In an attempt to shield private property and development from saboteurs, business lobbyists are pushing new laws that would further criminalize the actions of radical ecological activists. Government officials and corporations are applying the rubric of anti–terrorism to penalize those who destroy company or government property when protesting mistreatment of animals and the ecosystem.
Last month, federal grand juries in Oregon and California indicted 14 people on various conspiracy charges for their alleged involvement in the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) or the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) — underground groups responsible for dozens of acts of property destruction as a strategy for protecting vulnerable species.
While some federal officials and media reports liken the defendants to domestic terrorists, others, including some legal experts and free–speech groups, say the label is an intentional misnomer without legal basis.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Investigators said Thursday they have made an arrest in one of three recent alleged eco-terror arsons or attempted arsons east of Sacramento. Ryan D. Lewis, 21, was arrested Wednesday at his home in Newcastle and charged with the Jan. 12 attempted firebombing of a commercial building in the nearby city of Auburn, northeast of Sacramento. The FBI (news – web sites) and U.S. attorney’s office said the arson attempt was believed to have been committed on behalf of the Earth Liberation Front, a shadowy environmental extremist group. No arrests have been made in a similar attempted firebombing at a subdivision in nearby Lincoln Dec. 27, or in an arson at an apartment complex in Sutter Creek to the south Feb. 7. The FBI said its Joint Terrorism Task Force is continuing its investigation. The five incendiary devices found at the Auburn commercial complex matched three devices found in homes in the upscale Lincoln subdivision, the FBI has said. Letters to several newspapers purporting to be from the Earth Liberation Front said the attempted Lincoln arson was a statement against suburban sprawl, while the Auburn office building was targeted as "a statement against work and the horror of the (cubicle)." The letters promised more actions "every few weeks." None of those devices exploded, but seven crude explosive devices at the Sutter Creek apartment complex caused an early morning blaze. Fire sprinklers helped minimize the damage. Nearby graffiti asserted that "We will win – ELF," investigators said. The FBI says ELF has caused more than $100 million in damage since 1996, including an arson at a five–story condominium under construction in San Diego in August 2003 that caused $50 million in damages.
VANCOUVER (CP) – An extradition hearing date has been set for a man branded an eco-terrorist in the U.S. The hearing for Tre Arrow, also known as Michael Scarpitti, will begin April 18. He will remain behind bars until then, having been denied bail last month. Arrow, who has applied for refugee status in Canada, was arrested in Victoria last March and was found guilty of shoplifting at a Canadian Tire store. He is wanted by the FBI in Oregon, accused of fire-bombing logging and cement trucks in 2001. Arrow is seeking refugee status in Canada. In September, Arrow was sentenced to two days in jail after pleading guilty to shoplifting and giving a false name to police. He struggled briefly with the officer who held him until police arrived. Officers, however, became suspicious about his identity. Checks ultimately revealed he was on the FBI’s most wanted list as an alleged domestic terrorist.
By Mike Jackson–Daily Herald
"What a talent you have wasted," U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner told William Jensen Cottrell as the 24–year–old grad student was sentenced to eight years in federal prison and $3.5 million in restitution for his November conviction of conspiracy and arson charges. The charges came as the result of an August 2003 vandalism spree that destroyed some 125 SUVs at dealerships and homes in the San Gabriel Valley, east of Los Angeles. During the trial, prosecutors successfully portrayed Cottrell as "arrogant" and possessing a "towering superiority" toward people who didn’t share his ecological views. Cottrell, doing himself no favors, had testified that SUV dealers were "evil." Cottrell and his two alleged accomplices, Tyler Johnson and Michie Oe (both former Caltech students who supposedly fled the country), tossed Molotov cocktails in the violent spree. They also spray–painted slogans such as "Fat, Lazy Americans," "polluter," and "ELF" (Earth Liberation Front) on the vehicles. During the investigation, Cottrell had claimed membership in ELF, a radical environmental group. Defense lawyers argued that Cottrell had agreed with two friends to spray–paint vehicles, but was surprised when they began to hurl Molotov cocktails.
PITTSBURGH (AP) –– On New Year’s Day two years ago, the Earth Liberation Front, a radical environmental group, claimed responsibility for igniting several trucks and sport utility vehicles at an auto dealership – the fourth and last known attack in northwestern Pennsylvania in the preceding year. ELF’s lack of structure makes infiltration difficult and it doesn’t announce when or where attacks will occur, according to eco–terrorism experts and law enforcement. Members are anonymous, claiming membership by simply carrying out an action under the group’s name and guidelines. The group uses the Internet to communicate and broadcast its message, but its Web site has been down for about the past six months, said Kelly Stoner, executive director of Stop Eco–Violence, a Portland, OR, group.