caption death_date death_place birth_place nationality birth_date image article_title name
lavy , from a 1995 newspaper article . 23 december 1995 little rock , arkansas winfield , missouri american 18 december 1941 thomas lewis lavy.jpg thomas lavy
 thomas lewis lavy
thomas lavy

thomas lewis lavy was an american farmer who attempted to cross the american border into canada from alaska with several firearms , ricin poison and $ 89,000 in cash in 1993 .
he was turned away at the border , and the poison impounded .
his intentions were never clear , as he hanged himself in his jail cell four days after being arrested by the fbi on terrorism charges more than two years after the incident was first reported .
some media outlets called the incident a `` thwarted terrorist attack '' resulting in the death of the perpetrator , while others have suggested lavy was the innocent victim of a `` tragic case '' of an overzealous fbi agent and prosecutor .
one journalist opined this may well be `` another case where the government hounds some poor guy without mercy ... until he kills himself '' .
