An explosive new ebook set for launch this July by Simon & Schuster may drive a nationwide reckoning with the reality behind the 1995 Oklahoma Metropolis bombing and the brutal jail homicide of Kenneth Trentadue, lengthy suspected to be tied to a mistaken identification cover-up by the FBI, and certain murdered by federal authorities.
For Kenneth’s brother Jesse, a Utah Legal professional who has spent the final 30 years submitting lawsuits to attempt to drive the information of the case to come back ahead, it has been a very long time coming.
The ebook, Blowback, is authored by Margaret Roberts, a veteran investigative journalist and former information director for America’s Most Wished. Roberts asserts that her investigation “will destroy the quilt story of lone-wolf terror by Timothy McVeigh and expose a responsible secret concerning the bombing that federal authorities insiders have stored for 30 years.”
“Blowback exposes the FBI’s heretofore undisclosed position in each Kenney’s homicide and the Oklahoma Metropolis Bombing,” wrote Kenneth’s brother, Jesse Trentadue, in a message to family and friends. “They’re related as a result of FBI’s mistaken perception that he was the John Doe No. 2 who allegedly helped Timothy McVeigh.”
GOVERNMENT SAYS SUICIDE, PHOTOS SAY MURDER
Kenneth Trentadue, a 44-year-old development employee with no felony file, was arrested in August 1995 on a parole violation after a site visitors cease close to the Mexican border. He was transferred to the Federal Switch Middle in Oklahoma Metropolis, the place inside days he was discovered lifeless in his cell. The Bureau of Prisons claimed it was a suicide by hanging.
When his physique was launched to the household, they are saying, he was lined in make-up to cover the bruising and lacerations to his face. It was evident, they are saying, that Kenneth Trentadue was murdered.
His cell was additionally lined in blood, main his brother to suspect he was overwhelmed to dying whereas in federal custody.
The photos have been put online here by the family, and are graphic.
Images later obtained by the household confirmed intensive bruises, deep head wounds, and a bloodied cell. Jail information conflicted with timelines. A medical expert dominated the reason for dying “unknown.” A later congressional inquiry, based mostly on paperwork pried unfastened by Jesse’s relentless FOIA litigation, famous proof per murder.
“His physique seemed like he had been in a battle with Mike Tyson,” Jesse stated in court docket filings.
Merrick Garland, former U.S. Legal professional Normal, performed a pivotal position in shaping the official narrative of the Oklahoma Metropolis bombing throughout his time as a senior Justice Division official within the Nineties. Because the lead prosecutor overseeing key facets of the McVeigh and Nichols circumstances, Garland was instrumental in advancing the federal government’s lone-wolf concept and sidelining any various explanations—together with the identification of “John Doe No. 2” and allegations of FBI foreknowledge or involvement.
Jesse Trentadue and different critics have argued that Garland’s oversight helped cement a false narrative whereas suppressing proof that contradicted it. His later tenure as Legal professional Normal has solely deepened concern amongst watchdogs who say the DOJ beneath Garland remained unwilling to launch long-withheld paperwork tied to each the bombing and the suspicious dying of Kenneth Trentadue.
Garland was nominated by then-President Barack Obama on March 16, 2016 for the place on the Supreme Courtroom brought on by the dying of Justice Antonin Scalia. The Republican-controlled Senate refused to verify Garland and the place was finally stuffed by Neil Gorsuch. Garland was then appointed by Joe Biden to be the Legal professional Normal in March 2021.
A GENERATION SPENT FIGHTING FOR DOCUMENTS IN FEDERAL COURT
Jesse Trentadue, a training lawyer in Utah, has filed greater than two dozen lawsuits in opposition to the Division of Justice, FBI, CIA, and Bureau of Prisons in pursuit of paperwork and accountability. His litigation has compelled the discharge of 1000’s of pages of presidency paperwork, together with closely redacted FBI memos that recommend foreknowledge of the bombing and informant operations tied to militia teams.
Among the many most important revelations from his lawsuits:
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The FBI’s “Patriot Conspiracy” (PATCON) Program: Paperwork litigated to launch by Trentadue revealed the FBI had informants extensively embedded in far-right militia teams within the early Nineties, a few of whom had interactions with McVeigh and others later related to the bombing.
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Secret Videotapes of the Murrah Constructing Bombing: Jesse uncovered proof that surveillance tapes from federal buildings, which may present who exited McVeigh’s Ryder truck, John Doe #2 included, have been seized and by no means launched, regardless of being referenced in FBI inner paperwork.
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The FBI’s Misidentification of Kenneth as “John Doe No. 2”: A number of inner memos point out federal brokers believed Kenneth matched descriptions of the second man seen with McVeigh. This, Jesse alleges, led to an off-the-books interrogation and finally his dying.
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DOJ “Delicate Informant” Recordsdata: By means of court docket battles, Jesse obtained paperwork suggesting the FBI had informants who warned of the bombing prematurely — warnings that have been both ignored or buried. The FBI had informants and brokers in each main newsrooms throughout the nation for the aim of spiking tales when wanted, and flow into most well-liked authorities narratives. Subsequent documentation additionally indicated that they had these informants on authorized groups and amongst protection attorneys in political trials.
This matches different paperwork obtained by Trentadue discussing a Los Angeles FBI Agent who tried to promote video footage of the second bomber at Oklahoma Metropolis exiting the car. The deliberate sale for $1 million was stopped on account of a senior-level FBI informant who labored in CBS Information administration, who was a part of the “Delicate Informant” program.
PATCON, brief for “Patriot Conspiracy,” which can nonetheless be ongoing, was a clandestine FBI operation within the early Nineties geared toward infiltrating and surveilling right-wing extremist teams, militias, and so-called “patriot” actions throughout the US. Whereas initially justified as a counterterrorism measure, PATCON has since come beneath scrutiny on account of its secretive nature, questionable informant practices, and potential connections to the occasions surrounding the Oklahoma Metropolis bombing. As properly, PATCON operatives have been accused of utilizing violence as a means of furthering the federal government’s need to develop its energy: if there may be extra violence, the considering goes, there may be extra funding, brokers assigned, and powers given to the FBI.
Kenneth Trentadue was overwhelmed to dying by federal officers, the household and others imagine, as a result of they thought he was the second bomber together with McVeigh, Richard Lee Guthrie, Jr. – Guthrie was arrested in 1996 and in addition died in custody, in a dying authorities additionally labeled a suicide.
Timothy McVeigh is alleged to have been concerned with this FBI effort, this ongoing PATCON operation, and people concerned with the bombing are all linked to those operations in a wide range of methods.
The discharge of this data, and the documentation to help what is likely to be in any other case dismissed as hypothesis, has been a significant effort by Jesse Trentadue over a long time.
Trentadue’s litigation has additionally confirmed unimaginable patterns of misconduct by federal authorities, together with witness intimidation and tampering the place federal authorities stopped witnesses from testifying beneath oath.
Regardless of acquiring court docket victories and FOIA penalties in opposition to federal companies, Jesse’s pursuit has confronted huge resistance: sealed recordsdata, deleted proof, lacking audio logs, and retaliation.
“They’ve stonewalled, lied, and destroyed information,” he stated in a 2011 deposition. “It’s not incompetence. It’s a cover-up.”
FAMILY’S WEBSITE TO GIVE THE PUBLIC THE EVIDENCE
To accompany the upcoming launch of Blowback, Jesse Trentadue has launched a complete web site — kennethtrentadue.com — cataloging paperwork, court docket filings, and pictures from the case. He says the proof there has already begun “inflicting fairly a stir.”
In his electronic mail, Jesse warned that “the DOJ and FBI will push again exhausting when that ebook goes into print,” expressing concern for the anticipated harm management, blowback, and assaults on credibility which might be more likely to come to himself and the ebook’s creator. Simon & Schuster lists the ebook for a July 2025 launch:
Blowback by Margaret Roberts
If Roberts’ ebook delivers on its promise to tear down the official story of the Oklahoma Metropolis bombing, the political and authorized ramifications could possibly be important not only for the surviving victims’ households, however for a authorities that has lengthy insisted McVeigh acted alone.
The historic election of President Trump for re-election in 2024 gave many hope that main reforms on the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Division of Justice have been lastly taking place. Thus far, nonetheless, many activists in older scandals like these, such because the flawed launch of the Epstein recordsdata, the still-withheld and redacted JFK assassination recordsdata, the refusal to reveal about UFO/Drones, have brought on disenchanted within the management of Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, as demonstrating that they’re unable or unwilling to inform the reality about these issues and accomplish that by way of a significant launch of unredacted paperwork.
The thirtieth anniversary of the Oklahoma Metropolis bombing, and the next dying and certain homicide of Kenneth Trentadue whereas in federal custody, provides Trump, Bondi, Patel, and Bongino one other alternative to indicate the general public the extent of their dedication to transparency, fact, and accountability.
