Richard Jewell first got the world’s attention when the security guard spotted a suspicious bag at Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park in 1996. The bag had a live bomb that detonated minutes after spectators began to evacuate. At the time, Jewell was credited for saving countless lives and was quickly considered a hero. At least for a few days.
Jewell would soon become the FBI’s main suspect and the same media that was once praising him, was soon trying to convict him in the court of public opinion. It would take nearly three months for Jewell to be cleared.
The incredible story of Richard Jewell is now being told in the new Clint Eastwood film that shares his name.
Earlier this week, The Fox News Rundown’s Dave Anthony spoke with former Wall Street Journal editor Kevin Salwen and former US Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Kent Alexander to revisit what happened in 1996.
The authors of “The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle” looked in to Jewell’s case and explained on The Rundown why he went from hero to villain so quickly.
Salwen and Alexander discussed how both overzealous investigators and journalist mistreated Jewell and why it took so long to clear his name.
On The Fox News Rundown Extra you will hear more about the case from Kevin Salwen and Kent Alexander. The authors also discuss Clint Eastwood’s new movie, and their roles as contributing sources on the film.
