Richard Jewell is considered the hero of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. While working as a security guard at the Olympic Park, Jewell discovered a backpack containing three pipe bombs on the park grounds. He alerted police and helped evacuate the area before the bomb exploded, saving many people from injury or death. Initially hailed by the media as a hero, he was soon considered a suspect by the FBI and local law enforcement. Though never charged, he underwent a \”trial by media,” which took a toll on his personal and professional life.
About Richard Jewell in brief
Richard Jewell is considered the hero of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. While working as a security guard at the Olympic Park, Jewell discovered a backpack containing three pipe bombs on the park grounds. He alerted police and helped evacuate the area before the bomb exploded, saving many people from injury or death. Initially hailed by the media as a hero, he was soon considered a suspect by the FBI and local law enforcement. Though never charged, he underwent a \”trial by media,” which took a toll on his personal and professional life. Eric Rudolph eventually confessed and pleaded guilty to that bombing and other attacks. The media circus surrounding the investigation, which was leaked to the press, has been widely cited as an example of law enforcement and media excesses. Jewell was the subject of the 2019 film Richard Jewell, directed by Clint Eastwood. He also appears as a primary protagonist in season 2 of the drama anthology series Manhunt. The FBI thoroughly and publicly searched his home twice, questioned his associates, investigated his background, and maintained 24-hour surveillance of him. A Justice Department investigation of the FBI’s conduct found the FBI had tried to manipulate Jewell into waiving his constitutional rights by telling him he was taking part in a training film about bomb detection.
On October 26, the US Attorney in Atlanta sent Jewell a letter saying that he is considered a target of the federal criminal investigation into the 1996 Atlanta bombing. The letter did not include an apology, but in a separate statement issued by S. B. Alexander, the U.S. Justice Department regretted the leaking of the investigation and that Jewell has no time in connection with the bombing, that was neither designed nor desired by the F.A.J.C. The bomb exploded 13 minutes later, killing Alice Hawthorne and injuring over one hundred others. A cameraman also died of a heart attack while running to cover the incident. This discovery was nine minutes before Rudolph called 9-1-1 to deliver a warning. Three days later, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution revealed that the FBI was treating him as a possible suspect, based largely on a leaked \”lone bomber\” criminal profile. The New York Times reported in October 1996, that a number of law-enforcement officials have said privately for months that they thought Mr. Jewell had been involved in the bombing.
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This page is based on the article Richard Jewell published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 17, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
