Mid-March, 1995: Future Oklahoma City Bomber Makes Fake ID for Himself

Future Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh (see October 20, 1994, and 7:00 a.m. - 9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995) makes a fake driver’s license using forms his friend Michael Fortier (see February 17, 1995 and After) ordered from an advertisement in Soldier of Fortune magazine. He uses a typewriter belonging to the Fortiers. McVeigh chooses the name “Robert Kling,” picking the last name in honor of the alien race of Klingons in Star Trek. He selects April 19, 1972 as his fake birthday, and lists as his birthplace Redfield, South Dakota. When he asks Lori Fortier if he can use her iron to laminate the fake license, she tells him she will do it herself so as to avoid the possibility of his ruining her iron. She will later recall: “It was white. It had a blue strip across the top, and Tim had put his picture on there. And it was the false name of Robert Kling.” The federal indictment against McVeigh will incorrectly state that McVeigh “obtained” the ID instead of making it for himself. [PBS Frontline, 1/22/1996; Serrano, 1998, pp. 122, 133] The issue date of the Kling license is false—April 19, 1993, the date of the Branch Davidian tragedy (see April 19, 1993 and April 19, 1993 and After). [New York Times, 6/3/1997] The New York Times will later point out that McVeigh may have also chosen the last name of “Kling” because he served with Kerry Kling during his stint in the Army (see March 24, 1988 - Late 1990). [New York Times, 4/23/1995]