Letter from Timothy McVeigh

Eric F. Magnuson
Director
The World Libertarian Order

Correspondence with Timothy McVeigh

Introductory Preface

3:06 PM June 20, 2001. It must be stressed here that the WLO does not necessarily agree with any of Timothy McVeigh's ideas just because we reproduce them here. Our writings are entirely separate from his. We certainly do not advocate or condone the blowing up of large buildings filled with people that one does not even know. You might kill a future Libertarian. We do feel however, that these tragic things cannot be kept from happening in the future unless we are willing to take a very clear and honest look at why they have happened in the past. We are confident that all right-thinking people agree with this very basic principle. Those who disagree are those who prefer fantasy to truth. Such people are the problem, not any part of the solution. The fact that Timothy McVeigh did a desperate and destructive thing does not conveniently negate the fact that government in America has become too large and oppressive, it simply underscores it. Now, going back in time a few days....

It is now 11:24 AM, June 5, 2001. I just returned from the US Post Office in Reno, NV. Waiting for me was a three page letter, neatly printed with ink in a steady hand on simple lined white writing paper, from Timothy McVeigh on Death Row in Terre Haute, Indiana. Reproduced below is the letter that I sent to him on May 21, 2001. Following is his response dated May 28 and postmarked May 31, 2001. The intent of both parties will be perfectly clear to the careful reader.

Eric F. Magnuson

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The World Libertarian Order
P O Box 40608
Reno NV 89504

Timothy James McVeigh
#12076-604
Federal Death Row Unit
P O Box 33
Terre Haute, IN 47808-0033

May 21, 2001

Dear Mr. McVeigh,

I have a simple proposition for you. If you will send me a letter signed by you on prison stationary (and notarized if possible) stating the 10 or 20 most important things you would like to see changed about the way government works in the USA I will sign anything legal that you require and will do the following five things:

1. I will put your statement, word for word, as a special section in the WLO website for any period of time that you specify up to and including the rest of my life. Beyond that I cannot guarantee. WLO website address is: http://wlo418.tripod.com/worldlibertarianorder/

Please visit the site if you can. In case you can't, I have attached some material which will answer all basic questions about WLO goals. We also have a nice listing in the Gale Research "Encyclopedia of Associations," also called "Associations Unlimited." You can find us too in the on-line edition of the "Yearbook of International Organizations" but not in the hard copy edition.

2. I will promote the site by sending letters with our web address to every relevant public affairs group I can think of and will do the same with appropriate Internet message boards. There are other ways to promote this that I haven't even thought of yet.

3. I will use your statement, word for word, as an introductory preface to my book "World Libertarian Revolution and the Fulfillment of Evolutionary Destiny." If you don't want me to do this, we can skip this part, but it is an excellent book even if I do say so myself. When the average person finally comes to understand the principals in it, we will see some very positive changes in society [The author was trying to avoid sounding grandiose in phrasing things this way. In actuality, total popular understanding of the principles in this book would result in a complete transformation of life on Earth - EFM 12/2/01]. All the attached material is from this book. It was finished in 1999 and should be available on CD-Rom by October 2001. I will promote the book in the same ways as the website.

4. I will use all proceeds from the sale of my books (and in about twenty years from the sale of the letter you send me) to keep the wolverine from my door in old age. I expect to take a lot of heavy-duty flack for doing all this. It might help me or it may ruin me. The vast possibilities for constructive change on this planet, however, lead me on. I will also frame your letter and hang it in my personal library.

5. I will make no commentary upon your ideas either in my writings or by mouth. If people ask me "Do you agree with what he says?" I will simply say "I don't do interviews. If you need to know what I think, read my books."

The WLO is a small teaching organization I founded in 1983 based upon the premise that government at best is a only a necessary evil. As you know, in the United States today even so-called "conservative" candidates are nothing more than little pee-wee Socialists. Libertarians are the only people fit to call themselves Americans. We are a relatively small movement at this time, but the numbers are growing.

We want to assure you that even now there are thousands of people all over the world working diligently to reduce government everywhere to it's absolute workable minimum. It won't happen overnight, but it will happen eventually. There is always a big time lag between what the most advanced people know and what gets implemented by societies.

A sense of heroic destiny motivates all constructive Libertarian action. Science, even economic and political science, moves ahead strongly in the face of ignorance. The WLO is trying to increase peoples knowledge by promoting books, but a revolution comes down in many ways and I personally think that the time will come when Oklahoma City will generally be viewed very differently from the way it is now. I know that you did what you did to try to make people think. In the short term it may not seem to have had that effect, but time has a way of clarifying things.

When the population begins to wake up then all those people in the building will not have died in vain. Think of how many people will not be killed the first time we avoid an unnecessary war because the people are simply too sophisticated about the way politicians and international bankers interact. Whatever happens with your situation, I wish you good luck, and I would be happy to hear from you whatever you decide relative to the above proposal.

Please find the following attached materials. With letter, total four sides:
"Goals of the WLO", "Description of the WLO",
"The Ten Steps to World Libertarian Revolution"

The Greatest of All Quests
Liberty Triumphant and Eternal

Eric F. Magnuson

Director WLO

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Reply from Tim received in Reno, June 5, 2001:

Return receipt requested, Eric.

Tim's Bill of Rights

1.) Neither Speech, Press, Religion, nor Assembly shall be infringed, nor shall such be forced upon any person by the government of the United States.

2.) There shall be no standing military force during peacetime, (this) to include large bodies of federal law enforcers or coalitions of these officers that would constitute a military force, with the exception of sea-based maritime forces.

3.) The Executive Office shall hold no power to unilaterally alter Constitutional rights.

4.) No person shall be subjected to any form of direct taxation or wage withholdings by the Federal government.

5.) No person's life or liberty shall be taken without due process. Any government employee circumventing due process rights shall be punished with imprisonment. Citizens shall not be subjected to invasions of their homes or property by employees of the Federal government. Property or other assets of United States citizens shall not be subject to forfeiture to the Federal government.

6.) Personal activities that do not infringe upon the rights or property of another shall not be charged, prosecuted, or punished by the United States government. Any crime alleged will be prosecuted by the jurisdiction most local to the alleged crime, respectively. No person shall be twice tried for an offense alleged and adjudicated in another jurisdiction. No person shall be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, nor shall the Federal government hold power to execute any individual as punishment for a crime convicted, or contract to another entity for this purpose. No person shall be held to account for the actions of another, unless proven by more than one witness to be the principal figure.

7.) All currency shall be redeemable in a globally recognized material of intrinsic value, such as silver.

8.) Legislative members shall earn no more than twice the current poverty level and shall not be subject to any additional pay, bonuses, rewards, gifts, entitlements, or other such privileges, as holding such office is meant to serve the people and should not be looked upon as a capitalist career opportunity.

9.) Where non-violent checks and balances fail to remedy government abuse or tyranny, the common people reserve the right to rebellion. Inherent with this right, the common people maintain the absolute right to own and possess those weapons which are used by any level of government for domestic policing.

10.) Any rights not enumerated here belong inherently to the people or the states respectively, and shall not be assumed by omission (to be) delegated to the jurisdiction of the federal government.

Timothy J. McVeigh

28 May, 2001

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Telegram to Terre Haute, June 9, 2001 about 12:30 PM PST:

Tim,

WLO website address small case URL. Have attorneys send address where media can verify correspondence. Liberty Will Prevail!

Eric

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November 27, 2001:

For more on Tim, see Gore Vidal's next book. We are pleased to announce that he will reproduce Tim's letter to the WLO.

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Why Talk with a Terrorist?

November 23, 2002

Comments received about our correspondence with Timothy McVeigh have been mostly positive. The negative responses are usually from people who disagree strongly with Tim's ideas about state-vs-federal rights and almost always pose the basic question:

"What reason could anyone have to read what this man has to say?"

To these disconnected individuals our only answer can be:

"The same reason you had when you read it."

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Tim was very angry about events at Ruby Ridge, Idaho and Waco, Texas.

See how you feel: