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DOSSIER – This archive photo provided by Oklahoma's Prison Department shows Jerry Varnell, of Sayre, Oklahoma, in Varnell's federal trial, accused of attempting to detonate what is wrong. 39 He believed to be a van loaded with explosives in front of an Oklahoma City Bank. Varnell pleaded not guilty and his parents claimed that he was a paranoid schizophrenic and that he had been to several psychiatric hospitals. Defense lawyers say that he was trapped. Varnell was found mentally fit to stand trial. (Department of Corrections of Oklahoma via AP, File)
THE CITY OF OKLAHOMA – A 24-year-old man is guilty of trying to blow up what he thought was an explosive van in front of a bank in Oklahoma City, a federal jury said on Monday.
The jurors declared Jerry Drake Varnell, of Sayre, guilty of attempting to use an explosive device to damage a building and use a weapon of mass destruction.
Prosecutors alleged that Varnell had planned to detonate what he thought was a car bomb from a one – tonne bomb (450 kilograms) on August 12, 2017. The FBI learned about the bombs. existence of this plan and an undercover agent pretending to be someone who could help build the device. materials.
Varnell had pleaded not guilty and his defense lawyers claimed that he was trapped. His parents testified that he was a paranoid schizophrenic and that he had stayed in several psychiatric hospitals.
The testimony in the case began on February 12 and included an informant who had recorded his conversations with Varnell and an FBI undercover agent who had helped him to fabricate what he thought to be a bomb. The authorities said that the explosives were not alive and that the public was never in danger.
The federal investigators had been watching Varnell closely since the start of the alleged bomb plot. They had received information that Varnell originally wanted to blow up the Federal Reserve building in Washington with a device similar to that used during the bombing of the federal building. Oklahoma City in 1995, which had killed 168 people.
During a meeting with FBI secret agents in 2017, Varnell said he held "ideology III" and wanted to "launch the next revolution," a reference to the patriotic movement "Three percent "started in 2008 and galvanized by the election of President Barack Obama. who rallied against gun control efforts and pledged to resist the federal government for the violation of constitutional rights.
Prosecutors said Varnell would remain in detention until sentencing, which should take place in about 90 days. He faces life imprisonment for attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and to a maximum penalty of twenty years imprisonment for attempting to use an explosive device.
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