Man Sentenced to 19 Years for Anthrax Hoaxes

A Pennsylvania man who sent hundreds of letters with fake anthrax to abortion clinics was sentenced to 19 years in prison yesterday, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Aug. 24, 2004).

Clayton Lee Waagner, who believed God told him to kill abortion providers, was convicted of 51 charges in 2003 including extortion and threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction. He was also found guilty of posting threatening messages on an anti-abortion Web site, according to AP.

The letters were sent from a Federal Express office in Philadelphia in late 2001, in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks and anthrax mailings.

“He wanted to exploit the moment to use the anxiety and panic caused by those other terrorist acts to fuel his own brand of terror,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Barrett (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, July 8).

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