Ambrosio Spinola
01-21-2006, 08:45 AM
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-01-21T054530Z_01_N20211924_RTRUKOC_0_US-CRIME-OKLAHOMA-WITNESS.xml&archived=False
OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Michael Fortier, a key witness to the 1995 plot to bomb the Oklahoma City federal building, was freed from prison on Friday and headed for anonymity in the U.S. witness protection program, his attorney said.
Fortier, 37, left a U.S. prison at midday, but remained on probation, said Michael McGuire, Fortier's lawyer.
"They are handling it with a lot of security," McGuire said of Fortier's release. "If I tell you where he is at, I could be prosecuted for a felony."
McGuire said some survivors of the 1995 bombing that killed 169 people and wounded hundreds were told by federal authorities that Fortier would be given a new identity in the the federal witness protection program.
The witness protection program provides security through anonymity to those who aid U.S. government investigations and prosecutions.
The Oklahoma City bombing is the second-deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history. Fortier could face possible threats from bombing survivors or far-right opponents of the U.S. government, who might consider McVeigh a hero.
Fortier became friends with bombing conspirators Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols while in the U.S Army.
At McVeigh's 1997 trial, Fortier testified that McVeigh and Nichols described their plans and unsuccessfully attempted to recruit him to participate in the plot, but he did nothing to stop the bombing.
McVeigh and Nichols built the bomb in a rented truck. McVeigh drove the truck and parked it in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. The massive bomb made of fertilizer and racing fuel exploded minutes later.
McVeigh was executed in 2001 for the bombing. Nichols is serving a life sentence for conspiring with McVeigh.
In 1998, Fortier was sentenced to 12 years in prison for not warning authorities. He was given credit for the nearly three years he spent in custody after the bombing.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Michael Fortier, a key witness to the 1995 plot to bomb the Oklahoma City federal building, was freed from prison on Friday and headed for anonymity in the U.S. witness protection program, his attorney said.
Fortier, 37, left a U.S. prison at midday, but remained on probation, said Michael McGuire, Fortier's lawyer.
"They are handling it with a lot of security," McGuire said of Fortier's release. "If I tell you where he is at, I could be prosecuted for a felony."
McGuire said some survivors of the 1995 bombing that killed 169 people and wounded hundreds were told by federal authorities that Fortier would be given a new identity in the the federal witness protection program.
The witness protection program provides security through anonymity to those who aid U.S. government investigations and prosecutions.
The Oklahoma City bombing is the second-deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history. Fortier could face possible threats from bombing survivors or far-right opponents of the U.S. government, who might consider McVeigh a hero.
Fortier became friends with bombing conspirators Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols while in the U.S Army.
At McVeigh's 1997 trial, Fortier testified that McVeigh and Nichols described their plans and unsuccessfully attempted to recruit him to participate in the plot, but he did nothing to stop the bombing.
McVeigh and Nichols built the bomb in a rented truck. McVeigh drove the truck and parked it in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. The massive bomb made of fertilizer and racing fuel exploded minutes later.
McVeigh was executed in 2001 for the bombing. Nichols is serving a life sentence for conspiring with McVeigh.
In 1998, Fortier was sentenced to 12 years in prison for not warning authorities. He was given credit for the nearly three years he spent in custody after the bombing.