Three Indicted In Bombing Investigators: Not Enough Evidence To Charge Any Others

After months of investigation by hundreds of agents pursuing thousands of leads, prosecutors Thursday indicted three former Army buddies in the Oklahoma bombing and said they had failed to turn up evidence anyone else was involved.

Timothy McVeigh, 27, and Terry Nichols, 40, each were charged Thursday with 11 counts in the April 19 bombing and could get the death penalty.

Michael Fortier, a 26-year-old who struck a deal with prosecutors, was charged with four lesser offenses and immediately pleaded guilty. He could get up to 23 years in prison in return for testifying against the others.

All three men were in the Army together at Fort Riley, Kan., and shared a deep distrust of the government and a love of weapons.

After initially focusing on possible links to right-wing militias nationwide, investigators concluded they did not have enough evidence to charge any others. Privately, a senior federal official said that the attack was probably not some kind of vast right-wing conspiracy but the work of maybe five malcontents, only two of whom did any “heavy lifting.”

“We will pursue every lead based on the evidence. But we have charged everyone involved that we have evidence of at this point,” Attorney General Janet Reno said in Washington.

Lead prosecutor Joseph Hartzler said, “The grand jury found probable cause to believe that there are others involved. We will continue the investigation.”

The indictment does not specify a motive for the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil, but prosecutors earlier alleged that McVeigh was angry at the government over the 1993 cult disaster at Waco, Texas. The bombing took place on the two-year anniversary of the assault and fire that ended in the deaths of at least 85 cult members.

A 4,800-pound fertilizer-and-fuel-oil bomb in a rented Ryder truck ripped apart the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people and injuring more than 500.

The grand jury returned the indictment in a courthouse across the street from the blast site.

The indictment details a plot dating to September in which McVeigh and Nichols allegedly stockpiled ammonium fertilizer and other explosives in Kansas and Arizona, planned the robbery of a gun dealer in Arkansas to finance the attack, and together built the bomb.

McVeigh is accused of actually detonating the bomb after parking the truck in front of the building.Fortier is charged with knowing about the plot and not alerting authorities, and transporting stolen firearms across state lines. Authorities said he admitted casing the federal building in December with McVeigh.

Fortier was taken into custody after pleading guilty before U.S. District Judge David Russell.

Dressed in jeans and a light blue shirt, Fortier calmly admitted each offense and waived his right to a jury trial.

When Russell asked Fortier if he understood all the charges, Fortier said, “I understand what’s going on, your honor.”

Asked if he had prior knowledge of the bombing, he said, “Yes sir, I did.”

Nichols’ attorney, Michael Tigar, said he will try to have the trial moved out of Oklahoma and have Nichols tried separately from McVeigh.

The government dropped earlier unrelated firearms charges against Nichols’ brother, James, who lives in Michigan.

Authorities have five years to bring more charges if their investigation turns up more suspects, the senior federal official said.

In Washington, FBI Director Louis Freeh said the bureau has not withdrawn its drawings of John Doe No. 2, the man who was thought to have helped McVeigh rent the truck in Kansas days before the bombing.

Investigators now believe that man was an Army private who visited a truck rental office a day before McVeigh and was not involved in the plot.

McVeigh’s younger sister, Jennifer, and Fortier’s wife, Lori, have testified before the grand jury under grants of immunity and are not expected to be charged.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: THE CHARGES The charges filed Thursday in the Oklahoma City bombing against Timothy James McVeigh and Terry Lynn Nichols: One count of conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction to kill people and destroy federal property. One count of using a weapon of mass destruction that caused death and injury. One count of malicious destruction of federal property. Eight counts of murdering federal law enforcement officers.

Charges filed against Michael J. Fortier: One count of conspiracy to transport stolen firearms. One count of transportation of stolen firearms. One count of making false statements to the FBI. One count of misprision of a felony (intentionally concealing evidence of a crime and failing to report the plot to authorities). - Associated Press