The catastrophic end of the standoff at the Branch Davidian compound appears to have convinced McVeigh that it was time to take action. He wrote Nichols and Fortier and invited them to participate in a bombing modeled on the one depicted in The Turner Diaries. Fortier refused, but allowed Nichols and McVeigh to stay at his house while preparing the attack. Nichols robbed Roger Moore, a contact McVeigh had made at a gun show, in order to finance the bombing. During the planning, McVeigh used his little sister's computer to send a letter to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (the organization that initiated the government's confrontation with the Branch Davidians) warning, "all you tyrannical [expletive] will swing in the wind one day for your treasonous actions against the Constitution of the United States." (crimelibrary.com) McVeigh, according to the prosecution, chose the Murrah Building because "He thought the ATF agent, whom he blamed for the Waco tragedy, had their offices in that building." <P><br /><br />After the bombing, many members of the media, the government and the public jumped to the conclusion that Islamic extremists were responsible. Militia experts at the FBI, however, noted the suspicious coincidence of the date: the bombing took place on the anniversary of the fire that ended the Waco standoff, and the battle of Concord, the opening battle of the American Revolutionary War. Both events are considered sacred by the militia movement. Tracing the truck axle and license plate back to the rental agency led the FBI to McVeigh, who had by that time already been arrested by an Oklahoma State trooper who had pulled him over for driving a car without license plates. <P><br /><br />McVeigh and Nichols were tried separately. Michael Fortier, his wife, and McVeigh's younger sister testified against them at trial, as did 138 other witnesses. Nichols, despite his insistence that he had been bullied into the bombing by McVeigh, was sentenced to life in prison. McVeigh was sentenced to death. His appeals were denied, and he chose not to petition the President for clemency. Six years after the bombing, McVeigh was executed. On his deathbed, McVeigh stated in writing, "I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul."