ABSTRACT
The target of the April 1995 attack in Oklahoma City was a nine-story office building housing a variety of federal government agencies. Some of the agencies had federal law enforcement and military recruiting responsibilities, but the majority of employees worked in offices of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Social Security Administration, and the General Services Administration. A primary suspect was arrested north of Oklahoma City within two hours of the explosion. Despite the arrest, prosecution, and conviction of McVeigh, Nichols, and Fortier, the Oklahoma City bombing remains controversial. McVeigh and one close companion, Terry Nichols, were charged with the deaths of eight federal law enforcement officers and employees of federal law enforcement agencies. The historical site includes the Oklahoma City National Memorial, an outdoor symbolic marker of 168 empty chairs dedicated to the bombing victims, and a Memorial Center that opened February 19, 2001.
