McVeigh’s Sister Warned of Revolution, Witnesses Say

Two witnesses said that the sister of accused Oklahoma City bomber Timothy J. McVeigh bragged shortly before the blast about a revolution against the federal government and said that “you’re either going to be with us or against us,” according to court records released Thursday.

The role of Jennifer McVeigh, Timothy’s younger sister from their hometown of Pendleton, N.Y., has long been considered pivotal in the prosecution’s case in the April 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City.

She has been repeatedly interviewed by the FBI and she appeared in a dramatic, tearful session before a federal grand jury.

But until federal court records were released Thursday in Buffalo, N.Y., little was known publicly about her alleged knowledge of her brother’s intentions.

The records show that two people told the FBI of conversations Jennifer McVeigh had at a 1994 Christmas party in which she openly expressed her disillusionment with the federal government and strongly suggested that a “revolution” was coming.

The FBI did not identify the witnesses. The agency characterized their reliability as “unconfirmed but unchallenged.”

The first person said he had “several personal conversations with Jennifer McVeigh” at the party, on Dec. 23, 1994.

“Jennifer McVeigh was talking in revolutionary terms about the federal government and about overthrowing the federal government,” the documents state the witness told the FBI.

When the witness questioned her about her seriousness, he said she became belligerent. He said she then said:

“You’ll see in either April or May something big is going to happen with my brother. I don’t know what it is, but it’s going to be big.”

He said she added: “There’s going to be a revolution and you’re either going to be with us or against us. I know I’m going to be ready.” He allegedly told the FBI that Jennifer McVeigh then went on to talk about how her brother taught her “weapons stuff” and “bomb stuff.” He concluded by telling the FBI that “Jennifer McVeigh is always discussing politics and talking about overthrowing the federal government.”

A second person at the party reportedly said Jennifer McVeigh “often talked about a revolutionary movement, and her knowledge of making bombs.” He also said that she stated she had at least one book on how to make bombs, and that she went on to describe various ways of making bombs.

He said she told him: “Something big will happen this spring. You’re either with it or against it.” Later, he said, she added: “My brother is part of it. I’ll be ready when the revolution comes.”

A third person at the party refused to talk to the FBI about Jennifer McVeigh, himself or anyone else at the party.

Stephen Jones, McVeigh’s attorney, denied Thursday that Jennifer McVeigh ever made those statements. He also accused the FBI of harassing her and her friends in the days after the bombing, hoping to obtain derogatory information about Timothy McVeigh. He said the FBI scared people “beyond belief with threats of prosecution” if they did not talk.

The court documents also said that FBI agents seized 32 items from the McVeigh family home in Pendleton, N.Y., including letters that Timothy had sent and a videotape about the 1993 FBI raid on the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas.

According to the government, Timothy McVeigh and a former army buddy, Terry L. Nichols, conspired to blow up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building because they were upset with the raid at Waco. A total of 168 people were killed in Oklahoma City and hundreds of others were injured.

Timothy McVeigh is scheduled to stand trial on March 31, with the Nichols trial to follow. Jennifer McVeigh has never been charged in the case.

The court records were unsealed by U.S. District Judge Leslie Foschio at the request of The Buffalo News.