Anti-abortion extremist and anthrax hoaxer, Clayton Lee Waagner, was sentenced to thirty years in prison Friday for charges related to weapons, theft, and escape charges. Waagner, who has made numerous threats on the lives of abortion providers, awaits charges from federal authorities related to more than 250 anthrax threats he sent reproductive health care facilities in October and November 2001. Citing Waagner’s lack of remorse and repeated threats against abortion providers, U.S. Judge Harold Baker handed Waagner the maximum sentence allowed under the law, stating that he felt Waagner was a public threat.
Waagner was apprehended outside a Kinko’s in Springdale, Ohio on December 5, 2001 afternoon after a Kinko’s employee recognized the fugitive from a U.S. Marshall Service poster. The anti-abortion extremist escaped in February 2001 from an Illinois jail where he was awaiting sentencing on federal firearms violations and automobile theft. Until his arrest, he was listed on the “Most Wanted” lists of the FBI, US Marshal Service, and ATF.
