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When Billy Met Teddy

The FBI recently classified American Contingency, an emergency prevention organization led by U.S. Army veteran Mike Glover, as associated with domestic terrorism. According to an unnamed FBI whistleblower, the designation came after the FBI somehow “cleared” the organization and its founder in 2020.  

In a response to the Epoch Times report on the case, the federal bureau claimed it “does not and cannot designate domestic terrorist organizations. The FBI can never open an investigation based solely on protected First Amendment activity.” In addition, “We cannot and do not investigate ideology. We focus on individuals who commit or intend to commit violence and criminal activity that constitutes a federal crime or poses a threat to national security. The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution. One does not come at the expense of the other.” 

Americans might wonder how the FBI protected the American people against Ted Kaczynski, the so-called “Unabomber,” now 80 years old. Last year Kaczynski was moved to a federal prison medical facility in North Carolina. Back in the 1970s, during the Carter era, this domestic terrorist began to commit violence that constituted a federal crime. 

“Theodore Kaczynski came to our attention in 1978 with the explosion of his first, primitive homemade bomb at a Chicago university,” explains the FBI, then led by William Webster, a federal judge who never served as an FBI agent. On May 25, 1978, a package intended for Northwestern University professor Buckley Crist exploded and injured a security officer.

On May 9, 1979, a bomb dressed up as a present injured Northwestern University graduate student John Harris. On June 10, 1980, a bomb encased in a book injured United Airlines president Percy Wood. The targeting of universities and airlines led to the “Unabomber” designation. The FBI task force grew to more than 150 full-time investigators and analysts, but their combined efforts with the ATF and postal inspectors “proved of little use.” 

On October 8, 1981, at the University of Utah, a bomb wrapped in brown paper was safely detonated without injury. The following year, on May 5, a bomb sent to Patrick Fischer, head of the computer science department at Vanderbilt University, injured secretary Janet Smith

On July 2, 1982, a package bomb left in Cory Hall at UC Berkeley exploded and injured electrical engineering professor Diogenes Angelakos. At the same hall on May 15, 1985,  a disguised bomb severely injured engineering student John Hauser. On June 13, 1985, a package sent to Boeing’s fabrication division was safely detonated but again rendered no clues as to the bomber. 

That same year, on November 15, a Unabomber package bomb injured University of Michigan professor James McConnell and his assistant Nicklaus Suino. On December 11, 1985, Hugh Scrutton perished in the blast from a bomb left in the parking lot of his computer store in Sacramento, California. Two years later, on February 20, 1987, an explosion at a Salt Lake City computer store severely injured store owner Gary Wright

An employee spotted Kaczynski leaving the package bomb in the parking lot, but the first composite sketch of the Unabomber led nowhere. Despite the massive FBI task force, domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski remained undiscovered and undeterred. 

On June 23, 1993, a mail bomb exploded in the residence of University of California geneticist Charles Joseph Epstein, acclaimed for work on Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s. The blast severed fingers and inflicted severe internal injuries. The next day, Kaczynski struck again. 

His mail bomb targeted Yale computer scientist David Gelernter, who suffered severe wounds to his abdomen, chest, face, and hands. As the New York Times noted, authorities said the bombs “have become progressively more complex over the years and they tend to be meticulously constructed of common materials like fishing line, string, nails and wrapping paper.” 

By that time, director William Webster had given way to William Sessions. He urged caution with strange packages, but the FBI task force had no leads of any substance. On December 19, 1994, a package bomb killed New Jersey advertising executive Thomas Mosser. Kaczynski had chalked up another murder, but he wasn’t done. 

On April 24, his package mailed to the California Forestry Association in Sacramento claimed the life of lobbyist Gilbert B. Murray. This marked the third murder, and a full 17 years that Kaczynski had eluded the FBI, now headed by Louis Freeh. The domestic terrorist had claimed victims during the administrations of presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton. Doubtless feeling invincible, the Unabomber composed a 35,000 word essay about the ills of modern society, duly published in the Washington Post

Ted’s brother, David Kaczynski, spotted a phrase “cool-headed logicians” he had never heard anybody else use, and noted that the manifesto bore similarities to Ted’s angry letters to his parents. Months later, David contacted the FBI, and only then were agents able to track the the bomber to a cabin in Montana. He was arrested on April 3, 1996, tried and in 1998 sentenced to life with no possibility of parole.

Michael Macor/Getty Images

Had domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski not sent the manifesto, the bombings would surely have continued. As David Gelernter and the other Unabomber victims understand, the FBI does not protect the American people. The victims of terrorist attacks at Fort Hood (2009), the Boston Marathon (2013), San Bernardino (2015) and Orlando (2016), made the same discovery. 

In the case of Fort Hood, the FBI knew U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan was communicating with al Qaeda terrorist Anwar al Awlaki.  As Lessons from Fort Hood notes, the Washington office of the FBI did not assess Hasan “to be involved in terrorist activities.” As it turned out, the FBI was wrong. 

On November 5, 2009, Hasan murdered 13 unarmed American soldiers, including Private Francheska Velez, who was pregnant, and wounded more than 30 others. It was as though FBI bosses had known the plans of Ted Kaczynski and done nothing to prevent his deadly bomb attacks. 

The FBI now regards anyone less than worshipful of Joe Biden as a domestic terrorist, targeting patriots such as Mike Glover. The FBI investigated his military records, his veteran’s disability rating, and even his monthly disability benefit. As this case confirms, the FBI does investigate ideology

The bureau claims to stand for “fidelity, bravery and integrity,” but it didn’t take much bravery to slap 70-something Trump aide Peter Navarro into handcuffs as he boarded an airplane. In a similar style, FBI agents recently seized the cell phone of Trump supporter and My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, 61. Lindell’s lawyers claim the FBI violated his First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment rights. As Lindell, Navarro, Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, and the rest all understand, the FBI does not uphold the Constitution.

The bravest agents are now the FBI whistleblowers such as Steven Friend. The special agent, 37, objected to investigations that violate Sixth Amendment rights and charged that the FBI is opening domestic terrorism cases against people who were nowhere near the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2001. The FBI stripped Friend of his gun and badge and has retaliated against at least 20 other whistleblowers. 

FBI integrity left town a long time ago, but in a strange way the fidelity part still applies. For all but the willfully blind, the FBI is now the Gestapo and KGB of the Biden Junta, a repressive, partisan force incompatible with a constitutional republic.

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About Lloyd Billingsley

Lloyd Billingsley is the author of Hollywood Party and other books including Bill of Writes and Barack ‘em Up: A Literary Investigation. His journalism has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Spectator (London) and many other publications. Billingsley serves as a policy fellow with the Independent Institute.

Photo: JOHN RUTHROFF/AFP via Getty Images