Michael and Lori Fortier

Michael Fortier (born 1968) and Lori Fortier, American husband and wife, were accomplices in the Oklahoma City bombing and key informants in the trials of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.

Involvement in Oklahoma City bombing

Fortier helped McVeigh and Nichols move and sell stolen guns and survey the building in anticipation of the attack. Lori forged a driver's license for McVeigh. Michael Joseph Fortier was born in Maine in 1968, then moved with his family to Kingman, Arizona at age seven. After graduating from Kingman High, Fortier entered the Army, where he met Timothy McVeigh at Fort Benning, Georgia in 1988. The company, which also included Terry Nichols, moved on to Fort Riley, Kansas, where Fortier served until his honorable discharge in May 1991.

Conviction and sentence

In a plea bargain, they testified against McVeigh and Nichols at their federal trials and against Nichols at his state trial. Michael was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $200,000 on May 27, 1998 for failing to warn authorities about the attack, and Lori was granted immunity from prosecution. Fortier's fine was subsequently lowered to $75,000.

Michael served his sentence under an assumed name as part of a witness protection program. He was released from prison on January 20, 2007 and entered into the Witness Protection Program with a new identity. Legal analyst Irven Box surmised that his sentence was shortened because of good behavior, and that time served before sentencing was taken into account.