July 27, 1996, 30 years ago: The Olympic Park in Atlanta is bombed during a concert to celebrate the Olympic Games. One person was killed, 111 injured. While the Olympics have had plenty of controversies, rarely have the troubles of the outside world intruded on the Games. The 1972 Summer Games in Munich were touched by terrorism. So were the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.
At first, the FBI investigated Richard Jewell, the security guard who found the backpack containing the 3 pipe bombs. He had also helped to evacuate the area, keeping the deaths and injuries lower than they could have been. But, based on "psychological profiling," the FBI decided that he could have been the bomber, much as some people, including firemen, start fires so they can report them and be heroes.
It took nearly 3 months to clear his name, and he never recovered emotionally. The stress took a toll on his health, and, combined with diabetes and heart disease, led to his death in 2007. He was only 44 years old.
Finally, the FBI determined that this was the work of a man who'd committed 3 other bombings, in protest of America's abortion and gay rights policies. Eric Rudolph, a member of the radical "Christian Identity" movement, was finally caught in 2003, and pled guilty.
As of July 27, 2026, Rudolph is 59 years old, and remains incarcerated at the ADX Florence Supermax prison in Colorado. He is serving 2 consecutive life terms, and will never get out of prison except in a coffin. He has since written a letter from prison saying he now prefers the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche to the Bible.
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