America Unearthed (2012–…): Season 4, Episode 9 - Drake's Lost Treasure - full transcript
There have been
thousands of bombings
Big and small on u.S. Soil,
But very few of them have
been high-profile atrocities
With significant loss of life.
In most cases,
The criminals behind those
have been brought to justice.
People like timothy mcveigh,
The unabomber, ted kaczynski,
And ramzi yousef,
Who bombed
the world trade center
Eight years before 9/11.
But the person behind the very
first bombing in the u.S.
During peacetime
has never been identified
Until now.
The history that we were
all taught growing up is wrong.
My name is scott wolter,
and I'm a forensic geologist.
There's a hidden history in this
country that nobody knows about.
There are pyramids here,
Chambers, tombs, inscriptions.
They're all over this country.
We're gonna investigate
these artifacts and sites,
And we're gonna
get to the truth.
Sometimes, history
isn't what we've been told.
AMERICA UNEARTHED - SEASON 4
EP - 9 - Chicago's Mystery Bomber
April 15th, 2013,
The day of
the boston marathon bombing.
I remember where I was.
I was in duluth, minnesota,
Visiting my kids
when I heard two homemade bombs
Killed three people, maimed 17,
and injured hundreds of others.
This bomb, detonated
in the midst of a public event
In a major metropolitan area,
Was far from the first such
incident of domestic terror
To shake our nation to its core.
But now I find myself
investigating
What is the first such
terror bombing
On american soil
outside of war...
A deadly attack known
as the haymarket massacre,
Which happened in 1886
during a labor rights rally.
A researcher in chicago
named bleue benton
And a team of historians
Are trying to find a time
capsule rumored to hold clues
To who threw the deadly device
at haymarket.
They want to solve what is
One of the most infamous
cold cases in u.S. History,
But she says she needs
my geological expertise
To help dig it up.
Scott, thank you so much
for joining me here.
I'm actually really excited
and interested
In this whole haymarket affair
that happened back in 1886.
I mean, it was a historic event
That a lot of people
don't know about.
May 4th, 10:30 pm...
A bomb explodes in the middle
of a crowd of 400 workers
Gathered for a labor rights
rally at haymarket square.
A group of anarchist speakers
are calling for revolution
Because this is the time
of forced child labor,
80-hour work weeks,
and hellish conditions.
The bomb lands
right in front of police
Sent to break up
the boisterous rally.
The explosion and
ensuing gunfire by cops
Kills eight and wounds dozens.
To this day, the bomber
has never been identified.
Many of the anarchists,
as they were called,
That were fighting
for the rights of workers,
Are buried here, right? Yes.
This is the premiere spot
for that.
Bleue and I arrive at the place
Where brand-new research
suggests
The time capsule
that could hold clues
To the identity
of the bomber is buried,
The haymarket martyr's monument.
Erected in 1893,
This monument memorializes
five protesters
Who were arrested
after the hay market bombing
And convicted of conspiracy,
But not for throwing
the bomb itself.
One of the men killed himself
while awaiting trial.
The other four met their death
on the gallows.
And today,
their deaths are considered
The result of
a miscarriage of justice.
They died before companies
put in place
Things like the 40-hour
workweek we have today.
Lucy parsons,
who helped organize the rally,
Participated in burying
the time capsule
With contents she hoped
would one day solve the mystery.
It was a personal mission
for her
Since her husband, albert,
Was one of the men
unjustly tried and hanged.
What's in the time capsule?
There are trial transcripts,
newspaper articles, photographs.
And if we could find
this time capsule,
This could solve
the case for us.
That's exactly why we were
hoping you could come
And take a look at this.
As a geologist, we know that
You'd be bringing
expertise to this
That could be helpful.
Bleue recently discovered
a newspaper article from 1892
Documenting the burial
of the time capsule
Deep under one of
the monument's cornerstones.
My day job
is in concrete forensics,
Evaluating the structural
integrity of concrete,
Which I did after 9/11
at the pentagon
And on collapsing tunnels
in boston's big dig,
And she wants my opinion.
Well, I know a little something
about stone and concrete,
So I'm gonna take a look around.
I'll be right back.
Here's my concern...
First off, the monument
is made of granite.
This thing weights many tons,
I'm sure,
And there's no way
that they're gonna erect that
Unless they put
a footing down below.
That means we would have to dig
underneath the foundation,
And that's problematic
Because it could cause
this thing to tilt.
It would be risky.
That makes sense.
I get calls all the time
from people who need advice
On the best, safest way
to perform an excavation,
And usually, I can help.
But in this case,
there's just no way
To dig for the time capsule
Without damaging the monument,
And I don't want
to see that happen.
Well, the time capsule isn't
gonna help us in this case,
But all is not lost.
I mean, we can certainly
still investigate this.
We're gonna have to find
some other ways to gather clues
Because I would really like
to figure out
Who it was that threw that bomb.
But let's start with this.
Who would you consider
to be the prime suspects
That may have thrown the bomb?
The way I look at it
is that there are sort of
Two elements of motivation
that we would look at.
On one hand, it could have been
the direct action
Of an anarchist who believed
that this might be the way
To start the revolution.
On the other hand, it's also
been talked about a lot
That this could have been
conspiracy of pinkerton agents.
The pinkerton agency
were basically private police
Hired by rich industrialists,
And frequently,
the way they worked
Was to infiltrate organizations
and to incite trouble,
And that certainly
could've happened here.
The pinkerton agency was
the first detective agency
In the country
in the 19th and 20th centuries.
They thwarted
an assassination attempt
On presidential candidate
abraham lincoln,
And before the fbi began,
The agency created
the rogues' gallery,
The modern-day predecessor
to police mug shots of today.
But as bleue said, they have
ties to big business
And also worked
on company's behalf.
In the case of
the haymarket affair,
There are rumors that one
of their agents was ordered
To pose as an anarchist
and bomb the police
In order to turn the public
against the labor movement.
A conspiracy could've happened,
Although you have to look
at the anarchists
Certainly had
their own motivation.
Absolutely. There are
just so many questions.
To answer those questions,
I need to narrow down
my list of suspects,
Starting with the pinkertons.
Could the bombing
have been an inside job
Designed to make
the labor activists
Look like radical extremists?
To find out, I want to pay
the pinkerton agency a visit.
If there was any involvement by
one of its agents in this plot,
Maybe enough time has passed
to discuss it openly.
Hi, welcome. Scott wolter.
Erika koutrakis.
Nice to meet you.
Tim williams.
Scott, good to meet you.
Nice to meet you, too.
Have a seat.
What I came here
to talk to you about
Was the haymarket affair.
I'd really like to find out
more about the role,
If any, that pinkerton played
in that whole story.
You know, a lot of people
that I've talked to claim
That it was actually pinkerton
agent that threw the bomb,
That it was part of a conspiracy
between business owners,
Law enforcement, and pinkerton,
That they threw the bomb
To try to pin it
on the anarchists.
There was an agent
by the name of andrew c. Johnson
Who was placed
into the anarchist movement
In an effort to try to determine
what the intent was,
Particularly around bomb-making
And some of the violence
that had taken place.
The day before, four people were
killed by police officers,
So there was a lot
of tension in the city.
80,000 people
were demonstrating,
And this was a new event.
There was a great deal
of deep concern
About what the intents were.
The day before
the haymarket bombing,
A similar worker's rights rally
At the mccormick harvesting
machine plant
Erupted in violence
when police fired
On a crowd of demonstrators,
killing four workers.
The violence
set the city on edge.
Some in the labor movement
began calling for revenge.
Was the haymarket bomber
one of those anarchists,
Or was it the pinkerton agent
hiding in their ranks,
Acting on orders
from big business
To turn public opinion
against the anarchists?
There's a lot of speculation,
and because it's so long ago,
And because we, you know,
don't have first-hand accounts,
It's very hard to tell.
Tim points out that when
the haymarket bomb was thrown,
It landed in front
of a line of police
Trying to break up the event.
It raises the question
why would a pinkerton agent
Throw a bomb at police
Since they were essentially
on the same side?
It seems to me that
Someone on the anarchist side
threw the bomb.
To figure out
who the bomber was,
I need to learn exactly
what their motive was,
And to do that, I need to learn
more about the bomb itself.
Even though it was deadly,
was that the bomber's intention,
Or was the intention
for the bomb
To only be a distraction
To garner support
for worker's rights
Which went very, very wrong?
The answer may lie
in the level of force
The bomb maker
intended for the device.
Since this is one
of just a handful
Of unsolved bombings
on u.S. Soil,
I'm hoping the fbi is interested
In helping me analyze
the amount of devastation
Caused by a replica
of the haymarket bomb.
Dr. Yeager,
it's nice to meet you.
Please call me kirk. Kirk it is.
It's not every day I get to meet
the world's foremost expert
In explosives with the fbi.
What I'm trying to do
is figure out
Who may have thrown the bomb
During the haymarket affair
in 1886.
That's a real fascinating case.
I studied that
for a number of years.
You have a real project
in front of you.
Well, before we dive
into the details,
I'm just gonna cut to the chase.
What I would like to do
is recreate that explosion.
I would like to actually
blow up a bomb
To see if this would help us
understand the explosion,
And I would like you to help me.
What I would like to do
is recreate that explosion.
I want to know about
the dynamics of the bomb.
What happens when it goes off?
Is it designed to kill?
And what can it tell us
about who may have thrown it?
I think the fbi can lend a hand.
That's awesome.
So, what details do you know
about the bombing that night
That might help us if we're
gonna replicate an explosion?
Well, haymarket's a great case
because, actually,
There's trial transcripts
available for us.
One of the few historical cases.
I actually brought some with me.
And the great thing about these
is that they talk
About my expertise, the bomb,
But they also give you
a broader brush stroke
Of all the other
witness testimonies.
So, if you're trying
to look at motivations
And where people may have been,
that's probably a better bet.
I learned that the transcripts
kirk got ahold of
While at the fbi
are the same ones
Thought to be
in the buried time capsule
We weren't able to get at,
And they could definitely
hold clues
To the identity of the bomber.
The bomb itself
is pretty easy to understand.
Haymarket was kind of
a crude hand grenade,
For lack of a better
analogy. Right.
It was two hemispheres of lead
that were bolted together.
The lead was filled with
just dynamite.
So, is it designed to kill,
or is designed to maim?
It's hard not to be killed
by a fragment
If you're right on top of it.
Some people believe that
the bomb was actually thrown
By either somebody
in law enforcement
Or with the pinkerton agency,
But the bomb landed in
the middle of law enforcement.
I just spoke to some people
at the pinkerton agency,
And, of course,
they weren't too wild
About the idea of one of
their agents throwing the bomb.
Law enforcement doesn't really
Try to throw bombs at each other
if they can avoid it.
Haymarket was at a time
in american history
That dynamite pretty much
started taking over
As an equalizer, if you will.
When alfred nobel made dynamite,
gave it to the common man,
It became a way for them
to protest violently
And to try to bring down
powers greater than themselves,
And they started
using it for bombs.
The anarchists took it up
as their main tool.
Okay, so, this explosion
that happened,
How do we replicate that?
What do we need to do it?
We basically have to reproduce
the device itself,
Two hemispheres put together,
Filled with dynamite,
set it off with a detonator.
And then put up an arena,
and in the arena,
You put what we call
target materials,
And I would reckon mannequins
or something
That represents people.
You light it, and you observe.
What do you need from me
to make this happen?
Tell you what, the fbi
will give you explosives
And a detonator,
you give us the device itself.
I learned there is
only one place
To see a prototype I can copy
To make my own device
for the fbi,
And it's on display
in chicago's history museum.
Since only one person, a cop,
Was confirmed to have died
immediately
After being struck
by shrapnel from the bomb...
...And the other seven victims
died in the aftermath
As a result of gunshots
or wounds harder to categorize,
I'm hoping I can get
to the bottom
Of the bomber's true intentions.
Was the bomb intended
to be a lethal weapon,
The first move igniting violent
uprising against big business?
Or was it designed
to frighten, without bloodshed,
But its amateur designer packed
it with too much firepower,
And the plane
inadvertently turned deadly?
Both scenarios are plausible.
Figuring out which is true
By studying the force
of the device
Will bring me one step closer
to identifying the bomber.
You must be julius? Jones: Yes.
How are you doing?
Good to meet you.
You actually have one
of the haymarket bombs here?
We have some of the bombs
that were used
In the evidence
during the trial.
The sphere-shaped bomb,
in particular,
Was used to tie a man
by the name of louis ling
To the actual riot.
Louis ling was an active member
of the anarchist party
And a german-born immigrant.
He was one of the men
who was charged and convicted
Of conspiracy
related to the bombing.
There's good reason to believe
he made the bombs
But didn't throw them because he
wasn't at the rally that night.
That bomb
that you see on display
Was actually found
in his boarding room.
That was the exactly same type
of bomb used in the explosion.
The hole that you see on top
would be the hole
That you would put the fuse in,
And so, basically,
once you tie it together,
You would put the fuse in there,
and that way, it would light up,
And you could throw it
as it was lit.
So, I'm actually gonna try
to make one of these bombs.
So, I'm hoping I'm gonna be able
to find some evidence
Of who threw it that night.
I contacted an artisan
named vincent hawkins
Who specializes in metal casting
to help me with the next step.
I gave him the pictures
and specifications
To help me recreate
the haymarket bomb
Here in his studio.
All right, vincent,
We're looking
into the haymarket bombing,
And what I'm trying to do
is figure out
Who it was that threw that bomb.
Now, that's a tall task,
But I think I might be able
to make some headway,
And one of the ways
I think I can do that
Is by understanding the process
Of how they made bombs
back then.
What were the tools
that the bomb maker
Would've needed
to make this bomb,
And what kind of knowledge
would he have had to had?
In the modern era, we would use
a rubber mold for this
And just bang out,
like, a hundred of them.
So, I had more success
with the open-faced casting.
The slush is called
slush casting,
Which means we just
literally pour it
In the mold and dump it out,
And it will solidify
from the outside in.
All right.
Well, I'm ready to get after it.
How about you? yeah, okay.
Okay, melt it down.
So, you just need
to get it molten,
And I usually test it
by shaking the pop just to see,
Make sure it's actually liquid.
I think I'm just about there.
And pour it in, right?
Yeah, nice and easy.
How we doing there?
Yeah, just roll that around.
All the way to the edge.
We want slow down an area
that look thin,
Speed up in areas
that look thick.
I think we're set.
And just part the mold.
Yep. Look at that!
So you're halfway there.
You have a new
money-making skill.
I don't know how much money I'll make,
but...
It's not bad, actually.
Now, to determine if the bomber
intended to cause a scene
Or to actually, kill,
there's one step left.
I need to blow up a bomb
with a little help from the fbi.
I'm on my way to meet
the fbi's explosives team
At camp ripley,
a training facility
For military
and law enforcement.
Before I got here,
I studied some of the
transcripts kirk yeager gave me
Filled with eyewitness accounts,
And I'm piecing together
a map of the scene that day.
Before we detonate this bomb,
I want to test the validity
of one of the reports I saw.
The bomber supposedly
threw this device
Across the crowded square,
Some 80 feet
from a nearby alleyway
Where the rallyers
had a speaker's wagon.
With a heavy lead bomb,
is that possible?
Kevin, scott wolter.
Hey, scott, kevin smith.
Nice to meet you.
And I understand
you're gonna help us
Set off some explosives today
And try to replicate as best
we can the haymarket bombing.
That's right.
We've got a great team here.
We've got some fbi
bomb technicians along with
The crow wing county minnesota
sheriff's office bomb techs.
We've got everything
set up for you.
Perfect.
There is one other thing
I would like to try to do is
See if I can actually
throw one of those bombs
Because some of
the eyewitnesses said
The bomb flew up
to 75 to 80 feet.
Got an extra device for you.
We're gonna put your gloves on,
and you can throw it,
And there's open range
as far as you think you want to.
All right, here we go.
Not bad. Not too bad at all.
Should we measure it? Let's go.
I'll take her out.
Throwing this replica, which is
not packed with explosives,
Reminds me of a cross
between throwing a shot put
And pitching a baseball.
79 feet, 8 inches.
If I can throw the bomb
casing 80 feet,
It stands to reason that,
When loaded with
a small amount of dynamite,
Which would only weight
slightly more,
The bomber could've
thrown it that far, too.
It tells us a little something
About the size of the person
who likely threw it.
Now it's time
to do the detonation.
Our folks are ready.
Let's go. Okay.
All right, guys, I see some
pretty interesting stuff here.
So, right now, we have
four sticks of dynamite.
It's nitro-based.
So, we are gonna unwrap this,
take the dynamite out,
And we are gonna
pack it in to the devices.
It's ammonium nitrate
and nitroglycerin,
But you kind of see almost like
a peanut-butter consistency.
Yeah. I'll start giving
these guys the chunks
So they can start packing it in.
While the team fills the bomb
with explosives,
Kevin and I set up targets
around the blast site.
I'm hoping that
the damage shrapnel inflicts
On these mannequins will tell me
If the bomber was trying to send
a message without bloodshed,
But their explosive
got out of hand.
Or trying
to intentionally murder
As many police as possible.
Was it meant for destruction
or distraction at the rally?
We've got 12 mannequins
to place in the scene.
Where should we put them?
What we want to do is
try to understand
The collateral damage that would
happen when this blast occurs.
Why don't we make
three rings around it,
Four mannequins each,
about five-feet intervals?
Let's do it.
Once the mannequins are set up,
We mark the distances
they're at...
5, 10, and 15 feet
from the point of detonation.
That's done, that's done.
Is this done?
They're all
done. I think we got them.
Okay. Bring in the demo boys,
huh?
Okay, here we go, guys.
Ready? Okay, jim.
3... 2... 1!
Well, we lost a couple
of our mannequins.
I saw a couple wobble.
But I have a feeling
there's more damage
Than it looks from here.
And it's more the fragmentation
that's coming off of that.
Okay.
Well,
should we go take a look? Yeah.
Let's go down
and see what happened.
All right.
When I see
how many shards of shrapnel
Pierced through the mannequins,
it gives me an incredible sense
Of what the scene must have
been like at haymarket square
In the aftermath of the bombing.
It seems like a miracle
that during the actual event
In may of 1886
that only one person, a cop,
Was confirmed to have been
killed by the bomb that night.
I definitely think that
it was meant to do more damage,
Specifically to
the advancing line of police,
Which suggests the work
of a violent anarchist,
Not a pinkerton guard
or anyone else.
Look at these wounds.
You got the two in the ankle.
Here's another one
on the lower leg.
There's a whole bunch
on the upper thigh here.
This one punched through.
Those are gonna hit arteries
more than likely.
And if that didn't kill
the person,
This one certainly would've.
Right through the heart.
This guy is just riddled
with shrapnel,
But that guy
doesn't appear to be.
Some of the people further away
had bigger holes in them
Than some of the people close.
At haymarket, there was
197 law enforcement,
400 to 500 people minimum
when this blast went off,
And they probably
all carried away some shrapnel.
I mean, we're seeing shrapnel
in every single one of these.
I know dr. Yeager has studied
the haymarket bombing,
So I'm really looking forward
to hearing what he has to say.
While I wait for dr. Yeager
To fly in from
fbi headquarters at quantico,
I've been looking
into the background
Of some of the anarchists
who were at the rally
Now that I'm convinced
one of them threw the bomb.
I came across letters
in the national archives
About a radical protestor
named george meng
Whose own granddaughter
believed he was the bomber,
And some historians agree.
Meng was a german-born anarchist
who was a member of
Organized progressive
labor movements at the time
And owned a farm
just outside of chicago.
He was originally indicted
but never brought to trial.
I tracked down
meng's great-granddaughter helen
Who agreed to tell me
all about the family's secret.
Hi, helen. I appreciate
you taking some time to visit
With me here to talk about your
great-grandfather george meng.
Now, your mother suspected
that her grandfather,
Your great-grandfather,
may have been the bomber.
- Is that correct?
- That's right.
She was concerned about,
really, finding the truth.
Like, digging into
her family history.
George meng led
a very difficult life.
I remember my mother
telling me that george meng
May have been this bomber.
We do know from the letters
and maybe from other books
That george meng
was an anarchist.
They were fighting for very,
very basic rights. Mm-hmm.
Police brutality
was quite extreme.
They would hold
non-violent rallies,
They would talk about bombs.
They would talk
even about making bombs.
So, there was
a lot of resentment
On the part of working people
Who joined together
in this movement.
And having this hatred
for authority
Certainly fits
the profile of somebody
Who would be not only associated
with the anarchists,
But certainly
could've been prompted
To throw the bomb that night.
Now, he died in a fire not long
after the haymarket affair.
Yeah, he died in a saloon fire.
Do you think
your great-grandfather,
George meng, was the bomber?
George meng seemed like
a guy who was very simple.
He was a farmer, uneducated,
And he could've take seriously
What the speakers
were saying about,
"we've got to smash
the system," you know?
And he might have
gone ahead and done it.
This guy kind of fits
the profile
Of the guy
that may be our bomber.
After finishing
my call with helen fox,
I pored over the transcripts
kirk yeager gave me,
Looking for any mention of meng
at the haymarket scene in 1886.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find
any eyewitness accounts
Placing meng near where the bomb
was supposedly thrown,
Which means I got some problems
with him being my lead suspect.
But I'm hoping my debrief about
the explosion with kirk yeager
And having a chance to lay out
Where we stand
with the investigation
Will help me rule him in or out.
Well, kirk,
great to have you back here.
I've got my whole table
laid out here
With key pieces
to our experiment
Where we set off the bomb.
Watch this video and pay
particular attention
To that female mannequin
right there at 5 feet.
Look at the camera.
Direct hit.
You couldn't do that
if you tried.
Look at that fragments
flying through the air.
They go out in arcing patterns.
Capturing that in video
is really challenging,
But you see it
come landing here, so...
And you can see we have
a couple of the mannequins
That went down,
and I was really surprised
That some mannequins
were just obliterated,
And others barely got
a flesh wound.
It's the randomness
of any explosive event.
That's a cast piece of metal.
It has weaknesses. It had flaws.
It has joints that are gonna
Come apart
much easier than others,
And lead is
a fairly-soft metal, so...
So, they're flying all over...
They're not like bullets
going in a straight line. Right.
They're gonna be tumbling
and all sorts of craziness.
After looking at the videos,
looking at the pictures,
The wounds,
we've proven anything
Is that these things
are a wildcard.
You throw it out there
and anything can happen.
Fair enough.
I tell kirk
that I landed on the fact
That it was an anarchist
who threw the bomb
Which was meant
to cause casualties,
And that the transcripts
he gave me
Are proving crucial
to cracking the case
Because I know
where people were standing
And when they were
standing there.
Kirk, those transcripts turned
out to be immensely helpful
Because I learned a lot about
Everything that
happened that night.
But here are some key things.
This is where
the gathering took place.
Right in this area
is where the cart was
Where the speakers
gave their speeches.
And samuel fielden,
who gave a speech that night,
And at the time of the bombing,
he was on the platform here.
Now, another pair
of key suspects,
Albert and lucy parsons were
over here actually in the bar
Because it had started to rain
and the crowd dispersed.
Protesters were here,
And the police
were marching in formation,
And the bomb was thrown
and landed somewhere
In the middle
of the street right here.
Exploding into
the unfortunate officers.
Yep.
The eyewitnesses said
that the bomb was thrown
From near this alleyway,
and interestingly enough,
There was a suspect who was
roughly at that location,
And that was rudolph schnaubelt,
Who was one of the anarchists.
So you have a lot of people here
who are known to be
In the anarchy movement at
the time including schnaubelt,
So all this is a cogent picture.
Great.
Now, this rudolph schnaubelt,
He looks like
a key suspect to me,
And I need to learn
more about rudolph schnaubelt.
I tracked down
a chicago crime historian
Who believes a larger
conspiracy was afoot,
And it may have involved
the guy I'm now looking at...
Rudolph schnaubelt.
Based on the fact
he was standing
Where the bomb
was reportedly thrown from
At the precise time
it was launched at police.
But before I ask him
about schnaubelt,
I still want to know
more about george meng,
Whose own family
believed he was the bomber.
Well, richard, as you know,
the haymarket bombing
Is one of the biggest mysteries
in american history.
A lot of people
don't realize it.
Let me ask you
about george meng,
This shadowy character
Who was definitely sympathetic
to the labor cause
And had an axe to grind
with law enforcement.
George meng was in
the labor union.
He was definitely involved
in a lot of the activities,
But he escaped the radar of
the chicago police department.
It's not conclusively proven
That he was in the attendance
at haymarket that evening,
But schnaubelt was hiding out
at the meng farm,
And it was from that point
that schnaubelt made his escape.
This makes me think
That george meng's role
in the bombing
Was a little bit different than
the family may have believed.
I strongly believe
that the bomber
Was one rudolph schnaubelt
Who was actually among
the first people
Arrested in the dragnet
that followed.
Richard tells me police
arrested schnaubelt,
Who was an anarchist
of german descent,
Along with hundreds of others
immediately after the bombing,
But with little evidence
to hold him at the time,
He was released.
It came out that
there were two eyewitnesses.
One of the two said
unequivocally
That schnaubelt
was standing on the wagon.
About 30 seconds
before the bomb fell,
He jumped off the wagon and was
observed receiving a package.
This cannot be proven that
That was a bomb
he actually received,
But then a missile
appeared in the sky.
That so-called missile
had to be the bomb.
Chicago had been a hot spot
of labor agitation
For a number of years.
Tensions were running
pretty high,
And maybe they felt like
it was payback time.
It was now time to cross
that line into violence.
They believed that they
would be blood for blood,
And to strike
the capitalist snake,
The only way to do it
was through armed violence.
Just as I'm thinking
schnaubelt might be
My best suspect in the case,
Richard tells me something
that all but seals the deal.
Schnaubelt fled chicago.
He had gone to canada,
And then he later
went out to california
Where his brothers were living.
For a decade, he was on the run,
And he died in san bernardino,
california,
In October of 1896.
He took with him
secrets to the grave.
He was at the location,
So that does make him
a strong suspect.
After meeting
with richard lindberg,
I tracked down a photo
of my lead suspect,
Rudolph schnaubelt,
and want to find out
If a forensic sketch
from the present
Based on eyewitness accounts
Can help me figure out
If there's a match
to this suspect from the past.
Even though everything
is lining up,
No sketch of the suspect
has ever been made
From witness descriptions to use
for comparison until now.
Do you think
that forensic art can help us
Maybe identify
who this person was?
The only thing that changes it
are that you can't talk to him.
You can't ask him
more questions.
But it's a cold case.
You got to work
with what you've got.
We have to solve this crime,
Especially if it's
a crime of violence.
Perfect, let's do it.
All right. Cool.
This happened over
a century ago.
All we have is
the testimony of witnesses.
Scott, I usually
like to start, um,
If you have anything
that talks about his eyes.
Okay, he was full-faced here.
His eyes set
somewhat back in his head.
That helps a lot.
Probably some dark shadows
going on in there.
Those kind of features
help identify a person.
Also said they had
a light complexion.
That's huge.
Another person who said
High cheekbones,
full-chested, 5'10".
One of the things
I think is important
And was repeated often,
Light, sandy beard.
One person described the suspect
as wearing a hat.
Okay. I wish we
had more information,
But is this enough information
For you to feel like you're
gonna et a good picture?
Let me put it to you this way.
We've got limited features,
but we have features.
While the haymarket suspect
is long dead,
The mystery of who he was
and the important question
Of why he set off the bomb
is very much alive
And still studied by the fbi.
If I can find a bona fide link
to rudolph schnaubelt,
It could be a brand-new lead.
I think we're done, scott.
I want to see if it matches
one of the key suspects.
This is rudolph schnaubelt.
He is one of the key suspects,
and I have to tell you,
At this point,
I think he's the guy.
I'm just thinking, you know,
you put a hat on him,
As far as the core features,
I think it's pretty close.
Well, luis, when I look
at these two guys, it's uncanny.
With not a lot to work on,
you did an amazing job.
If we could get this guy
on a witness stand,
I think we could crack him.
I would think so.
The labor movement in 1886
Brought us many of the liberties
we enjoy as workers today
Along with fairer wages that
are easy to take for granted.
But it also brought
death sentences for five men
And prison sentences
for three others
Who are all now
widely considered
To have been unjustly tried
for conspiracy.
The model on
the martyr's monument
Memorializing them at the site
Where I launched
my investigation says,
"the day will come
When our silence
will be more powerful
Than the voices
you are throttling today."
And I'm here to tell
bleue benton,
Who launched me
into this investigation,
That day has finally come.
The biggest enduring mystery
of the haymarket affair
Is who threw the
bomb that night. Yes.
Based on everything
I've been able to do here
In this investigation,
Which included
setting off a bomb
Exactly like the one
that went off that night,
I think I know
who threw that bomb.
Well, I'm very eager to
hear your work. All right.
One of the things
I'm gonna show you right now
Was the result
of a police artist sketch
That was made based upon
a description of the suspect
From the court testimony
back in 1886.
So, this is who he drew.
Oh, that's very interesting.
I think I have an idea
of who this might be.
It looks exactly like
rudolph schnaubelt.
That's our guy.
I think history has always been
Very interested
in rudolph schnaubelt.
He had a very interesting
relationship in that world.
And, you know, he left chicago,
and he never returned.
This is historically
fascinating.
It really is.
And if we go back to 1867...
This is right after
the civil war...
There was a law passed
that the eight-hour day
Was gonna be the law.
The only problem is
it was never enforced.
I don't think
everybody was involved
In a violent uprising
and throwing bombs.
In fact, I think two people
That probably had nothing
to do with this
Were lucy and albert parsons.
It's important to remember
That not all the anarchists
at haymarket,
Like the parsons
who organized the rally,
Supported the violence
that ultimately ensued.
You know, we reap the benefit
of those efforts today
With the eight-hour workday,
Fair compensation,
fair treatment.
The slogan is
"the labor movement,
The people
who brought you the weekend."
You know,
somebody like lucy parsons,
Even after her husband's death,
For the rest of her life,
she fought for the cause,
And we owe a lot to people
like her and her husband.
This case has been a reminder
That the rights
of common workers
That we all benefit from today
Were hard-fought with a tragic
loss of life on both sides.
In 2019,
18 states started the year
With increased minimum wages
for employees,
Including minnesota,
where I live.
Something that
never would've happened
Without people
championing workers' rights
In the late 19th century.
Maybe the fbi will now have
enough to cross this bombing
Off its cold case list.
If you have a mysterious
artifact or site I need to see,
I want to know about it.
Go to travelchannel. Com/
americaunearthed.
thousands of bombings
Big and small on u.S. Soil,
But very few of them have
been high-profile atrocities
With significant loss of life.
In most cases,
The criminals behind those
have been brought to justice.
People like timothy mcveigh,
The unabomber, ted kaczynski,
And ramzi yousef,
Who bombed
the world trade center
Eight years before 9/11.
But the person behind the very
first bombing in the u.S.
During peacetime
has never been identified
Until now.
The history that we were
all taught growing up is wrong.
My name is scott wolter,
and I'm a forensic geologist.
There's a hidden history in this
country that nobody knows about.
There are pyramids here,
Chambers, tombs, inscriptions.
They're all over this country.
We're gonna investigate
these artifacts and sites,
And we're gonna
get to the truth.
Sometimes, history
isn't what we've been told.
AMERICA UNEARTHED - SEASON 4
EP - 9 - Chicago's Mystery Bomber
April 15th, 2013,
The day of
the boston marathon bombing.
I remember where I was.
I was in duluth, minnesota,
Visiting my kids
when I heard two homemade bombs
Killed three people, maimed 17,
and injured hundreds of others.
This bomb, detonated
in the midst of a public event
In a major metropolitan area,
Was far from the first such
incident of domestic terror
To shake our nation to its core.
But now I find myself
investigating
What is the first such
terror bombing
On american soil
outside of war...
A deadly attack known
as the haymarket massacre,
Which happened in 1886
during a labor rights rally.
A researcher in chicago
named bleue benton
And a team of historians
Are trying to find a time
capsule rumored to hold clues
To who threw the deadly device
at haymarket.
They want to solve what is
One of the most infamous
cold cases in u.S. History,
But she says she needs
my geological expertise
To help dig it up.
Scott, thank you so much
for joining me here.
I'm actually really excited
and interested
In this whole haymarket affair
that happened back in 1886.
I mean, it was a historic event
That a lot of people
don't know about.
May 4th, 10:30 pm...
A bomb explodes in the middle
of a crowd of 400 workers
Gathered for a labor rights
rally at haymarket square.
A group of anarchist speakers
are calling for revolution
Because this is the time
of forced child labor,
80-hour work weeks,
and hellish conditions.
The bomb lands
right in front of police
Sent to break up
the boisterous rally.
The explosion and
ensuing gunfire by cops
Kills eight and wounds dozens.
To this day, the bomber
has never been identified.
Many of the anarchists,
as they were called,
That were fighting
for the rights of workers,
Are buried here, right? Yes.
This is the premiere spot
for that.
Bleue and I arrive at the place
Where brand-new research
suggests
The time capsule
that could hold clues
To the identity
of the bomber is buried,
The haymarket martyr's monument.
Erected in 1893,
This monument memorializes
five protesters
Who were arrested
after the hay market bombing
And convicted of conspiracy,
But not for throwing
the bomb itself.
One of the men killed himself
while awaiting trial.
The other four met their death
on the gallows.
And today,
their deaths are considered
The result of
a miscarriage of justice.
They died before companies
put in place
Things like the 40-hour
workweek we have today.
Lucy parsons,
who helped organize the rally,
Participated in burying
the time capsule
With contents she hoped
would one day solve the mystery.
It was a personal mission
for her
Since her husband, albert,
Was one of the men
unjustly tried and hanged.
What's in the time capsule?
There are trial transcripts,
newspaper articles, photographs.
And if we could find
this time capsule,
This could solve
the case for us.
That's exactly why we were
hoping you could come
And take a look at this.
As a geologist, we know that
You'd be bringing
expertise to this
That could be helpful.
Bleue recently discovered
a newspaper article from 1892
Documenting the burial
of the time capsule
Deep under one of
the monument's cornerstones.
My day job
is in concrete forensics,
Evaluating the structural
integrity of concrete,
Which I did after 9/11
at the pentagon
And on collapsing tunnels
in boston's big dig,
And she wants my opinion.
Well, I know a little something
about stone and concrete,
So I'm gonna take a look around.
I'll be right back.
Here's my concern...
First off, the monument
is made of granite.
This thing weights many tons,
I'm sure,
And there's no way
that they're gonna erect that
Unless they put
a footing down below.
That means we would have to dig
underneath the foundation,
And that's problematic
Because it could cause
this thing to tilt.
It would be risky.
That makes sense.
I get calls all the time
from people who need advice
On the best, safest way
to perform an excavation,
And usually, I can help.
But in this case,
there's just no way
To dig for the time capsule
Without damaging the monument,
And I don't want
to see that happen.
Well, the time capsule isn't
gonna help us in this case,
But all is not lost.
I mean, we can certainly
still investigate this.
We're gonna have to find
some other ways to gather clues
Because I would really like
to figure out
Who it was that threw that bomb.
But let's start with this.
Who would you consider
to be the prime suspects
That may have thrown the bomb?
The way I look at it
is that there are sort of
Two elements of motivation
that we would look at.
On one hand, it could have been
the direct action
Of an anarchist who believed
that this might be the way
To start the revolution.
On the other hand, it's also
been talked about a lot
That this could have been
conspiracy of pinkerton agents.
The pinkerton agency
were basically private police
Hired by rich industrialists,
And frequently,
the way they worked
Was to infiltrate organizations
and to incite trouble,
And that certainly
could've happened here.
The pinkerton agency was
the first detective agency
In the country
in the 19th and 20th centuries.
They thwarted
an assassination attempt
On presidential candidate
abraham lincoln,
And before the fbi began,
The agency created
the rogues' gallery,
The modern-day predecessor
to police mug shots of today.
But as bleue said, they have
ties to big business
And also worked
on company's behalf.
In the case of
the haymarket affair,
There are rumors that one
of their agents was ordered
To pose as an anarchist
and bomb the police
In order to turn the public
against the labor movement.
A conspiracy could've happened,
Although you have to look
at the anarchists
Certainly had
their own motivation.
Absolutely. There are
just so many questions.
To answer those questions,
I need to narrow down
my list of suspects,
Starting with the pinkertons.
Could the bombing
have been an inside job
Designed to make
the labor activists
Look like radical extremists?
To find out, I want to pay
the pinkerton agency a visit.
If there was any involvement by
one of its agents in this plot,
Maybe enough time has passed
to discuss it openly.
Hi, welcome. Scott wolter.
Erika koutrakis.
Nice to meet you.
Tim williams.
Scott, good to meet you.
Nice to meet you, too.
Have a seat.
What I came here
to talk to you about
Was the haymarket affair.
I'd really like to find out
more about the role,
If any, that pinkerton played
in that whole story.
You know, a lot of people
that I've talked to claim
That it was actually pinkerton
agent that threw the bomb,
That it was part of a conspiracy
between business owners,
Law enforcement, and pinkerton,
That they threw the bomb
To try to pin it
on the anarchists.
There was an agent
by the name of andrew c. Johnson
Who was placed
into the anarchist movement
In an effort to try to determine
what the intent was,
Particularly around bomb-making
And some of the violence
that had taken place.
The day before, four people were
killed by police officers,
So there was a lot
of tension in the city.
80,000 people
were demonstrating,
And this was a new event.
There was a great deal
of deep concern
About what the intents were.
The day before
the haymarket bombing,
A similar worker's rights rally
At the mccormick harvesting
machine plant
Erupted in violence
when police fired
On a crowd of demonstrators,
killing four workers.
The violence
set the city on edge.
Some in the labor movement
began calling for revenge.
Was the haymarket bomber
one of those anarchists,
Or was it the pinkerton agent
hiding in their ranks,
Acting on orders
from big business
To turn public opinion
against the anarchists?
There's a lot of speculation,
and because it's so long ago,
And because we, you know,
don't have first-hand accounts,
It's very hard to tell.
Tim points out that when
the haymarket bomb was thrown,
It landed in front
of a line of police
Trying to break up the event.
It raises the question
why would a pinkerton agent
Throw a bomb at police
Since they were essentially
on the same side?
It seems to me that
Someone on the anarchist side
threw the bomb.
To figure out
who the bomber was,
I need to learn exactly
what their motive was,
And to do that, I need to learn
more about the bomb itself.
Even though it was deadly,
was that the bomber's intention,
Or was the intention
for the bomb
To only be a distraction
To garner support
for worker's rights
Which went very, very wrong?
The answer may lie
in the level of force
The bomb maker
intended for the device.
Since this is one
of just a handful
Of unsolved bombings
on u.S. Soil,
I'm hoping the fbi is interested
In helping me analyze
the amount of devastation
Caused by a replica
of the haymarket bomb.
Dr. Yeager,
it's nice to meet you.
Please call me kirk. Kirk it is.
It's not every day I get to meet
the world's foremost expert
In explosives with the fbi.
What I'm trying to do
is figure out
Who may have thrown the bomb
During the haymarket affair
in 1886.
That's a real fascinating case.
I studied that
for a number of years.
You have a real project
in front of you.
Well, before we dive
into the details,
I'm just gonna cut to the chase.
What I would like to do
is recreate that explosion.
I would like to actually
blow up a bomb
To see if this would help us
understand the explosion,
And I would like you to help me.
What I would like to do
is recreate that explosion.
I want to know about
the dynamics of the bomb.
What happens when it goes off?
Is it designed to kill?
And what can it tell us
about who may have thrown it?
I think the fbi can lend a hand.
That's awesome.
So, what details do you know
about the bombing that night
That might help us if we're
gonna replicate an explosion?
Well, haymarket's a great case
because, actually,
There's trial transcripts
available for us.
One of the few historical cases.
I actually brought some with me.
And the great thing about these
is that they talk
About my expertise, the bomb,
But they also give you
a broader brush stroke
Of all the other
witness testimonies.
So, if you're trying
to look at motivations
And where people may have been,
that's probably a better bet.
I learned that the transcripts
kirk got ahold of
While at the fbi
are the same ones
Thought to be
in the buried time capsule
We weren't able to get at,
And they could definitely
hold clues
To the identity of the bomber.
The bomb itself
is pretty easy to understand.
Haymarket was kind of
a crude hand grenade,
For lack of a better
analogy. Right.
It was two hemispheres of lead
that were bolted together.
The lead was filled with
just dynamite.
So, is it designed to kill,
or is designed to maim?
It's hard not to be killed
by a fragment
If you're right on top of it.
Some people believe that
the bomb was actually thrown
By either somebody
in law enforcement
Or with the pinkerton agency,
But the bomb landed in
the middle of law enforcement.
I just spoke to some people
at the pinkerton agency,
And, of course,
they weren't too wild
About the idea of one of
their agents throwing the bomb.
Law enforcement doesn't really
Try to throw bombs at each other
if they can avoid it.
Haymarket was at a time
in american history
That dynamite pretty much
started taking over
As an equalizer, if you will.
When alfred nobel made dynamite,
gave it to the common man,
It became a way for them
to protest violently
And to try to bring down
powers greater than themselves,
And they started
using it for bombs.
The anarchists took it up
as their main tool.
Okay, so, this explosion
that happened,
How do we replicate that?
What do we need to do it?
We basically have to reproduce
the device itself,
Two hemispheres put together,
Filled with dynamite,
set it off with a detonator.
And then put up an arena,
and in the arena,
You put what we call
target materials,
And I would reckon mannequins
or something
That represents people.
You light it, and you observe.
What do you need from me
to make this happen?
Tell you what, the fbi
will give you explosives
And a detonator,
you give us the device itself.
I learned there is
only one place
To see a prototype I can copy
To make my own device
for the fbi,
And it's on display
in chicago's history museum.
Since only one person, a cop,
Was confirmed to have died
immediately
After being struck
by shrapnel from the bomb...
...And the other seven victims
died in the aftermath
As a result of gunshots
or wounds harder to categorize,
I'm hoping I can get
to the bottom
Of the bomber's true intentions.
Was the bomb intended
to be a lethal weapon,
The first move igniting violent
uprising against big business?
Or was it designed
to frighten, without bloodshed,
But its amateur designer packed
it with too much firepower,
And the plane
inadvertently turned deadly?
Both scenarios are plausible.
Figuring out which is true
By studying the force
of the device
Will bring me one step closer
to identifying the bomber.
You must be julius? Jones: Yes.
How are you doing?
Good to meet you.
You actually have one
of the haymarket bombs here?
We have some of the bombs
that were used
In the evidence
during the trial.
The sphere-shaped bomb,
in particular,
Was used to tie a man
by the name of louis ling
To the actual riot.
Louis ling was an active member
of the anarchist party
And a german-born immigrant.
He was one of the men
who was charged and convicted
Of conspiracy
related to the bombing.
There's good reason to believe
he made the bombs
But didn't throw them because he
wasn't at the rally that night.
That bomb
that you see on display
Was actually found
in his boarding room.
That was the exactly same type
of bomb used in the explosion.
The hole that you see on top
would be the hole
That you would put the fuse in,
And so, basically,
once you tie it together,
You would put the fuse in there,
and that way, it would light up,
And you could throw it
as it was lit.
So, I'm actually gonna try
to make one of these bombs.
So, I'm hoping I'm gonna be able
to find some evidence
Of who threw it that night.
I contacted an artisan
named vincent hawkins
Who specializes in metal casting
to help me with the next step.
I gave him the pictures
and specifications
To help me recreate
the haymarket bomb
Here in his studio.
All right, vincent,
We're looking
into the haymarket bombing,
And what I'm trying to do
is figure out
Who it was that threw that bomb.
Now, that's a tall task,
But I think I might be able
to make some headway,
And one of the ways
I think I can do that
Is by understanding the process
Of how they made bombs
back then.
What were the tools
that the bomb maker
Would've needed
to make this bomb,
And what kind of knowledge
would he have had to had?
In the modern era, we would use
a rubber mold for this
And just bang out,
like, a hundred of them.
So, I had more success
with the open-faced casting.
The slush is called
slush casting,
Which means we just
literally pour it
In the mold and dump it out,
And it will solidify
from the outside in.
All right.
Well, I'm ready to get after it.
How about you? yeah, okay.
Okay, melt it down.
So, you just need
to get it molten,
And I usually test it
by shaking the pop just to see,
Make sure it's actually liquid.
I think I'm just about there.
And pour it in, right?
Yeah, nice and easy.
How we doing there?
Yeah, just roll that around.
All the way to the edge.
We want slow down an area
that look thin,
Speed up in areas
that look thick.
I think we're set.
And just part the mold.
Yep. Look at that!
So you're halfway there.
You have a new
money-making skill.
I don't know how much money I'll make,
but...
It's not bad, actually.
Now, to determine if the bomber
intended to cause a scene
Or to actually, kill,
there's one step left.
I need to blow up a bomb
with a little help from the fbi.
I'm on my way to meet
the fbi's explosives team
At camp ripley,
a training facility
For military
and law enforcement.
Before I got here,
I studied some of the
transcripts kirk yeager gave me
Filled with eyewitness accounts,
And I'm piecing together
a map of the scene that day.
Before we detonate this bomb,
I want to test the validity
of one of the reports I saw.
The bomber supposedly
threw this device
Across the crowded square,
Some 80 feet
from a nearby alleyway
Where the rallyers
had a speaker's wagon.
With a heavy lead bomb,
is that possible?
Kevin, scott wolter.
Hey, scott, kevin smith.
Nice to meet you.
And I understand
you're gonna help us
Set off some explosives today
And try to replicate as best
we can the haymarket bombing.
That's right.
We've got a great team here.
We've got some fbi
bomb technicians along with
The crow wing county minnesota
sheriff's office bomb techs.
We've got everything
set up for you.
Perfect.
There is one other thing
I would like to try to do is
See if I can actually
throw one of those bombs
Because some of
the eyewitnesses said
The bomb flew up
to 75 to 80 feet.
Got an extra device for you.
We're gonna put your gloves on,
and you can throw it,
And there's open range
as far as you think you want to.
All right, here we go.
Not bad. Not too bad at all.
Should we measure it? Let's go.
I'll take her out.
Throwing this replica, which is
not packed with explosives,
Reminds me of a cross
between throwing a shot put
And pitching a baseball.
79 feet, 8 inches.
If I can throw the bomb
casing 80 feet,
It stands to reason that,
When loaded with
a small amount of dynamite,
Which would only weight
slightly more,
The bomber could've
thrown it that far, too.
It tells us a little something
About the size of the person
who likely threw it.
Now it's time
to do the detonation.
Our folks are ready.
Let's go. Okay.
All right, guys, I see some
pretty interesting stuff here.
So, right now, we have
four sticks of dynamite.
It's nitro-based.
So, we are gonna unwrap this,
take the dynamite out,
And we are gonna
pack it in to the devices.
It's ammonium nitrate
and nitroglycerin,
But you kind of see almost like
a peanut-butter consistency.
Yeah. I'll start giving
these guys the chunks
So they can start packing it in.
While the team fills the bomb
with explosives,
Kevin and I set up targets
around the blast site.
I'm hoping that
the damage shrapnel inflicts
On these mannequins will tell me
If the bomber was trying to send
a message without bloodshed,
But their explosive
got out of hand.
Or trying
to intentionally murder
As many police as possible.
Was it meant for destruction
or distraction at the rally?
We've got 12 mannequins
to place in the scene.
Where should we put them?
What we want to do is
try to understand
The collateral damage that would
happen when this blast occurs.
Why don't we make
three rings around it,
Four mannequins each,
about five-feet intervals?
Let's do it.
Once the mannequins are set up,
We mark the distances
they're at...
5, 10, and 15 feet
from the point of detonation.
That's done, that's done.
Is this done?
They're all
done. I think we got them.
Okay. Bring in the demo boys,
huh?
Okay, here we go, guys.
Ready? Okay, jim.
3... 2... 1!
Well, we lost a couple
of our mannequins.
I saw a couple wobble.
But I have a feeling
there's more damage
Than it looks from here.
And it's more the fragmentation
that's coming off of that.
Okay.
Well,
should we go take a look? Yeah.
Let's go down
and see what happened.
All right.
When I see
how many shards of shrapnel
Pierced through the mannequins,
it gives me an incredible sense
Of what the scene must have
been like at haymarket square
In the aftermath of the bombing.
It seems like a miracle
that during the actual event
In may of 1886
that only one person, a cop,
Was confirmed to have been
killed by the bomb that night.
I definitely think that
it was meant to do more damage,
Specifically to
the advancing line of police,
Which suggests the work
of a violent anarchist,
Not a pinkerton guard
or anyone else.
Look at these wounds.
You got the two in the ankle.
Here's another one
on the lower leg.
There's a whole bunch
on the upper thigh here.
This one punched through.
Those are gonna hit arteries
more than likely.
And if that didn't kill
the person,
This one certainly would've.
Right through the heart.
This guy is just riddled
with shrapnel,
But that guy
doesn't appear to be.
Some of the people further away
had bigger holes in them
Than some of the people close.
At haymarket, there was
197 law enforcement,
400 to 500 people minimum
when this blast went off,
And they probably
all carried away some shrapnel.
I mean, we're seeing shrapnel
in every single one of these.
I know dr. Yeager has studied
the haymarket bombing,
So I'm really looking forward
to hearing what he has to say.
While I wait for dr. Yeager
To fly in from
fbi headquarters at quantico,
I've been looking
into the background
Of some of the anarchists
who were at the rally
Now that I'm convinced
one of them threw the bomb.
I came across letters
in the national archives
About a radical protestor
named george meng
Whose own granddaughter
believed he was the bomber,
And some historians agree.
Meng was a german-born anarchist
who was a member of
Organized progressive
labor movements at the time
And owned a farm
just outside of chicago.
He was originally indicted
but never brought to trial.
I tracked down
meng's great-granddaughter helen
Who agreed to tell me
all about the family's secret.
Hi, helen. I appreciate
you taking some time to visit
With me here to talk about your
great-grandfather george meng.
Now, your mother suspected
that her grandfather,
Your great-grandfather,
may have been the bomber.
- Is that correct?
- That's right.
She was concerned about,
really, finding the truth.
Like, digging into
her family history.
George meng led
a very difficult life.
I remember my mother
telling me that george meng
May have been this bomber.
We do know from the letters
and maybe from other books
That george meng
was an anarchist.
They were fighting for very,
very basic rights. Mm-hmm.
Police brutality
was quite extreme.
They would hold
non-violent rallies,
They would talk about bombs.
They would talk
even about making bombs.
So, there was
a lot of resentment
On the part of working people
Who joined together
in this movement.
And having this hatred
for authority
Certainly fits
the profile of somebody
Who would be not only associated
with the anarchists,
But certainly
could've been prompted
To throw the bomb that night.
Now, he died in a fire not long
after the haymarket affair.
Yeah, he died in a saloon fire.
Do you think
your great-grandfather,
George meng, was the bomber?
George meng seemed like
a guy who was very simple.
He was a farmer, uneducated,
And he could've take seriously
What the speakers
were saying about,
"we've got to smash
the system," you know?
And he might have
gone ahead and done it.
This guy kind of fits
the profile
Of the guy
that may be our bomber.
After finishing
my call with helen fox,
I pored over the transcripts
kirk yeager gave me,
Looking for any mention of meng
at the haymarket scene in 1886.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find
any eyewitness accounts
Placing meng near where the bomb
was supposedly thrown,
Which means I got some problems
with him being my lead suspect.
But I'm hoping my debrief about
the explosion with kirk yeager
And having a chance to lay out
Where we stand
with the investigation
Will help me rule him in or out.
Well, kirk,
great to have you back here.
I've got my whole table
laid out here
With key pieces
to our experiment
Where we set off the bomb.
Watch this video and pay
particular attention
To that female mannequin
right there at 5 feet.
Look at the camera.
Direct hit.
You couldn't do that
if you tried.
Look at that fragments
flying through the air.
They go out in arcing patterns.
Capturing that in video
is really challenging,
But you see it
come landing here, so...
And you can see we have
a couple of the mannequins
That went down,
and I was really surprised
That some mannequins
were just obliterated,
And others barely got
a flesh wound.
It's the randomness
of any explosive event.
That's a cast piece of metal.
It has weaknesses. It had flaws.
It has joints that are gonna
Come apart
much easier than others,
And lead is
a fairly-soft metal, so...
So, they're flying all over...
They're not like bullets
going in a straight line. Right.
They're gonna be tumbling
and all sorts of craziness.
After looking at the videos,
looking at the pictures,
The wounds,
we've proven anything
Is that these things
are a wildcard.
You throw it out there
and anything can happen.
Fair enough.
I tell kirk
that I landed on the fact
That it was an anarchist
who threw the bomb
Which was meant
to cause casualties,
And that the transcripts
he gave me
Are proving crucial
to cracking the case
Because I know
where people were standing
And when they were
standing there.
Kirk, those transcripts turned
out to be immensely helpful
Because I learned a lot about
Everything that
happened that night.
But here are some key things.
This is where
the gathering took place.
Right in this area
is where the cart was
Where the speakers
gave their speeches.
And samuel fielden,
who gave a speech that night,
And at the time of the bombing,
he was on the platform here.
Now, another pair
of key suspects,
Albert and lucy parsons were
over here actually in the bar
Because it had started to rain
and the crowd dispersed.
Protesters were here,
And the police
were marching in formation,
And the bomb was thrown
and landed somewhere
In the middle
of the street right here.
Exploding into
the unfortunate officers.
Yep.
The eyewitnesses said
that the bomb was thrown
From near this alleyway,
and interestingly enough,
There was a suspect who was
roughly at that location,
And that was rudolph schnaubelt,
Who was one of the anarchists.
So you have a lot of people here
who are known to be
In the anarchy movement at
the time including schnaubelt,
So all this is a cogent picture.
Great.
Now, this rudolph schnaubelt,
He looks like
a key suspect to me,
And I need to learn
more about rudolph schnaubelt.
I tracked down
a chicago crime historian
Who believes a larger
conspiracy was afoot,
And it may have involved
the guy I'm now looking at...
Rudolph schnaubelt.
Based on the fact
he was standing
Where the bomb
was reportedly thrown from
At the precise time
it was launched at police.
But before I ask him
about schnaubelt,
I still want to know
more about george meng,
Whose own family
believed he was the bomber.
Well, richard, as you know,
the haymarket bombing
Is one of the biggest mysteries
in american history.
A lot of people
don't realize it.
Let me ask you
about george meng,
This shadowy character
Who was definitely sympathetic
to the labor cause
And had an axe to grind
with law enforcement.
George meng was in
the labor union.
He was definitely involved
in a lot of the activities,
But he escaped the radar of
the chicago police department.
It's not conclusively proven
That he was in the attendance
at haymarket that evening,
But schnaubelt was hiding out
at the meng farm,
And it was from that point
that schnaubelt made his escape.
This makes me think
That george meng's role
in the bombing
Was a little bit different than
the family may have believed.
I strongly believe
that the bomber
Was one rudolph schnaubelt
Who was actually among
the first people
Arrested in the dragnet
that followed.
Richard tells me police
arrested schnaubelt,
Who was an anarchist
of german descent,
Along with hundreds of others
immediately after the bombing,
But with little evidence
to hold him at the time,
He was released.
It came out that
there were two eyewitnesses.
One of the two said
unequivocally
That schnaubelt
was standing on the wagon.
About 30 seconds
before the bomb fell,
He jumped off the wagon and was
observed receiving a package.
This cannot be proven that
That was a bomb
he actually received,
But then a missile
appeared in the sky.
That so-called missile
had to be the bomb.
Chicago had been a hot spot
of labor agitation
For a number of years.
Tensions were running
pretty high,
And maybe they felt like
it was payback time.
It was now time to cross
that line into violence.
They believed that they
would be blood for blood,
And to strike
the capitalist snake,
The only way to do it
was through armed violence.
Just as I'm thinking
schnaubelt might be
My best suspect in the case,
Richard tells me something
that all but seals the deal.
Schnaubelt fled chicago.
He had gone to canada,
And then he later
went out to california
Where his brothers were living.
For a decade, he was on the run,
And he died in san bernardino,
california,
In October of 1896.
He took with him
secrets to the grave.
He was at the location,
So that does make him
a strong suspect.
After meeting
with richard lindberg,
I tracked down a photo
of my lead suspect,
Rudolph schnaubelt,
and want to find out
If a forensic sketch
from the present
Based on eyewitness accounts
Can help me figure out
If there's a match
to this suspect from the past.
Even though everything
is lining up,
No sketch of the suspect
has ever been made
From witness descriptions to use
for comparison until now.
Do you think
that forensic art can help us
Maybe identify
who this person was?
The only thing that changes it
are that you can't talk to him.
You can't ask him
more questions.
But it's a cold case.
You got to work
with what you've got.
We have to solve this crime,
Especially if it's
a crime of violence.
Perfect, let's do it.
All right. Cool.
This happened over
a century ago.
All we have is
the testimony of witnesses.
Scott, I usually
like to start, um,
If you have anything
that talks about his eyes.
Okay, he was full-faced here.
His eyes set
somewhat back in his head.
That helps a lot.
Probably some dark shadows
going on in there.
Those kind of features
help identify a person.
Also said they had
a light complexion.
That's huge.
Another person who said
High cheekbones,
full-chested, 5'10".
One of the things
I think is important
And was repeated often,
Light, sandy beard.
One person described the suspect
as wearing a hat.
Okay. I wish we
had more information,
But is this enough information
For you to feel like you're
gonna et a good picture?
Let me put it to you this way.
We've got limited features,
but we have features.
While the haymarket suspect
is long dead,
The mystery of who he was
and the important question
Of why he set off the bomb
is very much alive
And still studied by the fbi.
If I can find a bona fide link
to rudolph schnaubelt,
It could be a brand-new lead.
I think we're done, scott.
I want to see if it matches
one of the key suspects.
This is rudolph schnaubelt.
He is one of the key suspects,
and I have to tell you,
At this point,
I think he's the guy.
I'm just thinking, you know,
you put a hat on him,
As far as the core features,
I think it's pretty close.
Well, luis, when I look
at these two guys, it's uncanny.
With not a lot to work on,
you did an amazing job.
If we could get this guy
on a witness stand,
I think we could crack him.
I would think so.
The labor movement in 1886
Brought us many of the liberties
we enjoy as workers today
Along with fairer wages that
are easy to take for granted.
But it also brought
death sentences for five men
And prison sentences
for three others
Who are all now
widely considered
To have been unjustly tried
for conspiracy.
The model on
the martyr's monument
Memorializing them at the site
Where I launched
my investigation says,
"the day will come
When our silence
will be more powerful
Than the voices
you are throttling today."
And I'm here to tell
bleue benton,
Who launched me
into this investigation,
That day has finally come.
The biggest enduring mystery
of the haymarket affair
Is who threw the
bomb that night. Yes.
Based on everything
I've been able to do here
In this investigation,
Which included
setting off a bomb
Exactly like the one
that went off that night,
I think I know
who threw that bomb.
Well, I'm very eager to
hear your work. All right.
One of the things
I'm gonna show you right now
Was the result
of a police artist sketch
That was made based upon
a description of the suspect
From the court testimony
back in 1886.
So, this is who he drew.
Oh, that's very interesting.
I think I have an idea
of who this might be.
It looks exactly like
rudolph schnaubelt.
That's our guy.
I think history has always been
Very interested
in rudolph schnaubelt.
He had a very interesting
relationship in that world.
And, you know, he left chicago,
and he never returned.
This is historically
fascinating.
It really is.
And if we go back to 1867...
This is right after
the civil war...
There was a law passed
that the eight-hour day
Was gonna be the law.
The only problem is
it was never enforced.
I don't think
everybody was involved
In a violent uprising
and throwing bombs.
In fact, I think two people
That probably had nothing
to do with this
Were lucy and albert parsons.
It's important to remember
That not all the anarchists
at haymarket,
Like the parsons
who organized the rally,
Supported the violence
that ultimately ensued.
You know, we reap the benefit
of those efforts today
With the eight-hour workday,
Fair compensation,
fair treatment.
The slogan is
"the labor movement,
The people
who brought you the weekend."
You know,
somebody like lucy parsons,
Even after her husband's death,
For the rest of her life,
she fought for the cause,
And we owe a lot to people
like her and her husband.
This case has been a reminder
That the rights
of common workers
That we all benefit from today
Were hard-fought with a tragic
loss of life on both sides.
In 2019,
18 states started the year
With increased minimum wages
for employees,
Including minnesota,
where I live.
Something that
never would've happened
Without people
championing workers' rights
In the late 19th century.
Maybe the fbi will now have
enough to cross this bombing
Off its cold case list.
If you have a mysterious
artifact or site I need to see,
I want to know about it.
Go to travelchannel. Com/
americaunearthed.