(2002) Tags: United Artists
Nichols v. Moore
In 2002, documentary film producer Michael Moore released the movie “Bowling for Columbine”, which explored the topic of gun violence in America. As part of the movie, Moore interviewed James Nichols, the brother of convicted Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols and acquaintance of convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Moore edited the three-hour interview with James Nichols and included ten minutes of this interview in the movie. Related to this interview, Moore also included a brief narration regarding the Oklahoma City bombing. James Nichols asserts that this narration was defamatory. The narration stated:
(1) … when on April 19, 1995 two guys living in Michigan who had attended Militia meetings, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City killing 168 people.
(2) On this farm in Decker, Michigan, McVeigh and the Nichols brothers made practice bombs before Oklahoma City.
(3) Terry and James were both arrested in connection to the bombing.
(4) (female voice over) U.S. Attorneys formally linked the Nichols brothers of Michigan with Oklahoma bomb suspect, Timothy McVeigh.
(5) Officials charged James, who was at the hearing, and Terry, who was not, with conspiring to make and possess small bombs.
(6) Terry Nichols was convicted and received a life sentence. Timothy McVeigh was executed. But the feds didn’t have the goods on James, so the charges were dropped.
Nichols asserts that the narration defamed him because it falsely stated that he made practice bombs before Oklahoma City and because the narration falsely implied that he was arrested and charged in connection to the Oklahoma City bombing. In contrast to Moore’s narration, Nichols asserts that he did not make practice bombs and that he was never arrested or charged with a criminal offense in connection to the Oklahoma City bombing. Instead, Nichols asserts that, shortly after the Oklahoma City bombing, he was charged with an explosives offense which was not related to the Oklahoma City bombing and which was ultimately dismissed.