The 2001 anthrax attacks (also known as Amerithax) began on September 18th 2001, almost a week after the 9/11 terrorist attack. Anthrax is a bacterial disease that is mostly found in livestock. Symptoms of inhaling anthrax include chest discomfort, shortness of breath, dizziness, cough, fevers and chills. In total the attacks resulted in the death of five people and the infecting of 17.
The attack was conducted by mailing letters containing powdered anthrax and these letters were aimed at media companies and congressional offices. The letters were mailed to locations in Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with the addition of Washington D.C.. The first set of letters were sent on September 18th 2001. On October 4, 2001 Bob Stevens of American Media was hospitalized due to inhaling anthrax. A Day later on October 5th he passed away, his death being the first anthrax death in the United States in 25 years.
On October 8th, three days after Stevens’ death Anthrax was found at his workplace (American Media publisher of the National Enquirer) and the offices were forced to close. The following day the FBI began an investigation. By early November, the FBI had uncovered three of the letters that contained anthrax spores. These letters had been sent to offices of then Senate Majority Leader, Tom Daschle, The New York Post, and Nbc. Radical Islamic rhetoric was included in some of the letters.
The Anthrax attacks increased concern about bioterrorism. Due to this, at the start of 2002 President Bush requested around 11 million dollars to protect the nation from future bioterrorism attacks.
In mid 2002 the FBI began investigating Dr. Steven Hatfill. Dr. Hatfill was a scientist that used to work in the U.S. Army’s Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Maryland. The institute kept stocks of Anthrax. On June 25, 2002 the FBI searched his home. In August of the same year Hatfill was declared a “person of interest” by law enforcement officials. Hatfill was cleared of the crime eventually and successfully sued the U.S. Justice Department for defamation in 2008.
In addition to Hatfill, FBI agents began investigating Dr. Bruce E. Ivins. Ivins also worked at USAMRIID and spent years trying to develop a more effective vaccine for anthrax. Ivin was banned from the labs and placed under 24-hour surveillance; In July 2008 he committed suicide due to severve depression and anxiety.
In 2010 the FBI, Department of Justice, and The U.S. Postal Inspection Service concluded their investigations and declared that Dr. Ivins was in fact the culprit. However, many doubt that this is actually the case.
Sourceshttps://www.cdc.gov/anthrax/basics/symptoms.html
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