Trooper Testifies on McVeigh’s Arrest

In clipped, concise fashion, the man who arrested Timothy J. McVeigh on a routine traffic violation described Monday how he stopped the young man just 75 minutes after the Oklahoma City bombing, and yet never thought to consider him a possible suspect in what had just become the worst terrorist attack in American history.

Oklahoma State Highway Trooper Charles J. Hanger testified that he removed a semiautomatic pistol, ammunition and knife from McVeigh and still did not connect him to the bombing just 77 miles south on Interstate 35 in downtown Oklahoma City.

But, Hanger, a 20-year highway patrolman, said that McVeigh seemed calm and never tried to evade arrest or become belligerent. He said that McVeigh obeyed all of his orders--even telling him about the gun--and later tried to strike up a conversation with Hanger about firearms.

Hanger took the witness stand after more than a day of testimony from bombing victims and rescue workers. McVeigh, who is being tried in U.S. District Court here on a change of venue, could receive the death penalty if he is convicted of conspiring to blow up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

A total of 168 people died and more than 500 were injured in the April 19, 1995, explosion. McVeigh, who has been open about his dislike for the government, has pleaded not guilty in the bombing.

Hanger said that he was at his troop headquarters in northern Oklahoma when news of the explosion was received shortly after 9 a.m. He was dispatched to the capital city to assist in rescue efforts but, while heading there, was ordered to continue performing routine patrol duties.

About 10:20 a.m., he said, he pulled over a 1977 yellow Mercury Marquis when he noticed that the vehicle did not have a license plate. Alone at the wheel was McVeigh.

Both men stepped out of their cars. Hanger said McVeigh told him that he had recently purchased the vehicle in Junction City, Kan., but that the paperwork had not been completed and that was why he did not have a license plate. Hanger asked him for his driver’s license and when McVeigh reached toward his back pocket, the trooper noticed a bulge under McVeigh’s left arm.

McVeigh told him: “I have a gun.”

Hanger reached for the weapon, spun McVeigh around, and then pulled his own service revolver. He said he held it against the back of McVeigh’s head. He tossed aside McVeigh’s weapon, a .45-caliber, semiautomatic Glock with a Black Talon round loaded in the chamber.

“He felt like he had the right to carry it for his protection,” Hanger said.

McVeigh also was carrying ammunition for the gun, as well as a knife--all of which the trooper confiscated.

The two men later chatted in Hanger’s patrol car. Hanger said that McVeigh had almost memorized the serial number on the Glock and that he also inquired about the officer’s weapon.

He said McVeigh was wearing a T-shirt with a picture of Abraham Lincoln on one side and a drawing of a tree and blood droplets on the other. The shirt also had a Thomas Jefferson quotation: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

Hanger said he later found a business card in his car that he believes McVeigh left behind. The card was from the Paulson Military Supply company in Antigo, Wis. The government alleges that McVeigh scribbled this on the back:

“TNT at $5 a stick. Need more. Call after 01 May. See if you can get some more.”

Hanger took McVeigh to Noble County Jail in nearby Perry, Okla., where he was held for two days on illegal weapons charges and driving without a license plate. McVeigh almost made bail but on April 21, 1995, the FBI learned of his incarceration. They placed him on federal hold and he was charged later in the bombing.

But during that time Hanger never connected McVeigh to the bombing, even after seeing FBI composite drawings of McVeigh during those two days.

Also testifying Monday was FBI Special Agent William Eppright, who revealed that numerous anti-government articles were found in a sealed envelope in McVeigh’s car. When the envelope was opened, he said, this handwritten note was on top: “Obey the Constitution of the United States and we won’t shoot you.”

Some of the articles were highlighted, including passages about killing federal workers. Eppright said he also found a quotation from American patriot Samuel Adams that said: “When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.”

Underneath it was this handwritten note: “Maybe now there will be liberty.”