[Ppnews] Witch-Hunting the Environmental Movement

[Political Prisoner News]

April 28, 2008
http://www.counterpunch.org/lendman04282008.html




Witch-Hunting the Environmental Movement


The Politics of Green Scare

By STEPHEN LENDMAN

In May 2005, FBI Deputy Assistant Director for Counterterrorism John 
Lewis told a Senate panel that ecoterrorism is "one of today's most 
serious domestic terrorism threats." Then the FBI's James Jarboe 
estimated that two organizations (the Earth Liberation Front - ELF 
and Animal Liberation Front - ALF) committed over 600 criminal acts 
since 1996, causing over $43 million in damage. For his part, Lewis 
said both groups committed more than 1100 such acts since 1976, 
"conservatively" resulting in around $110 million in damages.

What's going on, and is there anything to these charges? Coming from 
FBI sources makes them highly suspect, especially when there are two 
types of documented cases:

-- people guilty of non-violent offenses called "terrorism" and given 
excessively harsh sentences; and most disturbing

-- innocent people targeted, accused, convicted and sentenced to hard 
time for environmental activism or supporting animal rights; and 
that's on top of hundreds of other political persecutions and many 
thousands of innocent people (or petty criminals) in US prisons.

This behavior isn't new in America, but things heated up after 9/11 
with the administration wasting no time getting going. That evening, 
George Bush addressed the nation and declared a "war against 
terrorism," asked for world support, and began the government's 
"emergency (preventive war strategy) response plans." It was planned 
and ready before 9/11 as a "war of terrorism" to defile the law, wage 
aggressive wars, usurp unprecedented powers, destroy our civil 
liberties, and convince the public to sacrifice freedom for the 
security they never got. In addition, the October 2001 USA Patriot 
Act (written well before 9/11) created the federal crime of "domestic 
terrorism" that broadened the definition and applied it to US 
citizens as well as aliens.

When John Lewis addressed another Senate panel in May 2004, he stated 
that "the FBI divides the terrorist threat facing (the country) into 
two broad categories, international and domestic....and during the 
past decade we have witnessed dramatic changes in the nature of the 
domestic terrorist threat." For a while "right-wing extremism" 
(loosely defined as the militia movement) overtook left-wing 
terrorism (but in) the past several years....special interest 
extremism (from groups like) the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), the 
Earth Liberation Front (ELF), and related extremists, has emerged as 
a serious domestic terrorist threat." That view is amplified on the 
FBI's web site that states the Bureau "is part of a vast national and 
international campaign dedicated to defeating terrorism" with 
ecoterrorism a key part of it.

The FBI defined it in 2002 to mean: "the use or threatened use of 
violence of a criminal nature against innocent victims or property by 
an environmentally-oriented, subnational group for 
environmental-political reasons, or aimed at an audience beyond the 
target, often of a symbolic nature."

Activists refer to a tactic called "monkeywrenching" from the 1985 
Dave Foreman/Bill Haywood-edited book "Ecodefense: A Field Guide to 
Monkeywrenching." It describes it as:

-- "nonviolent resistance to the destruction of natural diversity and 
wilderness (and) never directed against human beings or other forms of life;

-- strategic....thoughtful (and) deliberate in order to succeed;

-- individual or very small (group actions) of people who have known 
each other for years (and have) trust and a good working relationship;

-- targeted (because) mindless, erratic vandalism is 
counterproductive as well as unethical;

-- timely (and) not....when there is a nonviolent civil disobedience action;

-- dispersed (to) hasten overall industrial retreat from wild areas;

-- fun (even though it's) serious and potentially dangerous;

-- not revolutionary....to overthrow any social, political, or economic system;

-- simple (with) elaborate commando operations generally avoided; and

-- deliberate and ethical (by being) the most moral of all actions: 
protecting life, defending Earth."

The Earth First Journal defines the practice as: "Ecotage 
(environmentally-motivated sabotage), ecodefense, billboard bandit(ry 
by sawing offensive ones down), road reclamation (to remediate 
environmental damage), tree spiking (with nails to discourage 
destructive logging), even fire." These are unlawful sabotage acts 
"of industrial extraction and development equipment, as a means of 
striking at the Earth's destroyers where they commit their crimes and 
hitting them where they feel it most - in their profit margins." It 
goes "beyond civil disobedience. It is nonviolent, aimed only at 
inanimate objects. It is one of the last steps in defense of the 
wild....by an Earth defender when almost all other measures have failed."

In May 2004, Republican George Nethercutt targeted them by 
introducing the Ecoterrorism Prevention Act of 2004, but it didn't 
pass. If it had, it would have made a federal crime: "certain 
violent, threatening, obstructive, and destructive conduct that is 
intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with plant and animal 
enterprises, and for other purposes."

Republicans tried again in July with the Terrorism Against Animal-Use 
Entities Prohibition Improvement Act that would have amended the 1992 
Animal Enterprise Protection Act and made it harsher. It also failed 
to pass, but defeat was only temporary.

On November 27, 2006, the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) 
amended the 1992 act and became law with very harsh provisions. It's 
language is broad and vague, but it criminalizes First Amendment 
activities that advocate for animal rights like peaceful protests, 
leafleting, undercover investigations, whistleblowing and boycotts.

The new law updates the earlier act with penalties far exceeding 
comparable offenses under other laws. It also goes much further. It 
allows expanded surveillance of animal rights organizations, 
including criminal wiretapping, and makes it easier for a court to 
find probable cause for the vague crime of economic damage or 
disruption than for one requiring hard evidence a person or group 
plans to commit these acts.

The bill exempts "lawful public, governmental or business reaction to 
the disclosure of information about an animal enterprise," but that 
only applies to economic disruption claims, not damage, and makes it 
hard to distinguish between the two. It also:

-- expands the kinds of facilities covered by adding ones that use or 
sell animals and animal products;

-- covers any person, entity or organization connected to an animal enterprise;

-- applies to any form of advocacy;

-- criminalizes threatening conduct and protected speech as well as 
communication with anyone engaging in these practices;

-- protects corporate animal abusers with a vested interest in 
silencing dissent; and

-- targets any form of civil disobedience or protest activity and 
designates animal advocates as terrorists even when they cause no 
physical harm; in addition, the bill's language is so broad and vague 
(by design), it's hard to know the difference between legal and 
illegal behavior; it's an act of green scare state terrorism that, in 
fact, can be used against anyone.

Green Scare - A Definition

Activists equate it to earlier Red Scare periods after WW  I and II 
when the government used various schemes to incite fear, sanction 
witch hunt prosecutions, and win widespread public approval for them. 
The term may first have been used in 2002 and refers to legal and 
extralegal government actions against animal liberation and 
environmental activists. The Spirit of Freedom prisoner support 
network defines it as "tactics the government and (their enforcement 
agencies use) to attack the ELF/ALF (Earth Liberation Front and 
Animal Liberation Front) and specifically those who publicly support them."

The term also refers to the 2005 arrests, indictments and convictions 
from the FBI's Operation Backfire against alleged ELF/ALF activists. 
It charged them with damaging property, conspiracy, arson and using 
destructive devices.

The Operation was the FBI's code name for its ten year  domestic "war 
on terrorism" that's, in fact, a war on dissent. It resulted in 17 
Pacific Northwest arson indictments with evidence that was very 
suspect. It came from a heroin-addicted self-professed serial 
arsonist whose former girl friend mentioned him in a grand jury 
proceeding. On December 7, 2005, it culminated when federal and local 
law enforcement agents began the largest ever roundup of alleged 
environmental and animal liberation activists. Seven arrests were 
made in four states, others got grand jury subpoenas, and people 
seized were charged with various acts of destroying property as part 
of ELF and ALF efforts.

Those arrested faced potential unprecendented sentences for 
non-violent acts from which no one was harmed. In some cases, they 
could be mandatory 30 year periods and in others life if found guilty 
on all counts. That compares to a median sentence of five years for arson.

With that as a threat, all but four defendants testified against the 
others in return for leniency. The remaining four struck plea 
bargains to admit responsibility but incriminate no one else. At 
sentencing in June 2007, the presiding judge was harsh. He included 
Terrorism Enhancements (TE) that are used when the justice department 
decides a crime aimed to influence or coerce government policy. It 
means sentences may be longer, and the Bureau of Prisons gets greater 
latitude in assigning prisoners that may be to "supermax" facilities 
for the most violent offenders.

In this case, sentences ranged from three years, one month to 13 
years with most defendants getting added TEs. In addition, on October 
26, 2007, FBI informant and serial arsonist Jacob Ferguson pleaded 
guilty to one count of arson and an additional count of attempted 
arson. According to his plea bargain, he won't be charged for his 
other offenses. Further, he's required to make no restitution, his 
formal sentencing keeps being postponed, it may come up ahead, but 
prosecutors recommend he spend no time in prison, receive no fines, 
and be able to keep the $50,000 or more he was paid for cooperating.

That's the state of things today where anything goes in the "war on 
terrorism" and publicizing arrests and convictions takes precedence 
over justice. Unless stopped, things will only get worse.

ELF and ALF - A Brief Description

On its web site, ELF describes itself as "an underground movement 
with no leadership, membership or official spokesperson" and uses its 
site "to inform and chronicle issues related to ELF." It further states:

-- "Any individuals who committed arson or any other illegal acts 
under the ELF name....choose to do so....and do so only driven by 
their personal conscience;

-- These choices are not endorsed, encouraged, or approved of by this 
web site's management, webmasters, affiliates, or other participants;

-- The intention of this web site is journalistic in intent only to 
inform and chronicle issues related to ELF;

-- The owners, management, webmasters, affiliates, or other 
participants of this website are not spokespersons, members, or 
affiliates of The Earth Liberation Front in any way; nor do the 
opinions of anyone acting in the name of The Earth Liberation Front 
or ELF, represent the opinions of" those affiliated with this site.

Others refer to the ELF as a collective of autonomous individuals or 
cells that use "economic sabotage and guerrilla war to stop the 
exploitation and destruction of the natural environment." The 
organization was founded in Brighton, England in 1992, spread across 
Europe by 1994, and is now an international movement in over a dozen 
countries. The FBI designated ELF its top domestic terror threat in 
March 2001 and called the group "ecoterrorists."

The ALF is an international animal liberation organization with roots 
in the 19th century and with no formal membership or leadership. Its 
web site defines "animal rights" as "the philosophy of allowing 
nonhuman animals to have the basic rights that all sentient beings 
desire; freedom to live a natural life, free from human exploitation, 
unnecessary pain and suffering, and premature death." It believes 
animals aren't property any more than humans are and asks if animal 
rights will become the "next great social justice movement." It cites 
President of the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) David 
Weisbrot saying treating animals is increasingly becoming a social 
and legal issue as well as an important economic one.

Its members engage in direct action on behalf of animals, including 
removing them from laboratories and fur farms (they call liberation, 
not theft) and sabotaging animal testing and industry animal-based 
facilities. Its statements affirm it supports any acts that further 
animal liberation where reasonable precautions are taken not to 
endanger life. Its covert cells operate in dozens of countries 
clandestinely and independently of each other. In January 2005, the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designated ALF a domestic 
terrorist threat.

Examples of Witch Hunt Convictions

Many can be cited, but Jeff Luers' case is typical. In June 2001, he 
was sentenced to 22 years, eight months for burning three SUVs to 
raise awareness of global warming and how these gas-guzzlers 
contribute to it. No one was hurt, $40,000 in damages resulted, and 
the vehicles were refurbished and subsequently sold. Jeff is a 
political prisoner, and his sentence exceeds that for murder, 
kidnapping and rape under Oregon law where he resides. He appealed in 
January 2002, the hearing was held in November 2005, and on February 
14, 2007 the Appeals Court remanded his case to the Circuit Court for 
resentencing. The case was heard on February 28, 2008 after which his 
sentence was reduced to 10 years.

Josh Harper is another political prisoner who committed no crime. 
He's an activist believer in animal liberation, preserving the 
wilderness, and participated in human freedom projects for over 10 
years. In 1997, he co-created Breaking Free Video magazine and went 
on speaking tours in 1999. He also sabotaged a whale hunt, defied 
grand juries, and contributed to confrontational protest campaigns. 
It made him a target and got him indicted for violating the Animal 
Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA).

Evidence at his trial was mostly from two of his speeches in 2001 and 
2002. He spoke about already committed political sabotage acts as 
well as European anti-vivisection campaigns he supported. He also 
ended one speech by demonstrating how to participate in a form of 
electronic civil disobedience called "black faxing" that involves 
sending multiple black paper sheets through an opponent's fax 
machine. It got him arrested, charged and convicted.

He was one of six animal rights activists in the so-called SHAC 7 
(Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty) case. Charges against one of the 
original 7 were dropped. SHAC is an international animal rights 
campaign against  Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) - one of the world's 
largest contract research organizations, UK based, and operating on 
three continents. It's also Europe's largest contract animal-testing 
laboratory and uses around 75,000 animals each year in its operations.

UK-based activists established SHAC in 1999 and successfully closed 
down two animal-testing operations in their country. It's now a 
worldwide campaign, the first of its kind, and it operates in the UK, 
US, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy as well as many other countries. 
It calls its campaign "innovative" and states it doesn't "encourage 
or incite illegal activity."

On March 2, 2006, Harper and his co-defendants were charged and 
convicted of conspiracy to violate AETA (and several other charges) 
and got sentences of from four to six years. The case was an 
appalling miscarriage of justice for violating the defendants' First 
Amendment rights that AETA repealed for these activists. The 
defendants weren't charged with violent or threatening acts. Instead, 
the case was based on the notion that animal rights organizers are 
responsible for actions others take that the prosecution equated to a 
global conspiracy.

Briana Waters is another example of gross injustice. She's an 
innocent woman charged and convicted. On March 30, 2006, she was 
arrested and accused of being a lookout in connection with an alleged 
2001 arson at the University of Washington Center for Urban 
Horticulture. Waters is a California resident, violin teacher and 
mother of a young child. She was indicted, then reindicted with other 
defendants on May 10 on charges that included using a destructive 
device that carries a mandatory 30 year sentence.

On December 26, 2007, her lawyers filed a motion accusing the Justice 
Department of concealing vital exculpatory information as well as 
producing a fraudulent FBI report. The agency is infamous for 
creating "evidence" out of whole cloth and getting manipulated 
informants to state it. Nonetheless, a hostile federal judge denied 
defense's motion and went further as well. He ruled against allowing 
a defense expert to rebut government "evidence" that a delayed 
incendiary device was a bomb.

One of Waters' attorneys expressed outrage over a common federal 
practice of "The government hand-picking (the) judge (and) 
manipulating court procedures. This is a classic case of a corrupt 
prosecution, and a judge who apparently chooses to look the other 
way." It's no surprise at a time two-thirds of all federal judges are 
from or affiliated with the extremist Federalist Society. It 
advocates rolling back civil liberties; ending New Deal social 
policies; opposing reproductive choice, government regulations, labor 
rights and environmental protections; and subverting justice in 
defense of privilege.

Waters was up against this when her trial began on February 11, 2008. 
She was further disadvantaged by the government's case being based on 
two informants who struck a plea bargain by pleading guilty to 
conspiracy, arson and destructive devices in return for  leniency. On 
March 6, Waters was convicted on two arson counts, but the jury 
deadlocked on the more serious charges of a destructive device and 
conspiracy. Despite prosecution claims, no devices were found nor was 
there evidence of conspiracy. That raises serious questions of the 
government's falsifying evidence and lying to the jury about it. 
Again, no surprise under witch hunt justice with innocent people like 
Briana being harmed.

Her case also featured circumstantial evidence, including a folder 
containing radical pamphlets with a note on the cover from Waters to 
one of the informants. She testified that she didn't write them or 
subscribe to their views. The prosecution claimed otherwise. Her 
defense also argued that Waters knew nothing about the materials, 
they were substituted for ones she put in the folder, and her 
fingerprints weren't on the ones in it for proof.

Civil rights attorney Ben Rosenfeld said the "government's case was 
primarily based on character assassination and guilt by association 
(and that) evidence of other people's writings should never have been 
allowed to be used against her." He also denounced former Attorney 
General Gonzales for proclaiming Waters guilty in the media after she 
was indicted. He harmed her chances at the outset and showed 
convictions count more than justice, especially when charges of 
terrorism are raised. Waters strongly defends her innocence and will 
likely appeal the verdict. Sentencing is on May 30.

A Look Ahead

Post-9/11, future prospects look grim with fear prevailing over 
reason, a bipartisan effort exploiting it, and convictions more 
important than justice. If friends of the earth and animal rights 
champions are targeted, so can anyone. Governments today won't 
protect us and neither do courts that defer to their lawlessness. As 
a result, expect lots more innocent people hurt because those in 
power want unlimited amounts of it and won't let anyone stop them 
from getting it. It means hard times ahead when the law won't protect 
us, dissent is a crime, and the greater good is sacrificed to benefit 
the privileged.

What to do? Get active, organize, speak out, resist, and use the law 
for whatever justice is still under it. Things  are very dire, change 
isn't coming next year, and, more than ever, apathy isn't an option. 
In America's "war on terrorism," we're all potential targets.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at 
<mailto:lendmanstephen at sbcglobal.net>lendmanstephen at sbcglobal.net.




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