Andreas Straßmeir

Andreas Straßmeir
Born	Andreas Karl Straßmeir 17 May 1959
Nationality	German
Parents	Günter Straßmeir
Son of Günter Straßmeir who was Chief of Staff to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Suspected of involvement in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Andreas Karl Straßmeir a.k.a. 'Andy The German' or 'Mr. Red' is a German national suspected of involvement in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. He has denied the charge. He was reported to have talked about blowing up federal buildings.

Background

Andreas Straßmeir was born on May 17, 1959" to a prominent family with political connections"". He was the son of Günter Straßmeir who was Chief of Staff to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

Career

Straßmeir joined the German army, and after 7 years had become an lieutenant in the Panzer Grenadiers. He left the German Army in 1988. He was a member of a charismatic Christian church in Berlin. By his own account, he lived for a time in a kibbutz in Israel.

Criminal status

Straßmeir moved to Houston in 1989. He may have been in the US illegally after visa violations. He drew the attention of the ATF and maybe other authorities, but his arrest was blocked by higher ups.

He was arrested on February 28, 1992 and had his car impounded by Oklahoma State Highway Patrol but the car was quickly released, in spite of some confusion about the legal status of what had gone on.

Oklahoma City bombing

Full article: Oklahoma City bombing

Straßmeir settled in a Christian community in Elohim City, Arkansas in 1991. He became their chief of security, where it has been suggested that the bomb plot originated. Andreas Straßmeir was friends with Tim McVeigh whom he met in 1992 at an arms fair in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Strassmeir has admitted selling McVeigh an old combat knife. He does not deny that McVeigh phoned him a few days before the OKC bombing, but claims that he was out at the time, so he never spoke to McVeigh.

Strassmeir is one of many people who has been named as "John Doe #2".

Corporate Media

Newsweek removed all references to Straßmeir in their reporting about the OKC bombing and the commercially-controlled mediain general have had little to say about him. This is interesting in light of multiple claims that he worked for the FBI.

Flight from USA

Four months after the bombing, Straßmeir slipped out of the country. A 1997 FBI investigation noted that (ex-)CIA pilot Dave Halloway "flew STRASSMIRE [sic.] back to Berlin, Germany after the Oklahoma City Bombing". Other writers have suggested that this was via Mexico. He may also have had help from his attorney Kirk Lyons.

Statements

Straßmeir once stated that "I've never worked for any US government agency, and I've not been involved in any intelligence operation since my discharge from the German army in 1988". Straßmeir also once claimed never to have been in Kansas, but then admitted that he had once driven through the state. Asked to state where he was when the bombing happened, he said he was at work near Elohim City.

Continuing legal investigation

On 19 April 1997, Bundestag deputy Ulla Jelpke was asked in parliament about the possible "complicity of the German citizen Andreas Straßmeir" in the 1995 Oklahoma bombing. He was reportedly "questioned on the phone by the fbi".

Later activities

In 1997 Straßmeir gave an interview to Der Spiegel in which he denied involvement in the OKC bombing. He stated that he left Oklahoma because it was "stressful" and was looking for a new start.

Rating

27 July 2019 Robin  An interesting guy.
This is only a selection of pointers really, but it's a story not well told elsewhere that I've seen.

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