Timothy McVeigh was the main conspirator behind the bombing, and is the one responsible for creating and detonating the bomb. McVeigh was a Gulf War veteran and compared the United States government to that of a bully, and dreamed of starting a revolt. He initially decided to bomb a federal building in response to the Waco and Rudy Ridge incidents that took place almost two years prior to his terrorist attack. He carefully scouted out which building he wanted to use and in which city. He chose the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building because he believed that bombing this building would result in less civilian deaths than federal deaths. He claimed he wanted to harm as few civilians as possible because his main concern was getting revenge against the government. On multiple occasions he wrote angry letters to the government and tried to find a state to live in that had little government regulation and low taxes. McVeigh also stated after his arrest that he had made a list of government officials that he wanted to assassinate. Timothy McVeigh was arrested 90 minutes after the detonation north of Oklahoma City for speeding and driving a car without a license plate. The officer that pulled him over noticed that McVeigh had a concealed weapon, and that was the charge he was originally arrested with. McVeigh was found guilty of 11 counts of federal indictment. He was killed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001.
Terry Nichols met Timothy McVeigh at training camp for the army. Both men shared a hatred for the government, and Nichols was McVeigh's chief accomplish in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building. Nichols helped McVeigh to scout out the perfect building for their scheme and also helped to acquire the ingredients necessary to create the bomb. Nichols was convicted of eight counts of involuntary manslaughter of federal officers and conspiring to build a weapon of mass destruction. The issue of a death sentence was deadlocked, so Nichols is currently living out his days in jail.
Michael Fortier also met Timothy McVeigh during boot camp, and felt the same way he and Nichols did about the government. He, however, did not feel as strongly as the other two. When McVeigh brought up the plan to Fortier, he refused to participate. Unfortunately, neither he nor his wife alerted authorities of the possible disaster. During the trial, Fortier agreed to testify against McVeigh and Nichols under the agreement of less jail time for him and complete immunity for his wife. Fortier was convicted and sentenced to twelve years in prison, but was let out early due to good behavior. He is now a member of the Witness Protection Program.