On February 8 animal rights activist Josh Harper finally testified before a federal grand jury about what he knows about the Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front.
Harper was supposed to testify before the grand jury last year, but instead spent four months as a fugitive attempting to avoid testifying. Charged with criminal contempt, he was arrested in September 2000 and is scheduled to go on trial March 6 on the contempt charge.
Hoping to avoid prosecution, Harper cut a deal with federal authorities in which he agreed to submit to questioning by the grand jury. According to The Oregonian, after testifying Harper said that he was asked about a number of ALF/ELF crimes going back to 1997 and that he invoked his rights under the Fifth Amendment several times to avoid answering questions.
Source:
Panel questions anarchist sought in eco-terrorist case. Bryan Denson, The Oregonian, February 9, 2001.