When Americans heard that the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City had been bombed, many assumed the bombing was the act of Islamic terrorists. In 1993 just two years earlier, Islamic terrorists had bombed the World Trade Center in New York City, and many Americans believed the Oklahoma City bombing was another foreign attack against their country. When Timothy McVeigh was arrested for the bombing, millions of Americans were shocked that a white American male—who had proudly served in the U.S. Army—could hate his government so much that he would murder and injure hundreds of innocent men, women, and children.

Part of the motivation behind McVeigh's actions was the anger he felt toward federal law enforcement agencies. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) had botched two high-profile cases in 1992 and 1993, leading to the...