Thomas C. Butler: The Scientist Behind the Miami Airport Evacuation

(Sept. 3) -- The man behind the bomb scare and subsequent massive evacuation of Miami International Airport has been identified as Thomas C. Butler, a well-known scientist and professor.

The man questioned in the scare was released without charges and allowed to continue his journey, The Associated Press reported this afternoon. It did not identify the man other than to say he is a 70-year-old scientist. It said his release was reported by a senior law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity.

Butler, who was identified in other news reports today, including The Miami Herald, has a history with law enforcement agents -- and his prior wrongdoings are closely tied to his longtime expertise in infectious diseases and, most important, potential bio-threats.

What's Butler best known for?

Well, you can thank him for standardizing an effective treatment for diarrhea. Butler is credited with confirming the efficacy of oral hydration in addressing the condition.

But Butler's career -- which also included successful stints at the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center and Texas Tech University -- was derailed in 2003. That's when the scientist was arrested for (among a total of 69 felony charges) improperly shipping several vials of bubonic plague samples, in violation of bio-terror laws.

He was later convicted, lost his job and served several months in prison.

What happened in Miami?

So far, details are murky. But we do know that Butler was detained en route from Saudi Arabia to Texas with a suspicious item in his luggage, prompting Miami airport officials to go into terrorism-prevention overdrive.

A bomb squad tested the item in question, and most of Miami's airport was evacuated for several hours.

"We don't even know if a crime occurred here," FBI agent Michael Leverock told reporters this morning, before the AP reported the man had been released.

So is he a bio-terrorist?

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Far from it, according to those who've known and worked with him. After Butler's 2003 arrest and subsequent prosecution, renowned scientific communities -- including the Federation of American Scientists and the National Academy of Science -- publicly backed their colleague.

"For these scientists, this isn't just anybody, you know. Tom Butler is revered by scientists," his lawyer, Jonathan Turley, told CBS in 2003. "I mean, as an academic I wish people would say these things about me."

But in the eyes of the law, Butler's situation remains much more complicated. He's on the federal Denied Persons List, which strictly delineates what he can and cannot carry across U.S. borders.

Whether Butler's suspicious airport item falls under that criteria remains unanswered.