The claim: Federal experiment in putting a small town under siege. Began with the search/ hunt for survivalist Eric Rudolph. No persons were allowed in or out of town without federal permission and travel through town was highly restricted. Most residents compelled to stay in their homes. Unregistered Baptist pastor from Indiana visiting Andrews affirmed these facts.
What it really is: The area was heavily searched in 1998 by the FBI and state law enforcement agents because it was believed that the terrorist Eric Rudolph was there (in fact he was captured in the nearby town of Murphy in 2003).
As for the claim that the town was under siege during the search, and that travel was highly restricted and that no one was allowed in or out of the town without permission from the government, this is probably just an exaggeration and an misinterpretation of what one person observed. Also, I can find no other claims to back this claim up.
I've lived in the Andrews area for 8 years. I've talked to a lot of the locals and they must laugh at how inept the FBI was! NOTHING about military presence.
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