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.
Sjakkelien Vollebregt / Anefo/Wikimedia 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.
© 2003 Samvado Gunnar Kossatz/Wikimedia The group plotted to keep local voters in the county out of the polls, so that their followers could vote in its own members.
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.
By NIAID/Public Domain/Wikimedia
The group visited the Wasco County Courthouse, and spread doorknobs and urinal handles with salmonella, but it didn’t make anyone sick.
Cacophony/Wikimedia
In September and October of 1984, they visited 10 restaurants, contaminating salad bars and salsa bars with salmonella.
Anthony White/Google One of the restaurants affected was the Taco Time in The Dalles.
The bioterrorists poured a liquid containing salmonella into the salsa bar here.
Crystal Simpson/Google 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.
Ginger Ranslam/Google 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.
Matt Meyer/Google The Taco Time in The Dalles still stands, and it’s a perfectly safe place to dine today.
Do you remember the vicious bioterrorist attacks in Oregon in 1984? Share your memories in the comments!
Sjakkelien Vollebregt / Anefo/Wikimedia
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.
© 2003 Samvado Gunnar Kossatz/Wikimedia
The group plotted to keep local voters in the county out of the polls, so that their followers could vote in its own members.
By NIAID/Public Domain/Wikimedia
Cacophony/Wikimedia
Anthony White/Google
One of the restaurants affected was the Taco Time in The Dalles.
Crystal Simpson/Google
In other fast food restaurants they contaminated salad dressing containers, and spread it over food.
Ginger Ranslam/Google
When the ranch was investigated, law enforcement found a bioterrorism lab with salmonella cultures, information on how to make explosives, and wire-tapping equipment.
Matt Meyer/Google
The Taco Time in The Dalles still stands, and it’s a perfectly safe place to dine today.
Learn more about the Rajneeshees in our article here.
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Address: 1108 W 6th St, The Dalles, OR 97058, USA
