Jewell was a 34-year-old security guard at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, and at first he was rightfully hailed as a hero after he discovered a backpack filled with explosives and risked his own life to evacuate the area. After the bomb went off, dozens were injured and one person was killed. There is no question, though, that many, many more would have died had Jewell not sounded the alarm.
Unfortunately for Jewell, the acclaim didn’t last long. He was overweight, white, and a southerner ‐ the perfect target for our left-wing media... And so, three days later the media reported the F.B.I. was looking at him as a possible suspect. There was zero evidence against Jewell. The entire story was based on a criminal profile of the bomber.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution launched the hate campaign by comparing Jewell to the serial killer behind a horrible series of child murders in Atlanta.