Editing Timothy McVeigh (section)

=== Radicalization ===
After his stint in the army he became a security guard and fell into a transient lifestyle. During this time he became increasingly extreme in his views and fell into financial difficulties. He quit the NRA because he felt it was too weak on gun rights. He became a regular attendee of gun shows across the country, traveling to forty states and visiting about 80 gun shows. McVeigh found that the further west he went, the more anti-government sentiment he encountered, at least until he got to what he called "The People's Socialist Republic of California." McVeigh sold survival items and copies of ''The Turner Diaries'' by [[William Luther Pierce]].<ref name = Extremism></ref><ref>[https://tulsaworld.com/archive/the-radicalization-of-timothy-mcveigh/article_49b91161-74c7-538f-8183-e5f957f45aa1.html The Radicalization of Timothy McVeigh], ''Tulsa World''</ref>

In the aftermath of the Ruby Ridge and Waco standoffs, McVeigh decided to take action against the government. He considered a campaign of assassination against government officials<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/27/us/mcveigh-says-he-considered-killing-reno.html McVeigh Says He Considered Killing Reno], ''The New York Times''</ref>, but instead decided to target a Federal building.