There’s no doubting that by 1995, far-right organisations had started to openly oppose the federal government, but no one could have predicted it would end in domestic terrorism. Yet sadly, it is exactly what the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, April 19, 1995, was, as meticulously documented in Showtime’s ‘Waco: The Aftermath’. We now have information available if you simply want to find out more about co-defendant and witness Michael “Mike” Joseph Fortier, with an emphasis on both his past and present circumstances.
Who is Michael Fortier?
Although Michael was born in wonderful Maine in 1968, records indicate that he spent most of his childhood in lovely Arizona because his family decided to move there when he was just seven years old. Therefore, in the middle to late 1980s, he graduated from the neighbourhood Kingman High School. Shortly after, he enlisted in the US Army, where he unexpectedly ran into Timothy “Tim” McVeigh in 1988 at Fort Benning, Georgia. He also met Terry Nichols, a fellow soldier and platoon leader, in this company, and the two became close friends until the former received an honourable release in May 1991.
To be told, Michael, Timothy, and Terry shared a lot of interests and values, which is why they decided to keep in touch even after duty was no longer a factor. They actually remained close because of their steadfast opinions on race, religion, the right to bear arms, and the supposed overreach or overcompensation of their federal government in most subjects. Their relationship was also made evident by the fact that the former read the extreme book “The Turner Diaries” at Timothy’s request despite having no free time while a married student at Mohave Community College.
The three guys were therefore unsurprised when the FBI began their siege against the Branch Davidians in Waco in 1993, only for two of them to start plotting their retaliation shortly after. Although Michael claimed not to have been engaged in planning or carrying out the Oklahoma City bombing, Timothy had told him about it months earlier, in October 1994. In reality, records show that the latter attempted to persuade his friend to either assist him in assembling the bomb or volunteer to drive their getaway vehicle, but the friend flatly refused because he wanted nothing to do with it.
Nonetheless, according to his own testimony, Michael “did not immediately make public my knowledge of the McVeigh and Nichols scheme to any judge or other persons in civil power. About two days after the bombing and during the following three days, when FBI agents questioned me, I lied about my knowledge and withheld information. For instance, I misrepresented my ignorance of the plot to bomb the federal building. In order to prevent government enforcement from discovering specific items I had gotten from McVeigh during a search of my home, I also provided a neighbour a bag of fertiliser containing ammonium nitrate.
Where is Michael Fortier Now?
Michael was charged with conspiracy, making false statements, and a number of other lesser offences in the summer of 1995. In exchange for a lighter sentence and immunity for his wife, he entered a guilty plea to all of the charges. This deal required him to testify against his friend in his 1997 criminal trial, which he performed to the best of his ability. Timothy later acknowledged he was not angry with Michael and that he understood his choices. As a result, on May 27, 1998, the Arizona resident was sentenced to 12 years in jail and ordered to pay a $75,000 fine for failing to inform the police about the attack before it happened on April 19, 1995.
On January 20, 2006, Michael was actually freed from prison after a little more than ten years, at which point he was put into the Witness Protection Program. To ensure his long-term safety, he was, in other words, cut off from everything he knew and given a completely new identity; as a result, we do not know much about his current situation. We only know he loves this peaceful existence because he has made it clear through his attorney that he has no desire to make any public pronouncements about his history or present.
