Andreas Strassmeir

Andreas Karl Straßmeir
Born	May 17, 1959 West Germany
Nationality	German
Other names	Andy the German Mr. Red Andy the Kraut Andrew Strassmire Andy Stassdmeir Andy Strassdmeir
Occupation	West German Infantry Officer (formerly)

Andreas Carl Strassmeir is a German national and the former head-of-security for the white separatist community, Elohim City, Oklahoma. He gained media attention for his alleged connection to the Oklahoma City Bombing and has become an important figure in its conspiracy theories.

Early life

Strassmeir came from a German family known for its right-wing nationalist sympathies. He was the son of Günter Straßmeir, the Chief of Staff to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. His Grandfather was also a co-founder of the Nazi Party.

Strassmeir studied at a military university in Hamburg, and then went on to serve in the German Army in 1979. His military service lasted for a total of five years.

Time in the U.S.

After resigning from the British Welsh Guard, Strassmeir moved to Washington, D.C. to pursue a career within the U.S. Department of Justice. According to Strassmeir himself, he had hoped to work for the operations section of the Drug Enforcement Agency. His efforts to obtain a career within the federal government were aided by Vincent Petruskie, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who had apparently met Strassmeir's father while he (Petruskie) was stationed in Berlin. In interviews, Strassmeir has referred to Vincent Petruskie as "a former CIA guy my father had known". Petruskie confirms that he had assisted Andreas Strassmeir in finding such a job, but denies having any connection to the CIA.

Strassmeir moved to Houston in 1986 where he started working as a salesman for a computer company. During this time, he became involved with the Texas Light Infantry militia before eventually getting expelled due to speculation from members that Strassmeir was a government agent. Afterwards, he became active in right wing and neo-Nazi circles where he eventually met his future attorney, Kirk Lyons.

Andreas Strassmeir was also reported to have spent some time in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he obtained a state drivers license. According to Ray Woodruff, a landlord of Strassmeir's, he had rented a 1,300-square-foot house which was located on 7613 Thorngrove Pike but never actually lived in it - simply only claiming residency.

Elohim City

In 1991, Kirk Lyons introduced Andreas Strassmeir to Elohim City - a white separatist community in Oklahoma. A year later, Strassmeir moved there and became the chief of security and weapons training.

During this time, he struck a friendship with Michael William Brescia, a member of the Aryan Republican Army. The two shared a room together on the compound.

While working as a confidential informant (CI) for the ATF, Elohim City resident, Carol Howe informed her agency handler about Andreas Strassmeir and how he would frequently talk about "blowing up federal buildings" and using "direct action against the U.S. Government". At the time, Carol Howe was unaware of Strassmeir's full name, and simply knew him as "Andy the German".

Oklahoma City Bombing

McVeigh's Phone Call

On April 5, 1995 - exactly two weeks before the bombing - Timothy McVeigh telephoned Elohim City just minutes after he had reserved the Ryder rental van that was allegedly used to blow up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. This telephone call was answered by community resident Joan Millar, the daughter-in-law of Robert G. Millar.

Relationship With McVeigh

Information from various sources, regarding the relationship between the two, tend to conflict with one another - making it difficult to determine such an aspect. However, it is known that Andreas Strassmeir and Timothy McVeigh first met at a gun show in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1993.

Departure from the United States

Robert Millar quickly expelled Andreas Strassmeier from Elohim City soon after he became aware that the FBI was looking at Strassmeir for possible ties to McVeigh and the bombing.

Notes from a 1997 FBI investigation state that sometime after the bombing, CIA pilot Dave Halloway flew Andreas Strassmer out of the United States. While that same report records that Strassmeir was flown to Berlin, many have speculated that he was instead flown to Mexico.