FBI sting catches anti-government extremist who attempted to blow up a bank with a 1000 lb bomb - Sensationalist Headlines

[quote]A 23-year-old man who said he hated the U.S. government has been arrested by the FBI for allegedly trying to blow up an Oklahoma City bank with what he thought was a 1,000-pound bomb in a truck. According to a criminal complaint, Jerry Drake Varnell wanted to start a militia group and admired Timothy McVeigh, the domestic terrorist who was convicted and executed for setting off a massive truck bomb outside a federal building in Oklahoma City in April 1995. Varnell thought he was dealing with two fellow sympathizers in the anti-government movement but they were a confidential informant and an undercover FBI agent working in a sting operation, according to the complaint. Varnell, who lives with his parents, was initially charged on Sunday with attempting to use explosives to destroy a building in interstate commerce. If convicted, he would face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years. He was to be arraigned late Monday. The FBI complaint said Varnell initially said he was interested in targeting the Federal Reserve Bank building in Washington, D.C. “I’m out for blood,” Varnell wrote to the informant, according to the complaint, saying he wanted to take some action that would “somehow cripple the government.” [...] On Friday, Varnell helped the undercover agent build what he thought was a powerful truck bomb using ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, the materials McVeigh used in 1995 to kill 168 people and injure hundreds more. The next day, Varnell parked the truck next to a BancFirst building in downtown Oklahoma City. Varnell also made several cell phone calls that he thought would trigger the blast, the complaint said. The truck and all of the materials, which were inert, were supplied by the FBI. The FBI said Varnell wrote a statement that he wanted posted on social media after the explosion he expected. Varnell said it was “retaliation against the freedoms that have been taken away from the American people.”[/quote] [url]http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-anti-government-extremist-arrested-in-1502733676-htmlstory.html[/url]

What is it with Oklahoma City and domestic terrorists? Is it really that bad of a state?

I'm the same age as this guy. That blows my fucking mind. Good on the FBI for blowing his expectations for what was gonna happen out of the water. Can't imagine the thoughts going through his head when he thought the truck was gonna explode and then found out his 2 'buddies' were an informant and an FBI agent

Glad the FBI intervened. Get that dude off to some therapy...

[QUOTE=plunger435;52573962]What is it with Oklahoma City and domestic terrorists? Is it really that bad of a state?[/QUOTE] Wanted to emulate someone he idolized.

[quote]Varnell said he had “III percent ideology,” a reference to a militia group called the Three Percenters, [b]which believes the federal government is violating the U.S. Constitution[/b], the complaint says.[/quote] :what:

So thankful for the FBI being here to stop crazies like this guy. I'm surprised they went so far as to help him build the fake bomb and park it outside the bank. At least there is zero doubt to his intentions.

[QUOTE=ilikecorn;52574060]I mean they kinda have to go that far. Him just wondering about the parts wouldn't be enough for a judge to pin him, going this far proves not only intent, but also removes the whole "reasonable doubt" needed to convict him. Going this far basically saves the federal government time and money, as trials are expensive.[/QUOTE] Yep. It's pretty hard to prove in a court of law "well he was [b]going[/b] to build a bomb." It's a [b]whole[/b] lot easier to prove in a court of law "well he [b]did[/b] build a bomb."

It's interesting hearing a statement like “retaliation against the freedoms that have been taken away from the American people.” and having absolutely no clue what he's talking about or what side he's on. He could be an extremist on either side of the spectrum for all that tells me. [editline]14th August 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=Gmod4ever;52574140]Yep. It's pretty hard to prove in a court of law "well he was [b]going[/b] to build a bomb." It's a [b]whole[/b] lot easier to prove in a court of law "well he [b]did[/b] build a bomb."[/QUOTE] Your honor, my client knew he was working with the FBI every step of the way and was simply role-playing a fantasy.

23 year old, still lives with his parents, hates the government, corrupted by actual fake news no doubt, how typical, honestly.

There are better ways to change government, blowing up a bank is not one of them. -_-

"I idolize the militia movement!" and then he tries to emulate the thing which effectively killed the first wave of the North American Militia Movement for about fifteen years. :v:

[QUOTE=plunger435;52573962]What is it with Oklahoma City and domestic terrorists? Is it really that bad of a state?[/QUOTE] Yes. Its only redeeming quality is Frontier city. That's it.

[QUOTE=Naught;52574226]23 year old, still lives with his parents, hates the government, corrupted by actual fake news no doubt, how typical, honestly.[/QUOTE] And his only compatriots were undercover agents who probably laughed at the whole thing. How embarrassing.

[QUOTE=Kite_shugo;52573965]I'm the same age as this guy. That blows my fucking mind. [/QUOTE] Yeah, what the hell have you been doing with your life so far? Why are you sitting here wasting your time in front of computer when you can get out and invest your time in something useful, like that guy? If you spend just 2 hours every day learning how to build bombs and reading about radical ideologies, in 5 months you can be on Interpol's most wanted list. Makes you think, huh?

[QUOTE=ilikecorn;52573973]This state is amazing at somehow not having enough money. We have a lottery that's supposed to help fund schools.. magically no one knows where the money's actually going. Our roads are trash, to the point that tire repair places are almost as common as mcdonalds. I could go on but, yes, the state is that bad.[/QUOTE] I love in Oklahoma too and I had never really thought about all the tire repair shops as being anything unusual but you are right, those things are everywhere.

[QUOTE=plunger435;52573962]What is it with Oklahoma City and domestic terrorists? Is it really that bad of a state?[/QUOTE] McVeigh wasn't a resident of Oklahoma. He chose it because of certain properties of the building, but was considering targets in most of the Southern Midwest. [editline]15th August 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=Shirt.;52574786]Yes. Its only redeeming quality is Frontier city. That's it.[/QUOTE] And the housing prices.

[QUOTE=ilikecorn;52573973]This state is amazing at somehow not having enough money. We have a lottery that's supposed to help fund schools.. magically no one knows where the money's actually going. Our roads are trash, to the point that tire repair places are almost as common as mcdonalds. I could go on but, yes, the state is that bad.[/QUOTE] Oh, and despite that, they still found the money to do repairs on the capital building....All while the schools are making as many financial cuts as possible to stay open.

Update: [QUOTE]The family of a man accused of attempting to detonate what he believed was an explosives-laden van outside an Oklahoma bank says he is a paranoid schizophrenic and that the FBI knew it. Clifford and Melonie Varnell, of Sayre, Oklahoma, issued a statement late Tuesday that questions the tactics undercover FBI agents used to arrest 23-year-old Jerry Drake Varnell. He was taken into custody early Saturday for the alleged plot to detonate a vehicle bomb in an alley adjacent to BancFirst in downtown Oklahoma City. Varnell, who lives with his mother and stepfather in Sayre, about 130 miles west of Oklahoma City, is jobless due to his schizophrenia and does not have the resources to carry out such an act alone, according to the family's statement. "The FBI came and picked him up from our home, they gave him a vehicle, gave him a fake bomb, and every means to make this happen," the statement said, adding that authorities "should not have aided and abetted a paranoid schizophrenic to commit this act." FBI spokeswoman Jessica Rice in Oklahoma City and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Williams declined comment Wednesday.[/QUOTE] You can read some more info here: [URL="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/family-fbi-knew-oklahoma-bomb-plot-suspect-is-schizophrenic/"]https://www.cbsnews.com/news/family-fbi-knew-oklahoma-bomb-plot-suspect-is-schizophrenic/[/URL]