Timothy McVeigh’s Last Words Prove the Oklahoma City Bomber Had No Regrets—Read His Eerie Statement Here
Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror looks back on the events of April 19, 1995, when a bomb went off at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The Netflix documentary, by filmmaker Greg Tillman, offers a moment-by-moment account of what happened, including scene recreations, firsthand accounts from survivors, first responders, and law enforcement, as well as audio-recorded interviews with Timothy McVeigh, the man responsible for the bombing.
The tragedy ended up claiming 168 lives, making it the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. McVeigh was a Gulf War veteran who had become radicalized by anti-government beliefs and hoped to inspire a revolution against the federal government with the bombing. He was arrested shortly after and indicted on 160 state offenses and 11 federal offenses, which included the use of a weapon of mass destruction. He was found guilty on all counts in 1997 and sentenced to death.
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He was executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001, at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. His choice of last words has been a topic of conversation for decades, particularly now with the release of Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror. But what were Timothy McVeigh’s last words, and what do they mean?
What were Timothy McVeigh’s last words?
McVeigh chose a poem, Invictus, as his final words. The Latin word Invictus means unconquerable or undefeated. Just before his death, McVeigh handed a copy of the poem by William Ernest Henley to the prison warden. Those present at McVeigh’s execution reported that he died with his eyes open and without saying a word, so the poem is truly his last statement, and it speaks of defiance.
“Out of the night that covers me/Black as the Pit from pole to pole/I thank whatever gods may be/For my unconquerable soul,” the poem reads, going on to speak about how even “Under the bludgeonings of chance/ My head is bloody, but unbowed.”
In general, the poem makes a point to emphasize resilience in the face of adversity, which proves that McVeigh considered his cause right until the bitter end and saw himself as a martyr. For McVeigh, the bombing was a legitimate tactic against what he saw as a tyrannical government. Not just that, the poem is also about defiance and inner strength in the face of adversity, which McVeigh seems to believe he was displaying.
In particular, McVeigh was seeking revenge against the government for the 1993 Waco siege, as well as the 1992 Ruby Ridge incident. He had a particular aversion to federal agencies like the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which is partly why he chose the target he chose and the date of the bombing. As the last lines of Invictus show, McVeigh felt victorious even in death. “I am the master of my fate/I am the captain of my soul.”
