The Largest Bioterrorist Attack In America Occurred At A Taco Time In Oregon In 1984
By Catherine Armstrong|Published March 12, 2020
×
Catherine Armstrong
Author
Writer, editor and researcher with a passion for exploring new places. Catherine loves local bookstores, independent films, and spending time with her family, including Gus the golden retriever, who is a very good boy.
The CDC states that around 48 million people get sick from a foodborne illness every year in the United States, so you’ve likely experienced the unpleasant symptoms of exposure to salmonella, listeria, or campylobacter – the three most common microorganisms that cause gastric distress.
Exposure to these illnesses is rarely intentional. Most of the time, it’s caused by people who aren’t properly washing their hands, or are preparing food incorrectly – undercooking chicken or eggs, for instance. But in 1984, a cult group in Oregon committed the largest bioterrorist attack in the United States by intentionally infecting food at 10 different restaurants, including a Taco Time in The Dalles.
Back in the 1980s, a man named Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh purchased a 64,000 acre ranch in Wasco County and moved his religious group to Oregon.
The group got its start in India, and had more than 30,000 members. The ranch, known as Rajneeshpuram, was home to around 7,000 people. The followers quickly took over the little town of Antelope, and changed its name to Rajneesh.
In 1984, the group decided that it wanted to gain some political control in Wasco County. Two of the three seats on the Wasco County Circuit Court were up for election, and the Rajneeshees wanted them.
The group plotted to keep local voters in the county out of the polls, so that their followers could vote in its own members.
Advertisement
Their strategy? Make everyone so sick that they'd stay home on election day. To accomplish this, they chose salmonella, a bacteria that causes diarrhea, fever, and stomach pain.
In other fast food restaurants they contaminated salad dressing containers, and spread it over food.
People quickly became very ill. In all, 751 people got sick, and 45 were hospitalized. Luckily, no one died, though one victim was a newborn baby who originally had just a five percent chance of survival.
When the ranch was investigated, law enforcement found a bioterrorism lab with salmonella cultures, information on how to make explosives, and wire-tapping equipment.
Ma Anand Sheela, one of the main culprits behind the attacks, was captured and convicted. She served two years in prison, then moved to Switzerland. The cult's leader, Baghwan Shree Rajneesh (also known as Osho) made a deal with federal prosecutors, which included him leaving the country. He died in India in 1990.
