Anthrax hoaxes involving the use of white powder or labels to falsely suggest the use of

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

are frequently reported in the United States and globally.

Hoax A hoax (plural: hoaxes) is a widely publicised falsehood created to deceive its audience with false and often astonishing information, with the either malicious or humorous intent of causing shock and interest in as many people as possible. S ...

es have increased following the

2001 anthrax attacks The 2001 anthrax attacks, also known as Amerithrax (a portmanteau of "United States, America" and "anthrax", from its FBI case name), occurred in the United States over the course of several weeks beginning on September 18, 2001, one week after th ...

, after which no genuine anthrax attacks have occurred. The

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

and U.S. postal inspectors have responded to thousands of "white powder events" and targets have included government offices, US embassies, banks and news organizations.

History

Anthrax hoaxes were sporadically reported in the 1990s, including a petri dish in an envelope labeled "anthrachs" icsent to

B'nai B'rith B'nai B'rith International ( ; from ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit Jewish service organization and was formerly a cultural association for German Jewish immigrants to the United States. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the se ...

in Washington in 1997 that contained harmless ''

Bacillus cereus ''Bacillus cereus'' is a Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-positive Bacillus, rod-shaped bacterium commonly found in soil, food, and marine sponges. The specific name, ''cereus'', meaning "waxy" in Latin, refers to the appearance of colonies grown o ...

'', but a spate of anthrax threats followed the 1998 arrest of Larry Wayne Harris, a microbiologist and

white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

. Harris released what he said was military-grade anthrax but was actually a harmless vaccine strain, but news coverage popularized the idea of anthrax among hoaxers. In response to these hoaxes, the

CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and is headquartered in Atlanta, ...

released guidance for public health authorities for handling bioterrorism threats.

Post-2001

In the month following the

, hundreds of hoaxes were reported worldwide. Legislation was enacted in the UK in October 2001 so that anyone convicted of a hoax involving threats of biological, chemical, nuclear or

radioactive contamination Radioactive contamination, also called radiological pollution, is the deposition of, or presence of Radioactive decay, radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids, or gases (including the human body), where their presence is uni ...

would face a seven-year prison sentence. The Anti-Hoax Terrorism Act 2001 was passed by the US House of Representatives but never enacted, and legislation making terrorism hoaxes a federal offence was finally passed as part of the

Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA) is a 235-page Act of Congress, signed by President George W. Bush, that broadly affects United States federal terrorism laws. The act comprises several separate titles with var ...

of 2004.

Cases

One of the most prolific hoaxers was Clayton Waagner, an

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

activist who mailed hundreds of anthrax hoax letters to abortion clinics in late 2001 and who was convicted in December 2003. A Sacramento man, Marc M. Keyser, admitted to sending around 120 packages marked as containing anthrax in October 2008, which he says was to highlight the lack of preparedness of the

U.S. Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions involv ...

and public for an anthrax attack. He was convicted in September 2009 of five counts of hoaxes and making threats and sentenced to four years in prison in late April 2010. In November 2008, white powder was mailed to temples of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, causing both to be closed temporarily while the mailings were investigated. There was speculation the mailings were in protest of the church's support for

Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage. It passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned by the ...

. Notable recipients of anthrax hoax letters include journalist

Judith Miller Judith Miller (born January 2, 1948) is an American journalist and commentator who is known for writing about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program both before and after the 2003 invasion, but her writings were later discov ...

, author of '' Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War'', who received one at the ''New York Times'' offices in October 2001.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anthrax Hoaxes Hoaxes 2001 anthrax attacks Anthrax Hoaxes in the United States 2001 hoaxes