Handcuffs used during arrest of Unabomber Theodore J. Kaczynski

From 1978 to 1996, a man named Ted Kaczynski mounted a campaign of terror through a series of bombs sent in the mail to university professors and airline and advertising executives. The bomber used the mail to deliver 9 of his 16 known devices. Postal inspectors and agents from the FBI and the ATF created the UNABOM Task Force (a combination of the words "UNiversity and Airline BOMber"). The press created the name Unabomber from that original task force designation.

In 1995, while still on the loose, and through anonymous letters, the Unabomber demanded the publication of what became known as the “Unabomber Manifesto” in exchange for an end to the violence. The New York Times and Washington Post published the diatribe against technological advancement on September 19, 1995. David Kaczynski recognized his brother Ted’s writing style and notified authorities. Agents surrounded a tiny cabin in Montana, arresting Kaczynski on April 3, 1996. Among the items found in the cabin was a completed bomb ready to be mailed.

Members of the UNABOM Task Force placed these cuffs on Kaczynski when they captured. Members of the Task Force presented these cuffs to Postal Inspector Anthony Muljat in recognition of his many years of tireless work on the case.

Museum ID: 2006.2031.1.1-2