did the fbi ever apologize to richard jewell

Suppose that CNN had been more nuanced and called Jewell a person of interest; our repetitive and relentless coverage would still have made it look like the authorities thought he was the culprit," wrote Schuster. Richard Jewells quick thinking thrust him into the international spotlight. It was a little after 1 in the morning July 27, 1996. In its rush for the headline that the `hero' was the bomber, the media cared nothing for my feelings as a human being. Im listing my assets, which, judging by the number of suits youve initiated, will interest you. I assume that they just got wrapped up in the euphoria, like everybody else. 2022 Blaze Media LLC. Richard Jewell reaches monetary settlement with former employer first of two nearly unintelligible tweets. The tip was confirmed by another source, who worked with the Atlanta police. In the aftermath of the attack, investigators found that the perpetrator had planted nails inside a pipe bomb, a sinister creation meant to inflict maximum harm. I was feeling fine, thank you, even after my surgery, until I read the Times. "But I dont hold it against them. First, he says he merely reported what an FBI official told him, adding further that he only speculated why Jewell was a suspect. Hed give you the shirt off his back.". . Former investigative journalist for CNN, Henry Schuster, penned an open letter of apology to Richard Jewell, the security guard who was falsely accused of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta, and the inspiration for Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood's latest film by the same name. As a result of the Jewell debacle, two FBI agents were censured and one was suspended for five days without pay. I felt like a hunted animal, followed constantly, waiting to be killed.". The letter did not include an apology, but in a separate statement issued by Alexander, the U.S. Justice Department regretted the leaking of the investigation. It is true. Longtime NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw apologized in a tweet for reporting speculation thatsecurity guard Richard Jewell played arole inthe 1996 Atlanta bombing. Jewells commitment to upholding the law was obvious from the way he talked about things related to police work even after his mistreatment by the FBI. Kent Alexander is the U.S. Attorney who was assigned to investigate the bombing at Centennial Olympic Park on July 27, 1996. When identified as a hero, Jewell said no, he had simply done his job as a security guard. In that critical moment, which is also depicted in the film, Jewell cautioned his colleagues about getting near the bag and instead called it in as a suspicious package. 2023 Blaze Media LLC. NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw said of Jewell: "Look, they probably got enough to arrest him. It was Scruggs who first publicly pinpointed security guard Richard Jewell as an FBI suspect in the bombing, leading to the one-time heros shattered reputation and media hounding. And now all America thinks Im the biggest downside to your unwanted notoriety? ", NBC entertainment personality Jay Leno joked that Jewell was the "Una-doofus. In supposed apology to Richard Jewell, Tom Brokaw revises history Erik S. Lesser/Getty ImagesEric Rudolph, the real bomber behind the Olympic Park attack, pled guilty in 2005. The lead anchor then moved on to the next news item without offering an apology to the hero of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing. While he was hailed Think how much worse it would have been for Jewell in 2019. I was raised in the mountains of Virginia so I wasnt surprised by his palaver but something seemed amiss. Richard Jewell Saved Dozens During The 1996 Olympics Bombing Then Was Falsely Accused Of Perpetrating It. Agents searched his home. This is a story where the pressure was intense, Rankin said. A 21-year-old police officer happened upon one of America's most-wanted criminals, apprehended him and is being called a hero. The game would be over. Kathy Scruggs, a police reporter at the publication, had apparently received a tip from a friend in the federal bureau that the agency was looking at Richard Jewell as a suspect in the bombing investigation. ", Brokaws idle speculation and sloppy reporting ended up costing NBC more than $500,000 in a settlement to Jewell. Richard Jewell called Bryant and asked Bryant to represent him. Prices go up tomorrow, May 1! But just a few days later, media reports surfaced that the FBI had made Jewell the prime suspect in the bombing. I hope youre feeling better.. When did you change your mind about me? Mike Wallace of CBS' "60 Minutes" interviewed Jewell in 2002. He started chatting me up at race-horse pace, telling me he was from Maryland, been living down here for twenty years, worked as a long-haul truck driver, and had lost $5,000 gambling last year at a nearby Cherokee Indian casino. richard and his mother went through a painful time which i deeply regret. Other news outlets picked up the bombshell story and used similar language to profile Jewell, painting him as a lone-man bomber and wannabe cop. I remember seeing things falling from the sky as I started to get my wits about me. If innocent people were killed in the crackdowns on gun owners, the feds would very likely have to contend with the long-range .50 caliber armor-piercing bullets from Barrett sniper rifles, developed by a Tennessee boy a few decades ago. On July 27, 1996, a pipe bomb went off at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, where the worlds athletes and media were gathered for the Olympic games. On July 30, 1996, FBI agents Don Johnson and Diader Rosario brought Jewell to the agencys headquarters for questioning under the guise of helping them make a training video for first responders. Because when I told you I planned to write the piece, you had expressed apprehension over how it would turn out. but my last line was for now hes just a person of interest. I asked Dennis why he suspected I was an undercover agent. I thought, Uh-oh. FBI joins manhunt for Texas killer who has been on the run for 36 hours after murdering family of five - including eight-year-old - after they asked him to stop firing his And he deserves something else, something that a true hero of the Olympic Games should get from a grateful nation. Clint Eastwoods 'Richard Jewell' prompts apology from Freeh was an idiot, didn't want Later reports revealed severe mismanagement during the Olympic Park bombing investigation and what really happened to Richard Jewell during the case. Two minutes later, a big ol bald guy named Dennis came bounding out of the hardware store and asked in a booming voice, What part of Maryland you from?. However, when he arrived, they began questioning him about the bombing. The security guard was cleared last month as a suspect in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing. Jewells date with Hollis Gillespie, an Atlanta freelance writer whom he had met on an airplane, seems to have deflated his dreams of normalcy.. FBI agents lured Jewell over to their Atlanta office and asked him to help them make a training film about detecting bombs. Richard please dont tell me your mother raised you to question a ladys honor. As part of their investigation into Richard Jewell, the FBI searched the home he lived in with his mother and left with some of her possessions, including VHS tapes and tupperware. This only further fueled speculation that Richard Jewell was guilty. helped make Richard Jewell famous - and destroyed his You thanked me for what wrote about you. The FBI agents had told Richard Jewell that he was going to their Atlanta headquarters to help create a police training video. All Rights Reserved. "This was 1996, the dawn of the Internet age, so the process took some time. You cant see squat, and there are sudden cliffs and rocks, and you could get shot or blown up at any time. It didnt help when he left his home escorted by two FBI agents. But my last line was for now hes just a person of interest. Being the vigilante that he was, Jewell promptly went to report the drunken litterbugs. Jewells attorney, G. Watson Bryant, said he did not expect Renos apology but that it would not affect his plans to sue FBI agents and personnel in the U.S. Maybe we can shoot a game of pool or something, or maybe I can cook you some lasagna or spaghetti or something. Liar. If the FBI, and CNN, and NBC, and the New York Post, and the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and All Of Us, could get the Atlanta bombing so tragically wrong in 1996, they, and we, can do it today. The FBI decided that 33-year-old security guard Richard Jewell, who had found the bomb and helped clear the area and minimize fatalities, had also planted the bomb. Of course, any misstatement by the subject results in an instant felony charge. Congress has dismally failed to perform its duty in keeping an eye and a leash on federal agencies armed with massive firepower and even more deadly legal authority. "For 88 days I lived a nightmare," Jewell said later. The infamous case was later explored in the 2019 movie Richard Jewell. Eric Rudolph, 36, was arrested Saturday morning in North Carolina and charged with multiple crimes, including the 1996 Atlanta bombing. Nor, for that matter, have the people of Georgia who spat on him. After about a minute, he decided I wasnt a G-man, got back up, and gave me a hearty handshake. Watch the video below for more information: Use code GLENN20OFF to save $20 on one year of BlazeTV for a limited time only. He took a lie-detector test. Shortly after the bomb blast, which resulted in two deaths and over 100 people injured, Jewell was named a suspect, and for weeks, his life was at the center of a media firestorm. But I didnt. And years later in 2005, another man named Eric Rudolph pleaded guilty to planting the bomb. A couple of things stand out in Brokaw's remarks. I helped make Richard Jewell famous and ruined his life in the After reading about the wrongfully accused Richard Jewell, learn about two actual bombers: Ted Kaczynski, the serial-killing Unabomber, and the Mad Bomber George Metesky, who terrorized New York City for 16 years. You hope that you can make it so it has an entertainment value and a value of information out there," Eastwood said. But no one else can be held accountable for the mismanagement of the investigation except for the bureau. Jewell But in 1997 Senate testimony, FBI chief Louis Freeh denied that Jewells rights were violated because he did not incriminate himself. We use cookies to better understand website visitors, for advertising, and to offer you a better experience. Big city journalist. As Investors Business Daily noted, Jewell was the bureaus top suspect, a fact that was leaked to the press in time for cameras to catch agents poring over Jewells home. FBI leaks led to 88 days of hell for Jewell, who saw his life and reputation dragged in the gutter day after day. I was thinking to myself, Well, I am sure one of these people left it on the ground,' Jewell said. Richard Jewell was 44 years old when he died in 2007 of a heart attack. A Vanity Fair report a year after the bombing revealed internal tensions stemming from toxic rivalries and a micromanaging leadership, specifically from then-FBI Director Louis Freeh, within the agency. . Not long after the explosion, Atlantas Centennial Olympic Park was swarming with federal agents. All rights reserved. ATLANTA (AP) _ Jay Leno said he was sorry, but that didnt appease Richard Jewells lawyers. He was wrongly accused. This article was originally published in the July 2020 edition of Future of Freedom. On Oct. 26 of that year, he was officially cleared. Yes, for sure. This is not good.'. "I remember the heat," Davis said. "Youre making a film. Before he emerged into the public consciousness, Richard Jewell led a fairly mundane life. We knew very little for a fact in the next few hours except that the emergency rooms were busy. Wood declined to say what led to the settlement or how much money Jewell will get. Less than 72 hours earlier, Jewell was being credited with helping to save lives by being the first to spot the pipe bomb. Ted Kaczynski, the serial-killing Unabomber. Eric Robert Rudolph has never apologized to Jewell. Brokaws apologies do not cut it, Wood told the Washington Examiner. Blue Ridge Outdoors noted that the FBI came in with bloodhounds, electronic motion detectors, and heat-sensing helicopters. Rockville, I replied. After that, he worked all sorts of odd jobs, from managing a local yogurt shop to working as a jailer at the Habersham County Sheriffs Office in northeastern Georgia, staying with his mom all the while. In reality, the FBI soon stopped investigating Jewell when they realized that he wasnt the man they were looking for. it could have been anybody. . . He writes, when the truth emerged i apologized., This is true, according to former Jewell attorney Lin Wood. The directions to the inn were lame and after roaming that zip code for half an hour, I pulled into a parking lot in front of a hardware store in Whittier to cuss and recheck the map. After the investigation, Richard Jewell sued several news outlets for libel and won settlements from Piedmont College, the New York Post, CNN, and NBC (the latter for a reported $500,000). Jewell, 34, worked as a security officer at the college in Demorest, Ga., before taking a job last summer as a guard at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. . I thanked him for the invite but said we wanted to head on to Asheville to hear some great fiddling. The story I wrote about you appeared in this magazine last April. The Atlanta paper reported it, we ran it over and over as breaking news, and those thousands of reporters covering the Olympics had their lead," he added. Bobi Jewell, Richard Jewell's mother, said her son was "worn, torn and tattered" after the public began viewing him as a suspect rather than the hero he actually was following the bombing at Centennial Olympic Park on July 27, 1996. "NBC paid an undisclosed cash settlement to Jewell to avoid an anticipated lawsuit, but made no public apology and instead merely noted the resolution of the matter on Mondays 'NBC Nightly News,'" Variety reported at the time. And Jewell ultimately landed a position as one of the security guards working the 12-hour night shift. Perhaps more than any other incident, wrote Times-man Kevin Sack, Mr. Jay Leno got a lot of laughs from Richard Jewell jokes, but he's mostly unamused by Jewell's threat to sue. CAROL WOODFORD August 26, 1997. "She was in a room full of people that had maligned her son. I write a humor column in Atlanta., It was the second sentence out of my mouth when I met you, and I didnt say it in the secret language that Siamese twins invent, either. Out on the street, Humvees carrying soldiers rolled by. There are still some holes in this case. For their improper handling of his cases information, Jewell One of the tragedies of the Atlanta bombing is that security guard Richard Jewell, who discovered Rudolphs bomb and saved lives by starting an evacuation, "There are still some holes in this case.". . Such a portrayal makes it appear that the AJC sexually exploited its staff and/or that it facilitated or condoned offering sexual gratification to sources in exchange for stories. I watched the young cop on TV, caught in the public glare, modestly explaining that he had simply been in the right place at the right time. Both Eastwood and Hauser pushed back on these assertions. 24 hours after the bombing i talked at length with a sr fbi official - who did not wave me off jewel as a suspect. Why dont you ask me how Im feeling now, Richard? The pay? And he didnt mention my tacky request for a plug for the little biweekly newspaper that prints my humor column [for no pay, I might add). "I can understand why everybody would get defensive on this thing, but the plain facts are they were the first ones to notify the public that this was going on," Eastwood told ABC News. With all the buzz around the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Jewell figured there was probably a security job waiting for him there. Joyce Naltchayan/AFP/Getty ImagesFBI director Louis Freeh during a congressional hearing. Reexaminations of the reporting surrounding the case also revealed egregious journalistic mistakes. Twenty-three years later, the story of Jewell, who died in 2007, will be depicted in the eponymous film directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Paul Walter Hauser as Jewell and Kathy Bates as his mother, Bobi Jewell. It was, like, kaboom, Jewell said in a 1997 interview. "So, while I appreciate their opinions, if they think its going to extinguish what were trying to do with the Jewell family, they would be incorrect. A new movie about Richard Jewell is reminding Americans of one of the forgotten travesties of the 1990s. I would never agree to a FBI interview. NBC's Tom Brokaw apologizes for 1996 reporting on To lie to a suspect is one thing but being a liar to your core is another. A date with me deflated your dreams of returning to a normal life more than any other incident? Richard Jewell is not considered a target of the federal criminal investigation into the bombing on July 27, 1996, at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. And in a cruel twist of irony, Jewells intense regard for law enforcement was later painted as an obsession one that might motivate him to take extreme measures to achieve recognition. The FBI did nothing to curb the media harassment of Jewell long after it had recognized that he was innocent. I was a wannabe athlete, but I wasnt good enough, he told Vanity Fair in 1997. Let me remind you that I never misrepresented myself to you. FBI refocuses investigation "By the next day, Jewell was notorious worldwide. He received a cash settlement from NBC ($500,000, according to the Wall Street Journal) and nothing from the Atlanta newspaper. ATLANTA (AP) _ Piedmont College has agreed to pay former Olympic bombing suspect Richard Jewell to drop his lawsuit Paternalism is a desperate gamble that lying politicians will honestly care for those who fall under their power., People in Washington think I'm a redneck, and rednecks think I'm an undercover fed. "I think everybody then started focusing on Richard Jewell and turning his life inside out, and making their life a living hell, instead of running around and trying to see whether or not theres other people that couldve done this," G. Watson Bryant, Jewells longtime friend and attorney, told ABC News. Market data provided byFactset. A spokesman for the FBI stated emphatically that the search of Jewell's residence did not mean he would be charged with the crime. Most damaging was one specific sentence in the piece: Richard Jewell fits the profile of the lone bomber, which was published despite no public declarations by the FBI or criminal behavior experts. Both Jewell and Davis quickly cleared spectators out of the area around the mystery backpack. Tragically, Richard Jewells death came just two years later. But far beyond the big cities and the coastlines, federal authority hinges largely on the consent of local citizens. For an agonizing 88 days, everyone seemed to agree that Richard Jewell was guilty even though he had never even been officially charged with the crime. "But you always want to have enough to convict him as well. Can a legal challenge be brought against this? But at least Mr. Sack didnt print my ill-conceived lament to him that I wished I had never written the story about you. You dont get back what you were originally, Jewell said. He deserves a medal. 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Within days, however, the publics view of Richard Jewell flipped once Jewells hometown paper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, ran a headline reading, "FBI suspects 'hero' guard may have planted bomb. Manhunt: Deadly Games Tom Davis, a retired police officer, was stationed at Centennial Olympic Park with Richard Jewell when a bomb detonated on July 27, 1996. They dont refer to me that way anymore. They told him lies and took away his right to not self recomeration. And during our dinner at the Thai restaurant you kept saying to me, For a writer you sure dont ask many questions.. Thirty minutes before the bomb went off, a man called 911 warning of a bomb in the park and saying that it would detonate in 30 minutes. We chatted for two hours outside that hardware store before Dennis invited us to spend the night at his house. The Richard Jewell saga is a reminder of how long things have been out of control. And Id like to take this opportunity to thank you for questioning my integrity as a writer in front of the entire nation! This was just the beginning of what happened to Richard Jewell in the aftermath of the attack. They probably have enough to arrest him right now, probably enough to prosecute him, but you always want to have enough to convict him as well,"he said at the time. "But then, all of a sudden, heres somebody whos living now, [who] has lived through the whole thing. After defending his reporting as speculation based on information that came directly from the FBI,Brokaw added thathe "deeply" regrets putting Jewel's family through a "painful time." Still pending are suits against the Atlanta newspapers, the New York Post and WABC-AM radio in New York. Jewell filed suit Jan. 28 against the newspaper and the college, saying the newspaper portrayed him as a person with a ``bizarre employment history and aberrant personality who was guilty of criminal involvement in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing. He said Cleere and a college spokesman slandered him in statements to the newspaper about his job performance and personality. Because when I told you I planned to write the piece, you had expressed apprehension over Federal authorities searched Richard Jewells apartment for evidence that might link him to the bombing. The result would be like the classic bluegrass song about the revenooer who went up Rocky Top mountain and never came down.
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