Fearing Terror Abroad, But Ignoring Within
June 3 -- Since Sept. 11, 2001, the specter of international terror has haunted many Americans, but the capture of suspected serial bomber Eric Robert Rudolph serves as a grim reminder of the dangers that could be lurking at home.
"People feel more threatened by international terrorism, but one of the things that people forget is Oklahoma City," said Ed Bridgeman, the director of the Center for Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati.
The April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City was the most devastating terror attack that Americans ever faced on home soil until September 2001.
The man convicted of and executed for the bombing, Timothy McVeigh, was a Gulf War veteran angry over the fiery end of the government siege on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas.
Rudolph, the 36-year-old outdoorsman arrested this weekend in the mountains of North Carolina, is accused of carrying out a string of bombings including the blast at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
His former sister-in-law, Deborah Rudolph, has said the bombing suspect hated Jews and homosexuals and feared abortions were diminishing the white population.
Rudolph, like McVeigh, apparently subscribed to a right-wing, anti-federal government ideology. But these homegrown haters may be overlooked because they are more familiar.
"Anybody is scared of something that comes out of the dark," Bridgeman said. "The American types are largely regarded as good 'ol boys."
Anti-government movements in the United States share some ideology with al Qaeda and other foreign terrorist groups.
"Many of the right-wing paramilitaries feel exactly the same way about the government [that international terrorists do] — that it's evil, corrupt — the spawn of the devil," Bridgeman said.
Al Qaeda Steals the Attention
While al Qaeda and the international war on terror get more headlines these days, there have been a number of recent high-profile arrests or convictions that might be considered domestic terrorism:
Popular Reads
ABC News Live