involved three pipe bombs. Love worked with his friends and led them to plant the bombs so that he could implicate them for the bombing.
Motive
Love started developing thoughts for executing the crime after he was fired from the local water department in 2008, where he had worked for more than a decade, after failing to go to work for too many days ( FBI, 2013) . He faced financial challenges after he was fired, and he had not made his mortgage payments.
Intent
Love intended to use the bombing to resolve his financial problems by claiming the reward money that the FBI would offer to anyone with information that could lead them to the killer. He offered to give the information in return for $75,000 and the dismissal of two court convictions, for which he faced 6 years in prison (FBI, 2013).
Device Used
Love used homemade pipe bombs, which he constructed in his residence.
Comparing and Contrasting the Five Cases
The five cases are similar in several ways. First, all the attacks are conducted using home-made bombs. All the bombers created bombs using locally available materials to create the explosives. Secondly, all the bombers demonstrate the presence of underlying factors that anger them and influence them to commit the crimes as a way of expressing their ideas or feelings. For instance, Love seems to have been angered by the fact that he was fired from his workplace yet he had an outstanding mortgage. On the other hand, the Mad Bomber was angered by the bad treatment he received after an injury at the workplace, which nearly cost his life. Thirdly, all the bombers are U.S. citizens who have no connection to the terrorist groups that pose a significant security threat to the region.
Despite the similarities, the cases are also significantly different; first, while all the other cases involve legally sane individuals, the Mad Bomber case involved a legally insane individual who had to be committed to a mental institution. Secondly, the bombers used different approaches to achieve their objectives; for instance, while Unabomber used mail bombs targeting specific classes of people, the Mad Bomber targeted public buildings while Rudolf mainly targeted abortion clinics as well as gay clubs. The intent in each case is different; for instance, while Rudolf aimed at expressing his anti-gay and anti-abortion beliefs, Love intended to get money to overcome his financial difficulties.
References
FBI. (2013). Final Defendant in San Diego Federal Courthouse Bombing Sentenced. Retrieved from https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/sandiego/press-releases/2013/final-defendant-in-san-diego-federal-courthouse-bombing-sentenced
Gittens, E. M., & Whitfield, K. (2017). Behavioral Assessment in Investigative Psychology. Assessments in Forensic Practice: A Handbook , 122.
Michel, L., & Herbeck, D. (2015). American terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma city bombing . BookBaby.
Winter, A. (2014). Anti-abortion extremism and violence in the United States. Extremism in America. Gainesville, FL: University Press Florida .
Zierhoffer, D. M. (2014). Threat Assessment: Do Lone Terrorists Differ from Other Lone Offenders?. Journal of Strategic Security , 7 (3), 48-62.
