<html>
<body>
<font face="Verdana" size=2>April 28, 2008</font><font size=3> <br>
<a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/lendman04282008.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.counterpunch.org/lendman04282008.html</a><br><br>
<br><br>
</font><h1><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4><b>Witch-Hunting
the Environmental Movement <br><br>
<br>
</i></font><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4 color="#990000">The
Politics of Green Scare
</b></font></h1><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4>By STEPHEN
LENDMAN <br><br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=6 color="#990000">I</font>
<font face="Verdana" size=2>n 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.<br><br>
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:<br><br>
</font>
<dl>
<dd>-- people guilty of non-violent offenses called "terrorism"
and given excessively harsh sentences; and most disturbing<br><br>
<dd>-- 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.<br><br>
</dl>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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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." <br><br>
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:<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>-- "nonviolent resistance to the destruction of natural
diversity and wilderness (and) never directed against human beings or
other forms of life;<br><br>
<dd>-- strategic....thoughtful (and) deliberate in order to
succeed;<br><br>
<dd>-- individual or very small (group actions) of people who have known
each other for years (and have) trust and a good working
relationship;<br><br>
<dd>-- targeted (because) mindless, erratic vandalism is
counterproductive as well as unethical;<br><br>
<dd>-- timely (and) not....when there is a nonviolent civil disobedience
action;<br><br>
<dd>-- dispersed (to) hasten overall industrial retreat from wild
areas;<br><br>
<dd>-- fun (even though it's) serious and potentially dangerous;<br><br>
<dd>-- not revolutionary....to overthrow any social, political, or
economic system;<br><br>
<dd>-- simple (with) elaborate commando operations generally avoided;
and<br><br>
<dd>-- deliberate and ethical (by being) the most moral of all actions:
protecting life, defending Earth."<br><br>
</dl>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."<br><br>
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."<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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:<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>-- expands the kinds of facilities covered by adding ones that use or
sell animals and animal products;<br><br>
<dd>-- covers any person, entity or organization connected to an animal
enterprise;<br><br>
<dd>-- applies to any form of advocacy;<br><br>
<dd>-- criminalizes threatening conduct and protected speech as well as
communication with anyone engaging in these practices;<br><br>
<dd>-- protects corporate animal abusers with a vested interest in
silencing dissent; and<br><br>
<dd>-- 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.<br><br>
</dl><font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">Green Scare - A
Definition<br><br>
</b></font>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."<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
<font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">ELF and ALF - A Brief
Description<br><br>
</b></font>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:<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>-- "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;<br><br>
<dd>-- These choices are not endorsed, encouraged, or approved of by this
web site's management, webmasters, affiliates, or other
participants;<br><br>
<dd>-- The intention of this web site is journalistic in intent only to
inform and chronicle issues related to ELF;<br><br>
<dd>-- 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.<br><br>
</dl>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."<br><br>
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.
<br><br>
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.<br><br>
<font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">Examples of Witch Hunt
Convictions<br><br>
</b></font>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.<br><br>
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).<br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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."<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
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.<br><br>
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. <br><br>
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.<br><br>
<font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">A Look Ahead<br><br>
</font>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. <br><br>
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.
<br><br>
Stephen Lendman</b> lives in Chicago and can be reached at
<a href="mailto:lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net">
lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net</a>.<br><br>
<br><br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3 color="#FF0000">Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#008000">415 863-9977<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#0000FF">
<a href="http://www.freedomarchives.org/" eudora="autourl">
www.Freedomarchives.org</a></font><font size=3> </font></body>
</html>