The FBI on Wednesday arrested Marc M.
Keyser, 66, on suspicion of mailing 120 hoax anthrax letters nationwide. He has
been charged with sending more than 100 packages marked “anthrax” to media
outlets in Sacramento and to others in the states of Washington and North
Carolina, including the Atlantic Monthly office in Washington, D.C.; the
Charlotte Observer; and KCRA-TV in Sacramento. The envelopes contained a
compact disk with a packet of sugar labelled “Anthrax Sample” along with an
orange biohazard symbol, according to the FBI. The phrase “Anthrax Shock and
Awe Terror” was also imprinted on the CD.
Other envelopes were sent to media
organizations, a congressional office and at least two restaurants, authorities
said. So far, field tests determined the contents of the envelopes were not anthrax.
“Several of these packages have been
collected and sent to the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Va.,
for processing,” the FBI said. “At this point, none of the contents have tested
positive for biohazardous material.” The FBI has not yet checked the content of
the CD.
The main suspect, Marc Keyser was arrested
without incident and he is being held at the Sacramento County
jail. At least one of the letters had Keyser’s return address on them. The man
is expected to make his first court appearance Thursday.
One of the packages was delivered to the Union
Tribune. The Union Tribune newsroom was evacuated and members of a hazardous material
team went into the building to test the large envelope labelled “anthrax.”
The Seattle-Post Intelligencer and the
Seattle Times received similar packages. Emergency crews wearing protective suits had
tested the contents of the packages and determined it was harmless, according
to the FBI.
FBI agent Steve Dupre said the arrest is
not connected to another series of bogus mailings containing a white powder
that were sent to financial institutions last week.
More mailings will probably be received
over the next period; recipients of these mailings are advised to contact their
local FBI office so that FBI officers can collect the packages, Dupre said.
Keyser was president or the contact person
for a number of groups and organizations including Business Terror Watch, Call
And Save Taiwan, AIDS Initiative, AIDS Watch, Save Our Schools, Neighborhood
Terror Watch, and Save Our Redwoods Inc.
Anthrax is an acute disease in humans and
animals caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis which is highly lethal in
some forms. Its spores can be grown in vitro and be used as a biological
weapon. When spores are inhaled, or come into contact with a skin lesion on a
host they reactivate and multiply rapidly. The infections are easily treated if
they are caught early. If someone has inhaled anthrax, the chances of survival
are best if antibiotic treatment begins within 48 hours.
In the anthrax attacks that occurred less
than a month after the September 11, 2001, suicide attacks, five people died;
two of them were postal workers. The anthrax mailings that were contaminated
with anthrax spores were sent to media organizations and politicians. After the
anthrax attacks, thousands of people took antibiotics to prevent infection in
case of exposure to the deadly spores.
