Tag: Earth Liberation Front

Security Guard Receives $25,000 Reward for Capture of Michael Scarpitti (AKA Tre Arrow)

During the months that Michael Scarpitti (AKA Tre Arrow) was on the FBI’s Most Wanted List, the agency offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to Scarpitti’s arrest. On August 23, FBI officials traveled to Victoria, British Columbia, to present a $25,000 check to the security guard who apprehended Scarpitti in Canada.

Security guard Anthony Bunting stopped Scarpitti as the fugitive attempted to steal a pair of bolt cutters from a Canadian Tire store. Scarpitti claimed his name was Joshua Murray, but Canadian police quickly figured out he was, in fact, Scarpitti.

The FBI also presented a number of officers and investigators from various agencies involved in the arrest and identification of Scarpitti letters of recommendation from FBI Director Robert S. Mueller.

Scarpitti is wanted in connection with two Oregon arsons committed by the Earth Liberation Front. Currently the United States is seeking to extradite Scarpitti who has applied for asylum in Canada.

Source:

Tre Arrow arrest brings BC man $25,000 reward. Bend.Com, August 23, 2004.

Total Liberation Tour 2004

In case you missed it, Total Liberation Tour 2004 — featuring radical bands and animal rights speakers — wrapped up in late July, but not before making a fascinating stop in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Brigham Young University NewsNet provided a good summation of the tour,

After the first few bands the speaker, introducing himself only as Evan, spoke on the need to return to a primitive lifestyle and abandon civilization in order to experience true freedom and wildness.

Nothing could tape that, but local organizer Jakob Nyberg came close as he tried to tell the press that the tour had nothing to do with animal rights or environmental extremism. Nyberg was forced to defend the tour after Harrison David Burrow allegedly torched a BYU building the week before the concert.

The Associated Press reported,

The concert, called the “Total Liberation Tour,” was one of 10 stops
scheduled nationally to promote a variety of causes, such as animal and
minority rights.

The FBI had said that the tour would feature top leaders of both
ecoterrorist groups Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front,
which are suspected in two high-profile arson fires in Utah in the past
month.

Nyberg, 27, who volunteered to help organize the Utah stop when he heard the
national tour was being planned, said there was no connection between the
show and the groups, and he didn’t know anyone involved in that kind of
action.

No connection between the tour and the ALF or ELF? Hmmm…here’s a Total Liberation Tour poster:

Leslie James Pickering is an Earth Liberation Front spokesman. Andrew Stepanian and Rod Coronado, of course, are both convicted Animal Liberation Front criminals. Josh Harper is a former ALF spokesman.

Nyberg is either an idiot, a liar or both to claim that there’s no connection between the ELF/ALF and the Total Liberation 2004 tour.

Sources:

Vegans, animal rights activists gather for tour. Jacob Conde, BYU NewsNet, July 15, 2004.

Organizers deny FBI claim that concert related to ecoterrorism. Associated Press.

Michael Scarpitti (aka Tre Arrow) Allowed to Make Case to Remain Refugee in Canada

The Canadian immigration and refugee board ruled in July that Michael Scarpitti (aka Tre Arrow) should be allowed to present his case for refugee status in Canada. Scarpitti is wanted in the United States for the 2001 firebombing of vehicles at an Oregon logging site.

After a two year manhunt, Scarpitti was arrested in British Columbia in March trying to steal a pair of bolt cutters from a hardware store.

Scarpitti contends that he could not receive a fair trial in the United States because the government views him as a domestic terrorist.

If convicted in the United States, Scarpitti could face up to 80 years in jail.

Source:

Arrow’s request for refugee status in Canada accepted. Associated Press, July 30, 2004.

Judge Rejects Accused Ecoterrorist's Argument that Arson is Nonviolent

A judge this week refused to throw out charges accusing William Jensen Cottrell, 24, of using a destructive device in a violent crime. Cottrell is accused of setting fire to more than 100 sports utility vehicles at a California dealership on behalf of the Earth Liberation Front.

Cottrell was arrested in the crime after an e-mail was sent to the Los Angeles Times complaining that the man originally arrested for that crime, Josh Connole, had no role in the crime and claimed the crime for the Animal Liberation Front. Connole was released three days after his arrest.

That e-mail was traced back to a Caltech computer laboratory. Records of security cards used to gain access to the lab allowed police to narrow down the suspects and eventually to the arrest of Cottrell.

Cottrell is charged with arson, conspiracy to commit arson and the use of a destructive device in a violent crime. Cottrell’s lawyer filed a number of motions trying to convince the judge to dismiss the last charge, including one claiming that arson is not an inherently violent crime. The judge disagreed, ruling that the crime was clearly one of violence.

Why the focus on one charge? Using a destructive device in a violent crime is a federal felony that carries a mandatory minimum of 30 years in jail.

One of Cottrell’s attorneys, Michael Mayock, said that he believes prosecutors are adding that charge in an effort to force Cottrell to agree to a deal. So far, though, according to Cottrell, prosecutors have not offered Cottrell a plea deal.

Source:

Judge denies accused eco-arsonist’s request. NBC 4 TV, August 2, 2004.

Student to seek lesser charge. Pasadena Star-News, July 31, 2004.

SUV arson suspect will face charge. Jessica Gresko, Associated Press, August 2, 2004.

Tre Arrow Wants Refugee Status In Canada

Suspect Earth Liberation Front arsonist Tre Arrow has asked a Canadian immigration panel to grant him refugee status in that country.

Arrow was arrested in March after being caught shoplifting in a Vancouver, British Columbia store. Arrow was indicted in the United States in August 2002 for his alleged role in the firebombing of various vehicles at an Oregon logging site.

In December 2002, Arrow was placed on the FBI’s most wanted list but escaped arrest until his shoplifting escapade. Not surprisingly, he was allegedly trying to steal a pair of bolt cutters.

Apparently, Arrow is claiming that he would be unable to obtain a fair trial in the United States because he has been accused of terrorism — but Arrow is charged with using fire to commit a felony, destroying vehicles used in interstate commerce, and using incendiary devices in a crime of violence.

The first stage in the refugee application process is for the immigration panel to decide whether or not Arrow can be formally admitted into Canada. In order to do so, it must first find that he has no affiliation with organizations such as the Earth Liberation Front or that the Earth Liberation Front is not a terrorist organization.

The hearings in such cases are all held behind closed doors, and hearings in Arrow’s case are not scheduled to resume until June 18.

Arrow could face up to 80 years in jail if convicted of all charges against him in Oregon.

Sources:

Canada reviews Tre Arrow’s refugee claim. Jeremy Hainsworth, KATU.Com, May 31, 2004.

Tre Arrow heads back before Canadian immigration panel. Associated Press, June 10, 2004.

FBI Offers $50,000 Reward for Information Leading to Conviction of ELF Criminals

The FBI last week announced that it was offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of Earth Liberation Front criminals who on May 21, 2001 firebombed an Oregon tree farm and a Seattle horticulture center.

According to an FBI press release announcing the reward,

At 3:20 a.m. on May 21, 2001, the University of Washington Urban Horticultural Center in Seattle and the Jefferson Poplar Farm in Clatskanie, Oregon, were simultaneously ignited causing millions of dollars in damage. Five days later, the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) claimed responsibility for both arsons, citing its disapproval of genetic engineering research for poplar trees.

According to The Oregonian, the FBI believes that the two arsons along with three other earlier arson in Oregon, including one at an automobile dealership, are all the work of the same individual or group of individuals due to the similar construction of the incendiary devices used in all five bombings.

Anyone with information about the arsons should contact their local FBI office.

Sources:

FBI Press Release. FBI, May 21, 2004.

FBI offers $50,000 reward for ELF leads. Bryan Denson, The Oregonian, May 22, 2004.