Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, who the FBI dubbed the “Unabomber,” died on Saturday, June 10, at a federal prison medical center in Butner, North Carolina.
Unabomber Ted Kaczynski found dead in prison cellhttps://t.co/0tBNm5Vhhe
— Breaking News (@jooilong) June 10, 2023
According to Reports on Blaze Media, Kaczynski was found unresponsive in his cell on Saturday morning and was pronounced dead at about 8 a.m.
Kristie Breshears, a spokesperson for the federal Bureau of Prisons, confirmed the news of Kaczynski’s death to The Associated Press. She, however, noted that the cause of death was not immediately known.
Before his death, Kaczynski was serving four life sentences plus 30 years for carrying out a series of bombings that killed three Americans and injured 23 more. Kaczynski’s reign of terror lasted 17 years, beginning in 1978.
Breaking news: Ted Kaczynski has died in prison at 81. As the Unabomber, the anti-technology anarchist sowed fear and death for 17 years. https://t.co/eIMR2FKlc1
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 10, 2023
During those 17 years, Kaczynski mailed and, in some cases, hand-delivered homemade bombs. He also threatened to blow up airliners and sent universities into panic mode. Kaczynski’s first attack was at a Chicago university.
Kaczynski’s fall began in 1995 when he forced The Washington Post and The New York Times to publish his 35,000-word manifesto, titled “Industrial Society and Its Future,” Kaczynski’s brother, David, and David’s wife, Linda Patrik, recognized the treatise’s tone and contacted the FBI.
David provided letters and documents written by Kaczynski to the FBI. A linguistic analyst later determined that the manifesto and the documents David provided were written by the same person.
Authorities arrested Kaczynski at a cabin near Lincoln, Montana. Authorities also found bomb-making materials at the cabin, along with several journal pages. Kaczynski pleaded guilty in 1998 and was sentenced to life in a supermax prison in Colorado.
Kaczynski, 81, was moved to the U.S. Bureau of Prison’s FMC Butner medical center in eastern North Carolina on Dec. 14, 2021. While Kaczynski was most likely moved to the facility due to his health condition, authorities did not reveal the reason for the transfer.
The medical facility, located just northeast of Durham, provides medical care such as surgery, neurodiagnostic and dialysis for prisoners. The medical facility has housed notable prisoners such as the former Oklahoma zookeeper, “Tiger King” Joe Exotic and John Hinckley Jr. Hinckley was evaluated at the facility after he shot President Ronald Reagan.
