Kaczynski Angered By Predatory Home Loan

AUGUST 12--Imprisoned Unabomber Ted Kaczynski is upset that his former Montana cabin is on display at a Washington, D.C. museum, contending that the FBI's decision to allow its "public exhibition" runs counter to his victims's desire to limit further publicity about the deadly terror spree.

Kaczynski, housed in the "supermax" federal prison in Florence, Colorado, learned of the cabin's display via a June 19 ad in the Washington Post, according to a handwritten letter he recently sent to a three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals panel. A copy of the letter can be found here.

Referring to "publicity created by the government," Kaczynski, 66, reported that the cabin "is being exhibited publicly at something called a 'Newseum.'" Opened in April, the institution bills itself as a "museum of news...that blends five centuries of news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits."

Kaczynski's 10x12-foot cabin is the central artifact in an exhibit chronicling the FBI's first 100 years (the residence is found in a section titled "A Mad Bomber and His Manifesto"). Kaczynski sought to call the appellate panel's attention to the Newseum display since the judges have been dealing with the killer's bid to halt the auction of his journals, correspondence, and lengthy manifesto.

The subject of the privacy rights of Kaczynski's victims has been frequently addressed in recent Court of Appeals filings. Noting that the Post ad describes the cabin as coming "FROM FBI VAULT," Kaczynski remarked that "the government is responsible for the public exhibition of the cabin. This has obvious relevance to the victims' objection to publicity connected with the Unabom case."

He added, "I don't think I need to say anything further; the Court can draw its own conclusions." (3 pages)