Jerry Drake Varnell is a 23-year-old man from Oklahoma. Varnell is quite the extremist and it seems as though he is trying to get back at the government, for some or other reason. Media has reported that Varnell has made claims about having his own "bunker" where he plans to hide out when either the United States or the world collapses. According to ABC News, Varnell has also been trying to put his own team together, with the intention of taking out government officials.
The FBI has had their eye on this copycat extremist for the several months now and has even sent undercover agents to befriend the Young Man. And with good reason too! On Saturday, Varnell attempted to detonate a vehicle filled with explosives, just outside BancFirst in downtown Oklahoma City.
Bombing the Oklahoma bank
In December 2016, an anonymous person warned The Fbi about Varnell's intentions of bombing somewhere in Oklahoma, according to The Guardian. Since then, the FBI has been keeping close tabs on the 23-year-old. An undercover FBI agent approached Varnell, telling him that he shared the same views as him and that he had experience with making his own explosive devices.
Varnell accepted the agent's help and together they began "planning" their bombing.
In the beginning, Varnell wanted to mimic the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing and bomb the Federal Reserve Building in Washington D.C. However, he later decided that he didn't want so many deaths behind his name so he agreed to rather blow up a bank in Oklahoma. According to ABC News, Varnell decided to blow the building up after office hours so that fewer people would be in the building. He told the agent that the few people remaining in the building after hours were a minor sacrifice. Blood, death and destruction were needed to get government's attention.
The FBI and the trial
The FBI agent met with Varnell to discuss the bomb in June 2017.
It was agreed that the agent would be responsible for building the bomb. As such, ABC News reported that no one was ever in danger. The agent made sure that the bomb was inert. On Saturday, the agent helped Varnell transport the bomb to the street just across from the bank. At midnight on Saturday, Varnell dialed the number on his cell phone that he believed would detonate the bomb. Shortly thereafter, he was arrested. Varnell had also planned a Facebook post that he would upload after the event to tell the government that it was their fault that he had to bomb the bank.
Varnell will appear in court this Monday. It is chilling to think that such cold-blooded hatred and anger still exists in our society. The FBI has urged all citizens to be vigilant and to report any suspicious behavior that could be linked to domestic terrorism.