April 5-10, 1995: Oklahoma City Bombing Conspirator Participates in Michigan Gun Shows

Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols, who has told his fellow conspirator Timothy McVeigh that he does not want to participate in the actual bombing (see March 1995 and March 31 - April 12, 1995), takes his wife Marife and their daughter Nicole to Michigan, his home state, to take part in a number of gun shows. Nichols’s movements will later be traced by the FBI. The Nichols stay at a Motel 6 in Joliet, Illinois, on the evening of April 5, and on April 6 they stay at the Caro Motel in Caro, Michigan. Both times, they register under their own names, and note their vehicle’s license plate as Michigan VW 1460. During this time, Nichols writes to his father and promises to see him in May or June; the postmark on the letter is from Las Vegas, Nevada. It is possible that Nichols mails the letter to his ex-wife Lana Padilla, who lives in Las Vegas, to have her remail it for him. Around this time, he purchases a fuel meter at Fort Riley, Kansas, approximately 600 miles from their location in Michigan. Nichols will later claim the fuel meter is broken, and will place an ad in a newspaper to sell it. On the evening of April 7, Nichols stays by himself at the President Inn in Grand Rapids, Michigan. On April 8, McVeigh receives a letter from Nichols, which he later claims makes no mention of the bombing plot. On April 8, Nichols stays at the Motel 6 in Walker, Michigan. [PBS Frontline, 1/22/1996]