March 25, 1995 and After: Future Oklahoma City Bomber Instructs Sister Not to Try to Contact Him

Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh (see September 13, 1994, October 20, 1994, and 8:35 a.m. - 9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995) writes a letter to his sister Jennifer in Pendleton, New York, instructing her not to try to contact him after April 1, 1995. He sends her a box of memorabilia, including his high school yearbook and his military records, telling her, “They’re yours now.” He tells her that “something big is going to happen in the month of the bull,” referring to the astrological sign Taurus, which begins on April 20 (see Mid-December 1994). He tells her to burn the letter, which she does. He has sent her letters before, some written in code, and has advised her that if she wants to write him, she should disguise her penmanship so the authorities cannot identify her as their author. He tells her that she can trust his friends Michael and Lori Fortier (see February 17, 1995 and After), and says that sometime soon he may have to go underground and disappear. “In case of ‘alert,’ contact Mike Fortier,” he writes. “Let him know who you are and why you called.… If you must call him, Jenny, this is serious. No being lazy. Use a pay phone, and take a roll of quarters with you! They will, w/out a doubt, be watching you and tapping the phone—use a pay phone!… Note: Read back cover of Turner Diaries (see 1978) before you begin.” The back cover of that book, McVeigh’s favorite novel, reads in part: “What will you do when they come to take your guns? The patriots fight back with a campaign of sabotage and assassination.… Turner and his comrades suffer terribly, but their ingenuity and boldness in devising and executing new methods of guerrilla warfare lead to a victory of cataclysmic intensity and worldwide scope.” McVeigh’s letters continually warn her about being surveilled by government authorities, and not to trust anyone, even her friends. [PBS Frontline, 1/22/1996; Serrano, 1998, pp. 117-118, 123]