Original subtitles

Yep, been open 35 years.

Only closed for five months when I had my back surgery.

Then you pretty much know everyone around here.

Everyone but you.

I work for the phone company.

We're looking at putting up a new tower to get you better coverage.

To make your phones work better, you need a closer signal.

Oh, well, when I win the lottery and get a cellphone,

I will send you a thank-you.

So, we have a field crew.

They're coming up tomorrow to survey some possible locations,

and I would like to have them stay here

if it's not too much trouble and if you're not too full.

Oh, honey. In the off-season,

I got more rooms than you know what to do with.

I ain't lying. I appreciate the business.

Great. Sandy, thank you.

Now, you are in cabin 6 right down there to your left.

-Okay. Perfect. Thank you. -Mm-hmm.

We've got two teams in place,

three more on the ground within the week.

Won't the locals notice all the new faces?

All it takes is one suspicious local to make one comment

to Ted Kaczynski, and he's gone forever.

Or worse-- he booby-traps the woods, fortifies his cabin.

Well, we're pulling the top surveillance teams

in the country.

Our guys are being extremely careful.

It's a slow-build operation, deep cover.

And plus, as far as we can tell,

Kaczynski hasn't set foot outside his cabin

since we started watching him.

He's not seeing or hearing much of anything.

We're paralyzed until we get a warrant.

So until he slips up

and gives us a probable cause for a search,

watch and wait's the only move we've got.

How long?

I'm guessing three months, maybe six.

Depends on what we can build.

He could send his next incriminating letter tomorrow

or walk out the door holding a bomb next week.

We can't move in until they find something

that definitively links Kaczynski to Unabom,

and something more than language.

I know Fitz is comparing the Kaczynski docs

with the Unabom docs, but there's no precedent for it.

We need something concrete.

All right. Let's keep up the momentum.

And remember, whatever agents you need, you get.

Poach them from wherever you can.

That's it.

He said he was a producer with 60 Minutes

and the CBS Evening News, Don.

I know who Joe Birdland is!

You got a lot of people pissed off at ya, Don.

And when FBI guys get pissed off, they call me.

Who called you?

-Who didn't call me? -Huh.

You poached men from half the FBI field offices in this country.

What the hell did you think was gonna happen, huh?

Every call I get is some new S.A.C. begging for your blood.

I got multiple Bureau sources telling me Polish last name,

Lincoln, Montana, Ted something-insky.

Look, I don't wanna be here. I didn't pursue this story.

But I'll be damned if I'm gotta let ABC get there first.

Do you have any idea what a huge favor

I'm doing for you right now?

If this was ABC, NBC, or goddamn PBS, you know,

none of these guys would be here giving you the heads-up.

You'd be watching it on live TV right now, okay?

So count your lucky stars that CBS got it first.

And in the spirit of public service,

we're gonna hold the story for 24 hours.

24 hours? Joe, listen to me!

If you break this before we get in and he hears--

He's got guns. He's got bombs.

24 hours, then we go live. Good luck, Don.

We're screwed.

How are we gonna go from a six-month timeline to one day?

Yeah, I know, Cole. But this is what we have.

I want you on a plane to Helena.

I want boots on the ground A.S.A.P.

Gonna have to call in favors--

San Francisco S.W.A.T., local forestry--

Take whatever you need!

We got 24 hours before this blows up!

Fitz! Genelli!

Get on the phone right away--

every car-rental place for 100 miles.

I've got Steve Freccero at the D.O.J. on alert.

Write up a warrant. When Greccero signs off on it,

we're gonna submit it to the judge.

Take whatever you need and whoever you need

and get this done. Go.

I'll start working on the affidavit.

You know, right now, the only the thing

that ties Kaczynski to the Unabomber is language.

Right, right! So write it up quickly, quickly!

But for a warrant, we're gonna have to give probable cause.

Is forensic linguistics gonna be enough?

You've been insisting for the last month that you had proof!

-what are you talking about?! -I should've said--

Write it up! Write it up!

Well, calvary's here.

-Special Agent McDaniel? -That's me!

-Stan Cole. -Hell of an entrance.

What is this-- Desert Storm?

This is just the tip of the spear.

The rest are in transit from Helena.

We'll have 100 agents on the ground within an hour.

You can mobilize 100 agents in five hours?

What, did you empty out the whole San Fran office?

Whole West Coast. Now all I need's a damn warrant.

You don't have a warrant?

Okay. Here's what we're doing. You have about 150 letters

known to be from Ted Kaczynski on the table.

You have copies of the manifesto,

which I know you've all read.

And we are looking for parallel ideas, parallel concepts,

parallel phrasing between the Ted letters

compared to the manifesto.

We need to compile as many language clues

as we can to prove that the man who wrote those letters

is the man who wrote the manifesto,

and we need to find enough so no one says it's a coincidence.

So...

Needle in a haystack.

Who said that? Who said that?

It's in there! You'll find it! Now do your job! Start looking!

Okay. What do you got?

Tear-gas canister gets him out.

Operators grab him before he can cough up dinner.

And he burns the evidence while igniting whatever booby traps

he's set on his property the last 20 years, and he kills himself.

So then, what's the plan?

It's gonna be low-impact. Nothing tactical.

Just your regular, average

Tuesday afternoon in rural Montana.

Let's look alive, people!

We got 19 hours and change.

Assistant U.S. attorney Steve Freccero.

I'm your D.O.J. liaison.

You got something for me to read?

-Fitz! -Got it!

We found hundreds of language comparisons

between Ted's letters and the manifesto.

You want me to send in an arrest warrant

to a federal judge based on-- on spelling?

-Yeah. -It's not just that.

No, no, you're not even close

to meeting the burden of proof here.

If I'm gonna put my name on this warrant,

you have to give me more.

That's what we have when we go in in 18 hours.

No. Evidence. Probable cause. That's what I want.

I'm on your side. I'll wait here all night if I have to.

But if I don't see probable cause, I don't sign.

You'll need to do better than this.

Okay. Sure. Come on.

Agent Cole, this is Jerry Burns with the Forest Service.

You know Kaczynski personally?

I see him sometimes, riding his bike.

I've talked to him. Twice.

Which makes you practically brothers.

No one talks to Kaczynski much,

except for the librarian and her kid.

But he knows you. He knows who you are.

Oh, yeah, yeah. He'd-- He'd recognize me.

Why?

Well, we need to execute a warrant on Ted's cabin.

Oh, boy. What'd Ted get into?

We have reason to believe that Ted Kaczynski's the Unabomber.

Gosh.

If he's actually the Unabomber, that's not a cabin.

It's...

That's a bomb factory.

He's been holed up over a month.

He's barely stepped foot outside his cabin,

and we gotta get him out.

But delicately.

That's why I called you, Jerry.

You're the Unabomber's best friend.

You are gonna lure him out for us.

No, no. Not after...

That's Cole. Again.

Okay. We're moving forward. Team leaders, step in.

-Wait. What is this? -It's everything we've got.

I didn't ask for just more of the same.

I asked for better. I need a smoking gun, guys.

It can be language, I guess.

But if I'm submitting this to a judge,

I need to be able to prove to my bosses that I made a solid call.

Is this about protecting your career, Steve?

This is about protecting the United States Constitution.

We're down to the wire here, and I'm not gonna lose this guy

'cause you're eyeing your promotion.

Well, go find a smoking gun because I can't sign anything until you do.

Freccero won't sign! We gave him everything.

He says he needs a smoking gun.

Are you kidding me?!

Listen, Fitz. This op is a go.

We're arresting him at dawn. You've got six hours.

You will get that warrant.

How long we got?

Shit. God damn it! Whose is that?

This is evidence. Right? Right?

-Okay, everyone. -I-I can't work this way.

-Let's just take a break. -I can't work like this.

Get a coffee, stretch your legs. Go outside, get some air.

That's an order. Come on. Let's go.

Damn.

I'm doing my best.

I know you are.

I'm just telling you, we're almost ready to go here.

You'll have it when I find it.

You're in here.

And I'll find you.

I'll find you.

"Eat your cake."

Paragraph 1-8-5.

Paragraph 1-8-5. Paragraph 1-8-5!

Paragraph 1-8-5!!

These are letters to the editor Ted wrote in the early '70s.

His mom saved a copy.

Read here.

"You can't eat your cake and have it, too."

It's supposed to be the other way around, right?

"Have your cake, eat it, too."

The Unabomber manifesto-- paragraph 1-8-5.

"You can't eat your cake and have it, too."

He wrote it wrong twice.

No, he wrote it right twice. That is the correct phrase.

We stopped saying it that way nearly 400 years ago,

but Kaczynski uses it correctly.

All the rest of us say it wrong.

Holy shit.

You said you wanted a smoking gun.

How about a smoking proverb?

Now sign the warrant.

I'll call the judge.

That's good work, Fitz.

Now push it over the finish line, and quick.

We're moving, people! Let's go!

I want everybody's radios turned down!

Check 'em right now!

I don't want any squawks or anything else tipping him off!

Let's go!

Okay. Let's see what we got here.

-Keep them back. -Yes, sir.

Time's up. What do we do?

Without a signed warrant, we're dead in the water.

You know, there's, uh, really nothing here except language.

I couldn't find a single precedent

for this kind of argument in all of Western legal history.

But then I remembered something.

I was serving in the Pacific, Okinawa.

The Japanese would-- would steal our passwords

then sneak across our lines at night.

So our sentries started using passwords

like "squirrel" and "whirlwind," "reverse."

Well, I was 18 years old on sentry duty

this pitch-black night.

The password was "liberty."

Suddenly, these dark shapes came moving toward me.

No way to tell-- G.I.s or Japanese--

until I heard the password come back.

"Riberty." "Riberty."

And we opened fire.

The way that soldier talked, the way he used language,

told us who he was.

Not so different from what you did here.

You've got your search warrant.

Now go get that son of a bitch.

Sir!

We've got it. Let's go.

Keep that goddamn press away!

Blue team, white team, spread wide.

Slow and smooth.

Watch your step. Noise to a minimum.

Blue team, take a knee. White team, move.

Green team, on me.

Blue team, target location just ahead.

Look for a good landing spot for cover.

We've deployed mobile command at zero, octo, delta.

Can we confirm position?

Copy that. Moving out.

Blue team, stay low. You're silhouetted.

Teams in position.

Green team, check.

Blue team, check.

White team, check.

All right.

Lead on, MacDuff.

Actually, it's "lay on, MacDuff."

Not "lead on."

People often misquote that line.

Don't you start with this language shit.

Remember. Let him see us.

Then we give him the cover story

and talk him out of the cabin.

Any sudden moves, try to grab him.

All right?

And try not to get blown up.

God help us.

Team approaching cabin 70 yards out.

No contact visible.

Now 60 yards out.

Team still no contact.

Watch for traps. Call out what you see.

That's the Gehring property line!

A mile east is the Scalton place!

Ted!

Ted, are you home?!

What if he doesn't come out?

Then we get a chain saw and start cutting trees.

You cut trees near someone's property around here,

they come running.

Say, Ted? I got some survey guys here.

They need to look at your property.

Hiya, Ted.

I got two men from Gehring's place

who are looking to lease the mineral rights,

and I wanted to show 'em your boundary stakes

so they wouldn't trespass on your property.

My lot is clearly marked with corner stakes.

Yeah, well, there's branches down everywhere,

and I couldn't find your northeast

or your southeast stakes.

Could you point 'em out to us?

Let me just get my coat.

Ted, you-- you act like a gentleman, and so will we!

We're with the FBI, and we have a federal warrant

to search your cabin!

You're being detained for your own safety

while the property's being searched.

Subject has been detained and is in custody.

Am I under arrest?

No.

Will you remove these handcuffs, then?

No.

If I'm not under arrest, am I free to leave?

No.

We have a search warrant that grants us

the right to detain you while we search the premises.

May I see that search warrant, please?

When we get to the command post.

Hey. This is Natalie Rogers.

Leave a message, and I'll get back to you as soon as I'm able.

- Hello? -Hey, it's Dad.

Dad! Dad!

Are you coming home? Because I have a swim meet on Friday.

I don't-- I don't know.

I don't know. I'll try. Is your mom around?

I-I wanted to tell her something.

Mom says she's asleep.

Ohh. Tell her I have great news.

Mom says I have to go now.

Okay. Okay. Well, I-- I love you.

I love you, too, Dad.

Hey, Dan, Dan.

Dan, tell your brothers that I lov--

This is a special report from ABC News.

I'm Peter Jennings at ABC world headquarters.

The FBI has arrested a man in Lincoln, Montana,

who they have had under surveillance

for the last couple of weeks

as the principal suspect in the Unabomber case.

David!

-David, get down here right now! -What? What?

Don't answer the door!

No shit, we're not gonna answer the door!

Quick. Help me. Help me.

In the search for the killer known as "the Unabomber,"

the FBI has arrested a suspect in Montana

after he was fingered by relatives.

Until and unless this citizen is proven guilty...

They said they were gonna leave us out of this.

They-- They lied to us.

CBS News correspondent Jim Stewart,

who's been following the Unabomber case

for a long time...

The longest and most intense manhunt in U.S. history

has zeroed in on a prime suspect

and may be nearing an end.

Sources tell CBS News FBI agents today

searched the home of a 53-year-old

former mathematics teacher named Theodore Kaczynski.

Copy that.

Federal agents have just informed me

they found bomb-making materials in your cabin, Ted.

Now you're under arrest.

You have the right to remain silent.

Anything you say can and will

be used against you in a court of law.

You have the right to speak to an attorney

and to have an attorney present during any questioning.

If you cannot afford a lawyer,

one will be provided for you at government expense.

Knowing and understanding your rights

as I've explained them to you,

are you willing to answer my questions

without an attorney present?

May I see the search warrant now, please?

Is there anything in or around your cabin

that can endanger the lives of the agents doing this search?

Well, this seems pretty serious.

And they say if you are ever in serious trouble,

you shouldn't talk without an attorney.

So...

I think I'll wait till I have an attorney.

Does the package under your bed contain a bomb, Mr. Kaczynski?

FBI agents entered Kaczynski's home

two miles outside Lincoln, Montana, today

armed only with a search warrant,

looking specifically for manufacturing tools

and a typewriter closely identified

with the Unabomber's work.

Over the past 17 years,

the Unabomber is believed to have mailed or planted

a total of 16 explosive devices,

killing 3 people and injuring 23 others.

Kaczynski has lived outside Lincoln

without running water or electricity

since the early 1970s.

His visits to town were infrequent,

but residents describe him

in familiar terms as a quiet loner.

Is this vest really necessary?

It's for your own protection.

Never know who might want to take a shot at the guy

who detonated a bomb

on an airliner full of women and children...

allegedly.

Let's go.

The first tip in the case came from Chicago,

from Kaczynski's own family.

Through a Washington attorney, a brother told the FBI

he had uncovered evidence

suggesting his sibling might be a suspect.

Authorities then went to the family home outside Chicago,

where they recovered printed material.

CNN's Anthony Collings joins us live

from the Justice Department with the latest. Anthony?

Well, Natalie, FBI agents

hunting for the deadly Unabomber

have detained a Montana man described as a hermit.

A neighbor identified him as Theodore Kaczynski.

EOD leader to Cole. The device has been detonated.

The cabin and perimeter is clear. Over.

Copy that. Nice work, EOD.

He's a bearded man who has been living for years

in a cabin in Lincoln, Montana.

He was detained by FBI agents

when he refused to let them in to search his home.

A man identified as Theodore Kaczynski

did graduate from Harvard in 1962.

And the University of California, Berkeley,

says a man by that name

taught in its mathematics department from nineteen--

Uh, private party. This bar's closed to the public.

It's fine.

Fitz, your money's no good here.

It's all on him, the man of the hour.

Fitzy! Eat your cake!

We owe all those individuals

and all of law-enforcement personnel

our recognition and our thanks.

I would like to particularly recognize the efforts

of FBI special agents Don Ackerman and Andy Genelli

for their tireless efforts

in bringing Mr. Kaczynski to justice.

With us live, we now go

to the head of the FBI's Unabom Task Force.

I knew language was going to be key.

And from the beginning,

I pioneered a forensic-linguistic approach

to the case that ultimately bore fruit

when I discovered the phrase,

"Eat your cake and have it, too."

It was an uphill battle getting this approach

and these new methods accepted and taken seriously.

But ultimately, as we can see, my method was vindicated...

Hey! I.D.! I.D., sir!