# Oklahoma City *City in Oklahoma, United States; site of the 1995 Murrah Federal Building bombing; named in the May 2025 federal retraction of police-practice findings.* Oklahoma City is the capital of Oklahoma and its largest city by population. It is the seat of Oklahoma County, and the 2020 census counted 681,054 residents.[^1] The city enters the Minnesota record through one at-issue pair. On May 21, 2025, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it was retracting its findings as to Oklahoma City. The same release moved to dismiss the [[Minneapolis]] consent-decree suit, *[[United States v. City of Minneapolis (MPD consent decree)]]*, and retracted the Minneapolis findings.[^2] The federal record on the city also holds the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. A truck bomb detonated by McVeigh killed 168 people. The project's time table, citing the Federal Bureau of Investigation, records it as the deadliest domestic terrorism.[^3] The Wikipedia article gives the same date and death toll.[^1] The Minneapolis findings withdrawn in that release had been issued on June 16, 2023.[^4] A consent decree resting on them had been filed on January 6, 2025.[^5] A parallel state instrument against the [[Minneapolis Police Department]] was not part of the federal action. It is a court-enforceable settlement under the [[Minnesota Human Rights Act]], approved on July 13, 2023, and it continued after the federal retraction.[^6] ## When - **April 22, 1889.** The Unassigned Lands were opened to homesteaders in the Land Run, and the city was settled that day. Voters elected William Couch as its first mayor on April 26.[^1] - **1927.** The city has been governed under a council-manager system since this year.[^1] - **April 19, 1995.** The truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building killed 168 people.[^3] - **May 21, 2025.** In release 25-534, the Department of Justice retracted findings as to Oklahoma City and other jurisdictions.[^2] ## Where - Oklahoma City is the seat of Oklahoma County. Its limits also reach into Canadian, Cleveland and Pottawatomie counties.[^1] - The [[United States Census Bureau]] gives the city a total area of 620.79 square miles, of which 601.11 square miles is land.[^1] - Interstates 35, 40 and 44 converge in the city. Dallas–Fort Worth is about three hours away by road.[^1] - The 1995 bomb was detonated at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.[^3] ## How much - A CRED iQ distress report dated August 7, 2026 ranked Oklahoma City third among the fifty largest commercial mortgage-backed securities markets, at 34.1% distress. Minneapolis ranked first at 55.1% distress on $4.0 billion outstanding, and Denver ranked second at 35.9%. The ranking is asserted only as to those fifty markets.[^7] ## How many - **Deaths in the 1995 bombing:** 168.[^3] - **Population:** 579,999 at the 2010 census and 681,054 at the 2020 census. The metropolitan area has an estimated 1.49 million residents.[^1] ## In the at-issue record - **[[At issue 031 - When DOJ retracted the Minneapolis findings it retracted]] (AI-031; AI-Hennepin-031, batch retraction).** - **What the release did.** In release 25-534 of May 21, 2025, the Department of Justice moved to "dismiss with prejudice" the Minneapolis and [[Louisville]] suits and closed both investigations. It retracted the findings in those matters together with its findings as to [[Phoenix]], [[Trenton]], [[Memphis]], [[Mount Vernon]], Oklahoma City and the [[Louisiana State Police]].[^2] - **The Department's description.** Assistant Attorney General Dhillon described the action as "ending the Biden Civil Rights Division's failed experiment of handcuffing local leaders."[^2] - **The retracted record.** The release ended Minneapolis findings that the Department had itself issued on June 16, 2023. Those findings held that there was reasonable cause that the police department "uses excessive force, including unjustified deadly force."[^4] It also ended a 169-page consent decree that provided for an independent monitor.[^5] - **What the record shows.** The Oklahoma City findings were retracted in the same action as the Minneapolis findings, alongside findings for the other jurisdictions named in the release.[^2] - **What the record does not establish.** The pack does not establish the date or content of the original Oklahoma City findings. It also does not establish any reasoning for the retraction beyond the Department's own statement.[^2] ## In the Minnesota record ### What - **Federal investigation and findings.** The federal pattern-or-practice investigation of the City of Minneapolis and its police department was opened on April 21, 2021, under 34 U.S.C. § 12601. It was announced one day after the [[Chauvin verdict]].[^8] On June 16, 2023, in release 23-674, the Civil Rights Division found reasonable cause that the department "unlawfully discriminates against Black people and Native American people in its enforcement activities."[^4] The full findings report runs to 89 pages.[^9] - **Federal consent decree and dismissal.** The [[consent decree]] in *United States v. City of Minneapolis*, No. 0:25-cv-00048 (D. Minn.), was filed on January 6, 2025.[^5] After the Department's May 21, 2025 motion,[^2] Judge [[Paul A. Magnuson]] granted dismissal with prejudice and denied the settlement-approval motion as moot. He cited "grave misgivings about the proposed consent decree serving the public interest."[^10] Sahan Journal reports that the order issued on May 28, 2025, while the Clearinghouse docket dates the dismissal May 27, 2025.[^10][^8] - **State charge and finding.** The Minnesota Department of Human Rights filed its charge on June 1, 2020. On April 27, 2022, it found "probable cause that the City and MPD engage in a pattern or practice of race discrimination in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act." The department's report found that 13 of the 14 people killed by MPD officers since 2010 were people of color or Indigenous. It also found that Black residents were 19% of the population but 63% of recorded use-of-force incidents from 2010 to 2020.[^11] - **State settlement.** A court-enforceable settlement was filed on March 31, 2023. Judge Karen Janisch of [[Hennepin County District Court]] approved it on July 13, 2023, in *Minnesota v. Minneapolis Police Department*, [[No. 27-CV-23-4177]]. The settlement ends only on a judicial finding of "full, effective, and sustained compliance." The [[independent evaluator]], ELEFA, began work on March 18, 2024.[^6][^12][^13] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Oklahoma City* (revision 1381849899, retrieved 27 October 2026) — capital and county seat, 2010 and 2020 census counts, metro estimate, area, 1889 settlement, council-manager government since 1927, interstates, and the 1995 bombing date and toll. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City [^2]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Press release No. 25-534* (May 21, 2025) — motion to dismiss with prejudice the Minneapolis and Louisville suits; retraction of findings as to Phoenix, Trenton, Memphis, Mount Vernon, Oklahoma City and the Louisiana State Police; statement of AAG Dhillon. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-department-justices-civil-rights-division-dismisses-biden-era-police-investigations-and [^3]: Federal Bureau of Investigation, *Oklahoma City Bombing* (FBI History, Famous Cases) — April 19, 1995 truck bombing of the Murrah Federal Building, 168 dead (time-table row TL-0630). https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/oklahoma-city-bombing [^4]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Press release No. 23-674* (June 16, 2023) — reasonable-cause findings of excessive force and discrimination by the Minneapolis Police Department. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-finds-civil-rights-violations-minneapolis-police-department-and-city [^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Agreement with the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department* (January 6, 2025) — consent decree in *United States v. City of Minneapolis*, No. 0:25-cv-00048 (D. Minn.), 169 pages, providing for an independent monitor. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-reaches-agreement-city-minneapolis-and-minneapolis-police-department [^6]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, *Civil rights update on the MPD settlement* — settlement filed March 31, 2023, approved July 13, 2023, No. 27-CV-23-4177; termination standard; independent evaluator from March 18, 2024. https://mn.gov/mdhr/news-community/newsroom/civilrightsupdates.jsp?id=1061-584578 [^7]: CRED iQ, *CRE & CMBS Distress Report: Top 50 U.S. Metro Rankings* (August 7, 2026) — Minneapolis 55.1% on $4.0 billion, Denver 35.9%, Oklahoma City 34.1%, among the fifty largest CMBS markets. https://cred-iq.com/blog/2026/08/07/cre-cmbs-distress-report-top-50-u-s-metro-rankings-and-whats-driving-them/ [^8]: Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, *United States v. City of Minneapolis* (Case 18178) — investigation opened April 21, 2021 under 34 U.S.C. § 12601; dismissal dated May 27, 2025. https://clearinghouse.net/case/18178/ [^9]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Investigation of the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department* (June 2023) — the 89-page findings report. https://www.justice.gov/d9/2023-06/minneapolis_findings_report.pdf [^10]: Sahan Journal, *Minneapolis federal consent decree dismissed* (May 2025) — Judge Magnuson's order of dismissal with prejudice, issued May 28, 2025, and its quoted language. https://sahanjournal.com/public-safety/minneapolis-federal-consent-decree-dismissed/ [^11]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, *Investigation into the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department* (April 27, 2022) — charge of June 1, 2020; probable-cause finding; 13 of 14 deaths; 19% and 63% figures. https://mn.gov/mdhr/assets/Investigation%20into%20the%20City%20of%20Minneapolis%20and%20the%20Minneapolis%20Police%20Department_tcm1061-526417.pdf [^12]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, *MPD court-enforceable settlement agreement* (document hub) — the settlement documents. https://mn.gov/mdhr/mpd/agreement/ [^13]: Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, *Minnesota v. Minneapolis Police Department* (Case 43326) — docket for No. 27-CV-23-4177. https://clearinghouse.net/case/43326/