Judicial Watch Sues ATF for Records on Confidential Source Linked to Oklahoma City Bombing Investiga...

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for records about former ATF confidential human source Carol Elizabeth Howe, also known as Sarah Collins, whose activities as an ATF confidential source and subsequent testimony raised questions about information available to federal investigators before and after the Oklahoma City bombing (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (Case 1:26-cv-03189)).

The Oklahoma City bombing occurred in April 1995 at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Official narratives identify Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols as the primary perpetrators.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the ATF failed to comply with an August 2025 FOIA request for all records related to Howe, including investigative reports and other records documenting or assessing information she provided to the agency. The request also seeks records maintained in the ATF’s Confidential Informant Master Registry and Reporting System (CIMRRS), as well as records of communications of ATF Special Agent Angela Finley-Graham concerning Howe.

Significant ATF records concerning Howe have not yet been made public. Certain records created 25 years or more before the date on which they are requested can no longer be withheld under FOIA.

Howe identified herself as an ATF confidential source during her December 1997 testimony at the trial of Oklahoma City bombing defendant Nichols. Her relationship with the ATF was also addressed in April 1997 testimony by former ATF Special Agent Angela Finley-Graham in (United States v. Viefhaus and Howe). Howe was identified as Confidential Informant 53270-183, or CI-183, and Finley-Graham was identified as her ATF handler.

According to records cited in the FOIA request, Howe was associated with the pseudonyms “Freya” and “Lady MacBeth.” Reports describe Howe as an ATF informant who operated at Elohim City, an Oklahoma compound that was part of the ATF’s investigation of extremist groups. Howe reportedly died in a house fire in January 2025.

“Americans have a right to know what the ATF knew about Carol Howe, what information she provided and how federal investigators handled it,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “These records could shed important light on the ATF’s confidential-source operation and the investigation surrounding the Oklahoma City bombing. The government should stop stonewalling and release the records.”

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