Eric Rudolph, the longtime fugitive charged in the 1996 Olympic Park bombing and in attacks at an abortion clinic and a gay nightclub, was arrested early Saturday in the mountains of North Carolina.
The FBI confirmed Rudolph’s identity through a fingerprint match, authorities said. “Eric Robert Rudolph, the most notorious American fugitive on the FBI’s most wanted list, has been captured and will face American justice,” Attorney General John Ashcroft said Saturday. “This sends a clear message that we will never cease in our efforts to hunt down all terrorists, foreign or domestic, and stop them from harming the innocent.” Rudolph was captured when Police Officer Jeffrey Postdale spotted a man rooting through a trash bin behind a grocery and, worried that he might try to break into a business, arrested him, Chief Mark Thigpen said. Rudolph had a large flashlight and a backpack but wasn’t armed. Full Story
