Tag: Earth Liberation Front

Earth Liberation Front Extremists Destroy Washington Homes

Earth Liberation Front extremists were responsible for firebombing three houses in Snohomish County, Washington, that caused an estimated $1 million in damages.

The fires were set in the early morning hours of April 20 in Snohomish County, and there were apparently other targets in nearby areas as well as one incendiary device that apparently failed to ignite.

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer,

At a separate home-construction site near Maltby, workers arrived yesterday morning to find soft drink and Gatorade bottles filled with liquid and a threatening note written on a piece of cardboard.

The Associated Press quoted the Sierra Club’s Bill Arthur as denouncing these acts of extremism saying that,

What’s happened in Snohomish County is not an ecological statement but a criminal act.

Sources:

ELF tied to fires at new houses, $1 million loss. Associated Press, April 24, 2004.

Arsonists destroy two new houses. Jennifer Langston, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 21, 2004.

Pickering on ELF

San Diego’s Channel 10 interviewed former Earth Liberation Front spokesman Leslie James Pickering in February in which the apologist for terrorism did an excellent job of summarizing the views of ELF extremists,

Violence is a necessary element of an oppressive struggle.

And certainly the ALF and ELF are nothing if not oppressive.

Pickering added that the goal of ELF activists should be nothing less than the overthrow of the United States government,

I don’t think they’re [ELF extremists] going far enough at all. They’re only part of a larger building revolutionary movement that won’t stop until it has a successful overthrow of this country.

Source:

Former ELF leader defends group’s efforts. TheSanDiegoChannel.Com, February 18, 2004.

ELF Damages Equipment at Virginia Building Site

Earth Liberation Front extremists did about $30,000 in damage to a Charlottesville, Virginia building site in early February.

Activists set fire to a bulldozer and damaged other construction equipment at the site, which is being developed into a mix retail, commercial and residential units.

The ELF extremists let behind a banner reading “YOUR CONSTRUCTION = LONG TERM DESTRUCTION – ELF.”

The FBI is investigating the crime.

Source:

ELF Damages Construction Equipment at Charlottesville Site. Frontline Information Service, February 9, 2004.

Radical group claims damage. Carlos Santos, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Virginia), February 11, 2004.

Craig Rosebraugh On Terrorism, Animal and Otherwise

In February, the Portland Tribune ran a profile of former Animal Liberation Front/Earth Liberation Front spokesman Craig Rosebraugh. Rosebraugh has taken the whole terrorism ball and run with it to its logical conclusion.

Specifically, Rosebraugh apparently has concluded, correctly, that torching laboratories and construction sites and releasing mink are not going to change society’s approach to animals or the environment. His solution? If civil disobedience doesn’t work and property destruction doesn’t work, then killing people just might.

In early 2003, Rosebraugh issued a press release calling for “large scale urban rioting” to stop the war against Iraq, and according to the Portland Tribune, he’s taken the logical next step in his support of terrorism,

Rosebraugh, however, says the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks are defensible because the terrorist acts were meant to send a legitimate message to Americans. He even put a color photo of the second World Trade Center tower bursting into flames on the cover of his book.

But remember, the idea that some animal rights activist care more about animals than human beings is just nonsense invented by far right “animal abusers.”

Source:

Activist indulges capitalistic craving. Jim Redden, Portland Tribune, February 6, 2004.

Three ELF Criminals Plead Guilty

In January U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty announced the guilty plea of Earth Liberation Front extremists Adam Blackwell, Aaron Linas and John Wade.

The three were students at Douglas S. Freeman High School in Henrico County, Virginia, in 2002 when they decided to being a spree of destruction in the name of the Earth Liberation Front.

Blackwell and Linas used kerosene-soaked wicks to set fire to the fuel tanks of vehicles being used to construct a mall in Henrico. The three also vandalized 25 SUVs at an automobile dealership and targeted several other SUVs parked outside private homes. They also vandalized three fast-food restaurants by etching the glass.

McNuly told the Associated Press, “This behavior is dangerous to human life. It is putting people at risk through destruction of property.”

Under their plea agreement, the most severe sentence the three could receive would be five years in jail. They have also agreed to provide in excess of $200,000 in restitution for the damage they did.

Sentencing in the case is scheduled for April.

Correction: A reader notes that while John Wade plead guilty to a variety of criminal acts and is currently serving 37 months in prison, he in fact was not with Blackwell and Linas on the night they set fire to gasoline tanks as this article originally implied. AnimalRights.Net regrets the error.

Source:

Virginia eco-vandals enter agreements over vandalized SUVs. Associated Press, January 12, 2004.

Man Arrested, Then Released, In SUV Arson Case

The investigation into an August arson at a Hummer dealership that did more than $1 million in damages took a bizarre turn in September when police arrested a suspect and then released him 4 days later without bringing charges.

Joshua Thomas Connole, 25, was arrested on September 12 on suspicion of being responsible for the Aug. 22 arson at a California automobile dealership that destroyed 20 Hummer H2 vehicles and damaged another 20 Hummer H2s and several Chevrolet Tahoes. Three other area dealerships were also vandalized.

Connole was arrested by West Covina, California, police and booked on investigation of felony arson and vandalism. His bail was set at $825,000.

Police in this case have surveillance video footage of two men and unidentified police sources told The Los Angeles Times that Connole was one of the individuals on that surveillance tape.

But on September 15, police released Connole saying they could not present all of the evidence against him to prosecutors within the 48 hours required by law after his arrest.

Which illustrates an unbelievable level of ineptness on the part of police which perhaps explains why they catch so few of those responsible for animal rights and environmental terrorism. If Connole is clearly one of the persons on the videotape, why not present that evidence to the prosecutor? If it’s not clear that Connole is one of the persons on the videotape and police needed to develop further evidence, why arrest him in the first place?

Although they released him, police also told local news media that Connole was the prime suspect in the case and would likely be charged at a later date. West Covina police Cpl. Rudy Lopez told the Associated Press,

Once we put all the evidence together, we will file at a later date. We still consider him a player in this incident.

Connole has seen the video and says that he is clearly not on it. He told the Associated Press,

How can anyone think that was me? The guy had Nike shoes on. I would never wear Nike shoes.

And as time goes by it appears the case against Connole was significantly weaker than police thought given that they still haven’t pursued charges against him. Connole’s lawyer was outraged in media interviews at the police and FBI’s “smearing” of his client, and the lack of action since his arrest suggests that this anger was more than justifiable.

Sources:

Man arrested in connection with SUV arson released from LA jail. Associated Press, September 15, 2003.

Suspect in fires at SUV dealer freed. San Diego Union-Tribune, September 16, 2003.

Activist denies blame in SUV-lot fire. Associated Press, September 14, 2003.

Man nabbed in fires at Calif. SUV stores. Associated Press, September 13, 2003.