How Did Unabomber Ted Kaczynski’s Manifesto Lead to His Capture?

Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of bombing and death. Reader discretion is advised.

American serial bomber Ted Kaczynski , widely known as Unabomber , was among the most feared people in the country’s history. The end to the terror came after his thought-provoking manifesto was published in one of the world’s biggest news outlets. Unabomber’s tactful capture by the FBI continues to garner interest years after his arrest. Born Theodore Kaczynski, he was a mathematics prodigy who gave up academics and terrorized the country for years.

The FBI assembled a task force, including the ATF and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, in 1979 to investigate the “UNABOM” case. It was a code name derived from “the UNiversity and Airline BOMbing targets involved.” The previous year, Kaczynski set off his first homemade bomb at a Chicago university. Following that, he mailed or handed several “increasingly sophisticated bombs” over the next 17 years. He even threatened to blow up airliners in flight.

All the while, Kaczynski kept his identity hidden. As fear and panic took over the people, the task force grew to more than 150 full-time analysts, investigators, and others to find the anonymous killer.

How did the FBI catch Unabomber Ted Kaczynski using his manifesto?

In 1995, the Unabomber sent the FBI a 35,000-word essay detailing his “motives and views of the ills of modern society.” The task force then recommended publishing the controversial piece, hoping that readers may identify the person behind it. The manifesto was featured in The Washington Post after FBI Director Louis Freeh and Attorney General Janet Reno approved it.

How was Unabomber Ted Kaczynski arrested?

The manifesto then led people to come forward with possible suspects. Ted’s brother, David Kaczynski, also went to the authorities with information about him. He confirmed the FBI’s suspicion of Ted growing up in Chicago. David also informed that after briefly living in Salt Lake City, Ted settled in a cabin the brothers built near Lincoln, Montana. The breakthrough in the case came after David provided documents and letters that his brother had written, which were then matched with the manifesto by authorities. A search warrant was subsequently issued as the facts from Ted’s life and bombings fell into place.

Kaczynski built the bombs from scrap materials which could be found anywhere, noted the FBI. The notorious bomber also made sure to leave no forensic evidence. As a result, the task force initially struggled to find leads in identifying him despite examining recovered bomb components. They also looked at the lives of victims to find clues that may lead them to the ultimate bomber. Investigators later found out that Kaczynski chose the victims randomly from library research.

After the FBI’s hunt for Unabomber ran for nearly two decades, Kaczynski was arrested on April 3, 1996. After authorities searched through his cabin, they found around 40,000 handwritten journal pages. It included details about Unabomber crimes and bomb-making experiments. Investigators also found bomb components, as well as a live bomb, which was ready for mailing.

How did Unabomber Ted Kaczynski die?

Kaczynski died by suicide at the age of 81 in 2023 while serving his sentence, reported AP News . He was suffering from late-stage cancer at the time of his passing. Kaczynski was held at the federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado. In 1998, the Unabomber Kaczynski was sentenced to four life sentences, with an additional 30 years for a campaign of terror. He admitted to orchestrating 16 bombings from 1978 and 1995. The terror campaign killed three and injured many more.

Previously, the docuseries Unabomber: In His Own Words looked into his childhood and detailed his journey from a mathematical genius to a terrorist. It is available to watch on Netflix.

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