The FBI detained an Oklahoma man over the weekend on charges he attempted to detonate what he thought was a vehicle bomb outside of a bank in a manner similar to the devastating Oklahoma City bombings carried out in the 1990s, the Justice Department announced Monday.
Jerry Drake Varnell, 23, was arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning after he tried to detonate what turned out to be a fake bomb loaded into a van parked outside of a bank in Oklahoma City, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.
During a months-long FBI investigation, Varnell repeatedly expressed his disdain for the federal government, referencing the movie "Fight Club" when discussing his desire to take out government facilities or "other structures," the complaint said.
Varnell told an undercover agent who was posing as an explosives expert that he initially considered targeting an IRS building in Texas before settling on BancFirst. Though Varnell said he wanted to minimize casualties and suggested detonating the bomb at night when offices were more likely to be empty, he acknowledged the risk and told the FBI agent, "you got to break a couple of eggs to make an omelet."
Federal prosecutors said Varnell prepared a statement to post to Facebook immediately after the explosion so terrorist groups such as the Islamic State could not take credit.
On Friday, the day of the attempted attack, Varnell met with the undercover FBI agent to build what he thought was a 1,000-pound car bomb. He then loaded the fake bomb into a what he believed was a stolen cargo van, drove the vehicle to the BancFirst building, and parked it in a neighboring alley.
Authorities said Varnell attempted to detonate the fake bomb at 6:30 p.m. by dialing a number on a cellphone he thought would trigger the explosion. The FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested him just after midnight, the complaint said.
Varnell was charges with an attempt to destroy a building in interstate commerce. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.