In Test, Anthrax Smuggled to House Hearing
A leading U.S. expert on biological warfare walked through security at the Rayburn House Office Building on Wednesday carrying 7 grams of powdered anthrax in a small plastic bottle, proceeding directly to a hearing about biological terrorism before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and displaying his deadly sample.
The expert, William C. Patrick III, said he was trying to show how a hostile state could smuggle powdered anthrax into the United States in a secure diplomatic pouch and attack major federal government installations almost at will.
“I’ve been through all the major airports and the security systems of the State Department, the Pentagon, even the CIA [carrying the anthrax], and nobody has stopped me,” Patrick told the intelligence panel.
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