Eric Rudolph

Eric Robert Rudolph, also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, was an American who carried out several bombings in the Southern United States between 1996 and 1998. These bombings hurt many people and sadly took the lives of two individuals, including an attack at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Rudolph said he did these acts because he was against certain government policies.

For five years, he was one of the FBI’s most wanted people before being caught in 2003. In 2005, he agreed to accept four life sentences in prison instead of going to trial, which meant he would not face the possibility of the death penalty. Today, he is held in a secure prison near Florence, Colorado.

Early life

Eric Rudolph was born in Florida in 1966. After his father passed away in 1981, he moved with his mother and siblings to Nantahala, in Macon County, western North Carolina.

He attended school for one year but left and worked as a carpenter. Later, he joined the U.S. Army and trained at Fort Benning in Georgia. He left the Army in 1989 because of marijuana use. Before this, he had spent time at a special religious community with his mother.

Bombings

Further information: Centennial Olympic Park bombing and Otherside Lounge bombing

When he was 29, Eric Rudolph set off a bomb during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta on July 27. He called the police to warn them about the bomb before it exploded. The explosion hurt many people and sadly killed one spectator. Another person, a news cameraman from Turkey, had a health emergency while running to help and also passed away.

Rudolph said later that he did this because he strongly disagreed with some government decisions. He wanted to show that he was unhappy with the way things were being run. He also admitted to setting off other bombs at places where people went for medical help and at a bar in Atlanta. These explosions hurt several people and sadly took the life of a police officer who was working security. The bombs he used had pieces that made the injuries worse.

Fugitive

Eric Rudolph was first thought to be involved in bombings in Alabama in February 1998. Two people told police they saw him leaving the place where the bombing happened. Later, in October, he was named as a suspect in other bombings too.

On May 5, 1998, he was added to the FBI's list of the Ten Most Wanted people. The FBI thought he had weapons and was very dangerous. They offered a reward of $1 million for help in finding him. For over five years, he hid in the wild areas of the Appalachian mountains. Many groups searched for him but could not find him.

Rudolph's family believed he was not guilty. They were watched by police. In 1998, his brother cut off his own hand to send a message, but doctors were able to put it back. According to Rudolph's own writings, he survived during his time hiding by living in the Nantahala National Forest, eating things he found like acorns and salamanders, and taking food from places nearby Murphy, North Carolina.

Arrest and guilty plea

Eric Rudolph was arrested in Murphy, North Carolina on May 31, 2003, by a police officer who noticed him looking through a trash area behind a store. He was not carrying any weapons and did not fight back when taken into custody.

Later, he agreed to admit to doing many bad things in return for not being sent to face the most serious punishment. This agreement happened in 2005 after officials found hidden materials in the woods that he had agreed to show them. He said his actions were done to support certain beliefs, but he explained that agreeing to the court's rules was a smart move for him, not because he thought the court had the right to judge him.

He was given many years in prison without the chance to leave early and was sent to a special secure prison where he spends most of his time alone in a small cell.

Motivations

After Eric Rudolph was arrested for several bombings, reports suggested he was linked to a group that believed only certain people could be considered part of their faith. He denied strong ties to this group but mentioned his Catholic background and used religious ideas to explain his strong feelings against certain medical choices.

Rudolph did not feel sorry for his actions and believed they were the right thing to do. He quoted religious texts to support his beliefs even while in prison.

Writings from prison

Eric Rudolph wrote essays while in prison that supported using force and strong actions. These essays were shared online by someone who opposes allowing people to have babies before they are married. Even though some people felt these messages were mean and might encourage more violence, the prison could not stop them from being shared online. A leader in the law explained that people in prison still have the right to share their ideas.

In 2013, a book written by Rudolph called Between the Lines of Drift: The Memoirs of a Militant was released with help from his brother. The leader of laws in the United States took some money from Rudolph to help pay back money owed to the state of Alabama. The book was shared again and can be found on a website that supports the same ideas as Rudolph.