Page 281 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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260———Nichols, Terry Lynn (1955– )

local Fighting Front was, in turn, under the control of Further Reading
its district command, of which there were several on
Chapman, William. Inside the Philippine Revolution: The
each island.
New People’s Army and Its Struggle for Power.
In 1972, partly in response to the NPA threat and New York: Norton, 1987.
partly in response to the threat of the Moro National Marks, Thomas A. Maoist Insurgency Since Vietnam.
Liberation Front, President Marcos declared martial London: Cass, 1996.
law across the country and began to greatly increase the
size of the armed forces: the Army more than doubled
in numbers. The crackdown, combined with an econ- NICHOLS, TERRY LYNN (1955– )
omy that worsened throughout the decade (com-
pounded by the massive corruption of the Marcos In 1998, a federal jury found Terry Lynn Nichols
regime), worked to increase support for the guerrillas. guilty in the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred
By the mid-1980s, the NPA had an estimated 26,000 P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City,
members active throughout the country, in particular on Oklahoma.
the island of Luzon—the country’s largest and home to On the date of the attack, Nichols was hundreds of
the capital, Manila. miles away at his home in Herington, Kansas. On April
The NPA, however, was unsuccessful in establishing 21, 1995, Nichols voluntarily went in for questioning
true “liberated zones” in its areas of operation, and the at the Herington Police headquarters, claiming he had
Army was still able to move freely about the country. heard on the news that he was a material witness.
Frustrated with its inability to achieve strategic parity (James Nichols, Terry’s brother, was also held as a
with the Army, NPA began to use other strategies, material witness; all charges against James Nichols
one of which was the establishment of an urban terror were later dropped.) Two hours into the questioning, a
division called the Alex Boncayao Brigade in the early warrant was issued for Terry Nichols’s arrest, although
1980s. Its leadership also began to break into factions. he was questioned for seven more hours before being
The NPA’s internal problems in part prevented it from arrested in connection with the bombing.
being a major player in the 1986 Philippines rebellion On May 10, 1995, Nichols was formally charged
that replaced Marcos with Corazon Aquino. with the bombing and, three months later, both Nichols
Aquino began peace talks with the guerrillas, in the and Timothy McVeigh were indicted by a federal
hope that the prospect of an amnesty would under- grand jury. The indictments were identical, charging
mine their support; in December 1986 a two-month each man with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass
cease-fire was declared. Hardliners within the NPA destruction, the use of a weapon of mass destruction,
used the cease-fire as an opportunity to eliminate their destruction by explosive, and eight counts of first-
political rivals and consolidate their support; war degree murder for the deaths of federal employees in
resumed more fiercely than ever the following year. the Murrah building.
The injustice and corruption of the Marcos regime had Nichols went on trial three months after McVeigh
been a major factor in attracting recruits to the NPA; had been convicted and condemned to death. The
when the guerrillas saw their party resisting the demo- prosecution used much of the same evidence and
cratic Aquino with the same fervor, many of them called many of the same witnesses, but lacked some
abandoned it. Between 1986 and 1995, NPA member- of the key elements, such as strong antigovernment
ship dropped from about 26,000 to about 6,000, and motive and significant physical evidence that had
the Philippine Army began to gain ground. contributed to McVeigh’s conviction. The government
The Army has been unable to eliminate the NPA, alleged that Nichols, using the alias “Mike Havens,”
however; NPA forces may even have slightly increased purchased forty 50-pound bags of ammonium nitrate
since 1995. While it seems clear that the NPA no fertilizer—the main ingredient in the Oklahoma City
longer poses a significant threat to Philippine democ- bomb—from a farm co-op in McPherson, Kansas, on
racy, Aquino and her successors (Fidel Ramos September 30, 1994.
[1992–1998]; Joseph Estrada [1998–2001]; Gloria From that date forward, the prosecution linked
Macapagal Arroyo [2001– ]) have yet to eliminate that Nichols to several key stages in the plot, including
threat entirely. renting storage lockers and stealing 299 sticks of
See also MORO NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT Tovex explosives, 544 blasting caps, and detonating