The FBI believes that Bruce Ivins – the FBI’s sole suspect in the 2001 anthrax terror attacks – was motivated in part by his fervent “pro-life” views to send anthrax-laden letters to two Democratic Senators and multiple media outlets, which killed five people and severely sickened others.
We reported last week that Ivins, whose wife was the president of an anti-abortion group, was himself a longtime supporter of an anti-gay group that bashes Democratic senators and mainstream media outlets. But an affidavit released by the FBI and recent comments by investigators provide far more information about Ivins’ potential motivation.
In a section of the affidavit titled “Frustrations with Members of the United States Senate,” investigators recount email messages written by Ivins concerning his “pro-life” views and frustration with civil libertarians in Congress over their opposition to Bush administration policies. They also describe an article found in his house from an anti-abortion newsletter which argued that Catholic senators like Leahy and Daschle “should be excommunicated for aiding and abetting abortion.”
Additionally, NPR has reported that Ivins was connected to numerous anti-abortion groups and “did a great deal of mailing under pseudonyms and from various cities,” much of which “involved anti-abortion or Right to Life activities.” All of this has led officials to conclude that “Ivins’ right-to-life fervor was at least part of the reason he would target Daschle and Leahy.”
If Ivins was in fact the anthrax sender, he would be far from the first “pro-life” advocate to resort to murder and terrorism. A perusal of the list of items confiscated by the FBI from Ivins’ home reveals these noteworthy items:
* Five (5) cards from Respect Life Committee
* Black briefcase containing Glock 34 S/N KKP854; Beretta pistol s/n DAA274445; Glock 27 s/n ERP247
* Beige lockbox containing stunmaster 300s, airtaser, Stunmaster 100s, 2 peppersprays, batteries
