Man Who Attempted to Bomb Downtown Oklahoma City Bank Sentenced to 25 Years

This case is extremely poignant considering we are approaching the 25th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing.

The explosives were inert, and the public was not in danger.

he FBI arrested Varnell at approximately 1:00 a.m. on August 12, 2017, after he attempted to detonate what he believed to be an explosives-laden van he had parked in an alley next to BancFirst, at 101 North Broadway. The arrest was the culmination of a long-term domestic terrorism investigation involving an undercover operation, during which Varnell had been monitored closely for months as the bomb plot developed. The explosives were inert, and the public was not in danger. FBI had received information that Varnell initially wanted to blow up the Federal Reserve Building in Washington, D.C., with a device similar to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing because he was upset with the government.

On October 17, 2017, a federal grand jury charged Varnell with attempting to use an explosive device to damage and destroy BancFirst’s corporate offices. After a psychological evaluation, the court entered an order on November 21, 2017, that found him competent to stand trial. The grand jury returned a superseding indictment on April 17, 2018, that added one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdok/pr/man-who-attempted-bomb-downtown-oklahoma-city-bank-sentenced-25-years