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Bruce Ivins was an American biodefense researcher who was suspected of being the mastermind behind the 2001 anthrax attacks in the US, which took place in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks.
Now, two decades later, Netflix's crime documentary The Anthrax Attacks: In the Shadow of 9/11 will delve deeper into the case, which was considered the biggest event of bio-terrorism in America.
Ivins died of a drug overdose in July 2008, a week before the Federal Bureau of Investigation named him as the prime suspect in their final report, and thus, was not prosecuted.
Actor Clark Gregg has stepped into the shoes of Bruce Ivins for the documentary The Anthrax Attacks: In the Shadow of 9/11 which will premiere on Netflix on September 8.
Netflix's synopsis of the upcoming documentary reads:
Five Americans were killed, and at least 17 fell ill in what became one of the worst biological attacks in U.S. history, which followed one week after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Unfolding across America and beyond, it’s an incredible scientific tale of deadly poison, obsession, and paranoia, all told against the backdrop of the war on terror.
Read on to find out more about why Bruce Ivins was considered the mastermind of the anthrax attack of 2001.
Reasons why Bruce Ivins was suspected in the 2001 anthrax attacks
Bruce Ivins was a scientist at the US government's biodefense labs at Fort Detrick and was a top biodefense researcher. He also worked at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) for 18 years.
According to NPR, Bruce Ivins was a leading anthrax expert who helped the FBI with the anthrax attack investigation. However, he was brought under the radar for not reporting "his unauthorized decontamination of more than 20 areas within the Army lab in late 2001 and early 2002."
Bioweapons expert Steven Hatfill was the first to have sprung up on the FBI's list of suspects. While Hatfill was exonerated, Bruce Ivins' name propped up after an investigation found a vial of anthrax in his lab, among other pieces of evidence.
In a press statement, several officials associated with the investigation added that a possible reason behind Ivins' anthrax attack could have been the failure of an anthrax vaccine that he was working on in 2001.
FBI officials also shed light on Ivins' history of struggles with his mental health as a contributing factor to his actions, in addition to his long hours at the labs "where the flask of spores and production equipment were stored."
The veracity of the FBI's claims about Ivins being the primary suspect was questioned by institutions such as the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), which reviewed the investigation through a report titled Review of the Scientific Approaches Used During the FBI's Investigation of the 2001 Anthrax Letters.
More information about Netflix documentary The Anthrax Attack: In the Shadow of 9/11
The Anthrax Attacks: In the Shadow of 9/11 is a crime documentary that was helmed by the popular Oscar-nominated director Dan Krauss, who has also worked on projects including The Kill Team and Extremis.
The Anthrax Attacks: In the Shadow of 9/11 features the following actors:
- Clark Gregg
- Regan Burns
- Brigitte Kali Canales
- Tongayi Chirisa
- Peri Gilpin
- John Redlinger
- Derek Phillips
- Chris Johnson
