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While many view bioterrorism as a possible future threat, most do not realize that this kind of terrorist act has already been put into action on American soil or that it happened before the anthrax threat. In 1984 in The Dalles, Oregon, 751 people fell ill due to Salmonella Typhimurium contamination (Andersson, 2001). However, this was not known to be an act of bioterrorism until more than a year had passed and it was discovered during the investigation of other charges (Grossman, 2001). Although this is the only proven intra-United States act of bioterrorism, it offers a unique look at the possibility of bioterrorism in the United States.
A religious group called the Rajneeshees, which followed a man by the name Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh, began to assemble in 1981 (Flaccus, 2001). The Rajneeshees came from all corners of the world and followed Bhagwan from India when he immigrated to the United States. Several thousand members strong and living on a 100-square-mile ranch that they had incorporated as a commune with a school, hospital, and police force, the Rajneeshees took over the city council of the nearby town of Antelope, which had a population of 95 (Flaccus). They renamed Antelope Rajneesheepuram and made it an extension of the ranch (Andersson, 2001).
Antelope, or Rajneesheepuram, however, was not enough for Bhagwan-he wanted The Dalles, too. Oregon's attorney general declared that it was unconstitutional for The Rajneeshee Cult to take over The Dalles because that would be a merger of church and state (Andersson, 2001). To fight this, they planned to take the sheriff's office and two or three judgeship positions in Wasco County in the 1984 county election (Flaccus, 2001). The members were unable to run in the election, but they intended to have enough write-in votes to win (Magnuson, 1984). To rig the election and ensure their win, the cult planned to contaminate The Dalles' water supply, making voters sick enough to keep them from voting.
In addition to making The Dalles community sick, the Rajneeshees issued a countrywide invitation to homeless people, opening their community and houses to provide homes for those who wanted to come. The Rajneeshees bused willing participants to Rajneesheepuram, "enticing...