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American Shrapnel Part 6: The women who stood in front of Eric Rudulph's violence
When the bomb hidden in the plastic tackle box detonated on Jan. 29, 1998, it was the latest in a series of attacks on abortion clinics throughout the United States. Emily Lyons, the nurse who was severely injured in the attack, had noted the tense atmosphere but her dedication to her work outweighed any sense of real fear. But Diane Derzis, who owned the New Woman All Women clinic, had been bracing herself for something like this to happen.
When it finally did, she was certain she knew the bomber—surely it was one of the dedicated protesters who were nearly as familiar to her as her own staff. But, of course, it wasn't—it was a total stranger who had been radicalized through extremist literature distributed by groups like the Army of God. Those radicalizing forces, which would be easy to dismiss as a product of the turbulent 90s, are still very much in play today.
American Shrapnel is an eight-part series from Alabama Media Group. It starts with the biggest pipe bomb the FBI had ever seen. It ends in a dumpster, after the largest manhunt in U.S. history. This is the story of Eric Rudolph and the rise of American rage. Available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
Read the original article on MassLive.
