April 19, 2021 marks the 26th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, one of the deadliest homegrown terrorism incidents in the nation’s history. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland spoke during a remembrance ceremony Monday morning about his key role in the conviction of bomber Timothy McVeigh and the ongoing threat of domestic violent extremists.
McVeigh detonated a truck bomb in front of the Murrah Federal Building in OKC in 1995, killing 168 people.
As a lead member of the Justice Department at the time, Garland oversaw the bombing investigation and prosecution of McVeigh, who was executed in 2001.
Garland held back tears as he recounted what he witnessed at the scene of the bombing when he was dispatched to Oklahoma City shortly after the attack.
“At the time, we did not know exactly how many people had died. But we did know that the children’s center, which had been at the front of the building, was gone,” Garland said. “Then and there, we made a vow. We promised that we would find the perpetrators, that we would bring them to justice and that we would do so in a way that honored the Constitution."
Over two decades later, Garland said the terror perpetrated by people like McVeigh still lingers in the U.S.
“The Department of Justice is pouring its resources into stopping domestic violent extremists before they can attack and prosecuting those who do and battling the spread of the kind of hate that leads to tragedies like the one we mark today,” Garland said.
Garland's remarks come as right-wing extremism is again a top concern following the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in January.
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