Operation Bite Back is a great new book by Dean Kuipers on the life of Rod Coronado, one of the most influential figures in the modern animal rights and environmental movements. Coronado is perhaps best known for a string of Animal Liberation Front actions, the namesake of the book, targeting the fur industry. He also had a pivotal role in the growth of the Sea Shepherds (I’m still waiting for the next “Whale Wars” disc on Netflix) and the ideological development of radical environmental groups like Earth First! and the Earth Liberation Front.

That’s a grossly abridged look at this man’s life. Regardless of how you feel about direct action and the animal rights and environmental movements, Rod Coronado’s story is one that demands to be told.

Kuipers has done just that, and well. Of course, some folks are up in arms that he is telling the story, period. Fur industry folks have slammed the book, not because of the content, but because it was written. Kuipers had a great response to an Amazon review:

“Platt [of the Fur Commission] has strong opinions about these issues and I don’t take them lightly. They’re represented in the book. But maybe she could have given me two stars for writing well!? Ah, the writer’s ego, another bourgeois vestige …”

• Please check out the book and leave a review on the Operation Bite Back Amazon page.
• Actually, BUY the book. As a writer I think I need to make this across-the-board pitch for other writers: buy their work. If a writer is dead, yeah, who cares, go to your local used book store, borrow from a friend, go to the library. But if the writer is alive? Well, they’re trying to pay their bills by doing what they love–something this culture undervalues–and if you don’t support them they can’t pursue their craft.

Related posts:

1. Vermont Law Review Article on “Eco-Terrorism” and the Green Scare
2. Monkey Wrench Gang Movie With Matthew McConaughey as Hayduke
3. Let Live Conference in Portland–This is Going to Be Great

I had a great discussion with Scott Horton of AntiWar Radio about the secretive U.S. prison units being used to house political prisoners. These Communication Management Units are being used to keep people like Daniel McGowan and Rafil Dhafir out of the public spotlight, and deprive them of basic due process rights because of their political beliefs.

Check out the interview about CMUs on AntiWar Radio here.

Related posts:

1. Animal Rights Activist Jailed at Secretive Prison Gives First Account of Life Inside “CMU”
2. Secretive U.S. Prison Units Used to House Muslim, Animal Rights and Environmental Activists
3. Communication Management Units on Austin Radio

Jeff Free Luers

What interested me about the interview is when he’s asked about the Green Scare, Operation Backfire, and the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act:

Marlena Gangi: First, what do you have to say about these draconian measures and second, do you have any words of encouragement for activists who have fallen to fear and retreated to the shadows?

Jeff Luers: Fear is the enemy of freedom. We fail to act because we fear the cost of living free. We live in a police state. The U.S. may be the kinder face of fascism, but it is still a fascist state. Yes, we have elected a man who may bring change, but the system that he upholds will still be a capitalist, imperialist monster. If anyone thinks that he isn’t going to protect the corporate interests at the extent of the people, they are wrong. We live in one of the few countries in the world where corporations are granted and guaranteed the same rights under our constitution. By design, our government is structured to uphold that rule of law.

I would rather be in prison or dead than blindly submit to a government I know is corrupt and wrong. I would rather dare to live free and fight against injustice than cower in silence and despair. I think many people feel the same way. We just have to be smarter in how we speak out and in how we act.

Related posts:

1. Breaking: Jeff Free Luers Released From Prison Early

Thanks to Matt for posting this video clip of me speaking at a benefit for Green Scare prisoners in New York City. (Sorry for the audio quality but it was just really loud in there.)

In this clip I touch very briefly on Communications Management Units, which are high-security facilities that severely restrict inmate communications with the outside world. The government has moved some “eco-terrorist” prisoners to these facilities. Andy Stepanian, one of the SHAC 7, was recently released from a CMU, and Daniel McGowan is currently housed in one. Expect to see much more on these secretive facilities here in the coming months.

Related posts:

1. Animal Rights Activist Jailed at Secretive Prison Gives First Account of Life Inside “CMU”
2. Communication Management Units on Democracy Now, Will Potter Interviewed

As McCain’s campaign is sinking, and it’s getting harder and harder to differentiate Sarah Palin from Tina Fey, his campaign team has pulled out a tactic straight from the “Green Scare” playbook. Palin has said Barack Obama “pals around with terrorists” because he has worked with the same organizations as Bill Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground.

As background: In the 60s, Ayers was involved with bombings against government buildings in protest of the Vietnam War and U.S. imperialism. Now, he is highly regarded by the mayor of Chicago, and he has been named citizen of the year. Check out this video of Ayers speaking about his long-time work on education issues, and his crazy, terrorist ideas about teaching children to think for themselves. What a radical!

I’ll leave it to you all to post comments about whether Ayers and the Weather Underground are “terrorists,” but that’s really besides the point. McCain and Palin are saying Obama is guilty by association.

Sound familiar? Yeah, kind of like how the Center for Consumer Freedom said the Humane Society is “consorting with terrorists” for allowing another organization to simply set up a table at an animal welfare conference.

These tactics are fluid. They aren’t limited to animal rights activists, environmentalists, or communists. The T-word can be used against any enemy of the hour, and anyone who even associates with those recklessly labeled as “terrorists.” I guess by that skewed logic I’m a “terrorist” (I’ve even–egad!–had drinks and dinner with “terrorists.” And enjoyed it!) What about you?

And McCain, listen up. I’m calling you out. GreenIsTheNewRed.com has already exposed the Earth Liberation Front’s Retirement Cell, and it’s only a matter of time before you’re exposed for associating with them. Attacking Obama won’t protect you: you’re either with us or against us, gramps.

No related posts.

Blessings to all of you.

Perhaps you’ve heard that I’m set to take a plea bargain on June 3rd. In the aftermath of Briana Waters’ and Eric McDavid’s trials, I have weighed the options and decided that i don’t want to take the risk of potentially being convicted and spending the rest of my life in prison.

That’s how Tre Arrow began a recent message to supporters, announcing a plea agreement with prosecutors that ends a long legal battle with prosecutors who have relentlessly labeled him an “eco-terrorist.” Arrow pled guilty to two counts of arson, for sabotaging cement trucks and logging trucks in 2001. He’ll receive credit for his four years in prison Canada, and have two more years to go.

It’s a non-cooperating plea agreement, similar to the deal reached for some of the defendants in the Operation Backfire cases. Like those non-cooperating defendants, Arrow will not have to provide information to the government and incriminate others in exchange for a reduced sentence (which is part of the reason he has ended up in this situation, with Jacob Sherman pointing a finger at Arrow in exchange for leniency).

So what does all this mean? Is the guilty plea of a long-time, prominent environmental activist—held up on a pedestal by many for his refusal to cooperate—a blow to the environmental community? Is it a victory for Arrow, escaping the rest of his life in prison?

The short answer is: I have no idea. It may be either, or both, or something else entirely.

Because if there’s one thing that has become increasingly clear in this “Green Scare,” there are no easy decisions. As I wrote after the Operation Backfire non-cooperating plea agreements, “…legal decisions in court cases are often made for pragmatic reasons, not factual reasons: the criminal justice system is often about evaluating options in light of other options, taking the lesser of two evils.”

I spoke with James Pitkin, a reporter at Willamette Week. Here’s an excerpt from his story:

Critics say all three cases are examples of a vicious crackdown on environmental dissent by the feds. In all three cases, investigators pressured informants to turn on other defendants, who were in turn accused of domestic terrorism.

Will Potter, a freelance reporter in Washington, D.C., who covers environmental activists, says Arrow’s supporters will likely sympathize with his guilty plea. Arrow faced life in prison if he’d gone to trial.

“You just have to make the best decision you can, considering that you’ve been labeled a terrorist and you have the entire weight of the U.S. government coming to bear on you,” Potter says. “You really can’t point fingers.”

To clarify, though, I think you CAN point fingers. You can point them at FBI agents hiring provocateurs to coax “eco-terrorists” into action. You can point them at Feds who consider infilitarting vegan potlucks a national security priority. And you can point them top level officials in the government who, by labeling nonviolent crimes as the number one domestic terrorism threat, force people into a situation where they must decide between taking a plea deal—whether or not they committed the crime—or spending the rest of their lives in a concrete cell.

Those are the decisions Arrow, 34, faced. And he came to the conclusion that “they offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse.”

Related posts:

1. B.J. Viehl Pleads Guilty to ALF Fur Farm Raid

Eric McDavid was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison on Thursday, as a “terrorist,” for conspiring to sabotage federal facilities in the name of the environment.

Nearly 20 years.

That number is shocking enough, considering that the average sentence for violent offenders, in 2004, was about 7.6 years.

That number is shocking enough, considering that Jeff “Free” Luers was sentenced to 22 years and 8 months for sabotaging SUVs (not “conspiring” to do so, like McDavid, but actually doing it)—a sentence that made international headlines and was finally reduced.

And that number is shocking enough, considering that his codefendants will likely receive only five years in prison in exchange for becoming government informants.

But it is even more surprising in light of the disturbing chain of events that led to McDavid’s conviction, including an FBI operative who provided the group with bomb-making recipes; at times financed their transportation, food and housing; strung along McDavid, who had the hopes of a romantic relationship; and poked and prodded the group into action.

Mark Reichel, McDavid’s attorney, said:

“There has never been a case in America that has involved this much entrapment, this much pushing by an informant, by the U.S. government and by the FBI behind it.”

But, as Judge England said in justification of applying the “terrorism enhancement”:

“It’s a new world since Sept. 11, 2001.”

It is indeed a new world. One where fears of “terrorism” are used to justify sweeping police powers, government spying and entrapment. Perhaps most damaging of all is that the press has largely swallowed the “War on Terrorism” rhetoric, labeling activists as “eco-terrorists” at every turn, often long before they even have a foot in the courtroom.

The U.S. Attorney’s office wasted no time in patting themselves on the back for landing such a hefty sentence for a “terrorist,” issuing a press release headlined, “ECO-TERRORIST GIVEN NEARLY TWENTY YEARS IN PRISON.” The release, of course, doesn’t mention anything about “Anna,” the FBI operative. Instead, it only references a “confidential source,” in passing.

United States Attorney Scott said:

“Today’s severe punishment of nearly 20 years in federal prison should serve as a cautionary tale to those who would conspire to commit life-threatening acts in the name of their extremist views.”

A former juror in the case tells of a much different “cautionary tale.” One of the dangers of unchecked police powers and kangaroo courts.

In a rare declaration to the court, made even more rare by its candor and unrestrained outrage, Diane Bennett described how she and other jurors were mislead.

During deliberations, we asked the court to please clarify for the jury the issue of whether Anna was a government agent, and if so, when did she become one… The written answer was from the court and stated “no” that she was not a government agent, yet we were told orally that she was. With the written response of “no,” and after reading the other written responses from the court, we ended our consideration of the issue of entrapment, the vote was 7-5 to consider the entrapment issue as a defense. Once the written response advised Anna was not a government agent, we then changed to a guilty verdict soon thereafter.

In other words, in case this is all getting confusing, prosecutors needed to show that McDavid conspired with at least one other person to destroy these government facilities. His codefendants, Jenson and Weiner, testified that there was no conspiracy among the three of them to carry out the illegal actions. That left just McDavid and “Anna,” a paid FBI operative. Yet jurors were led to believe that “Anna” wasn’t a government agent, and so they convicted him.

Bennett goes on to call the FBI an “embarrassment”:

…specifically by allowing this case to develop the way it did using Anna and providing all of the essential tools for the group; the cabin, the money, the idea, the books, everything, and by letting Anna “string Eric along” when she should have terminated the relationship clearly with him.

Then again, as Judge England said, “It’s a new world since Sept. 11, 2001.”

No related posts.

The consequences of recklessly labeling people as “terrorists” extends far beyond the courtroom, where the word can automatically skew jurors and lead to inflated sentences. And the consequences even extend beyond the sweeping “chilling effect” that the word has on the general public, instilling fear in everyday people that they, too, could be labeled a terrorist. Even after trial, even after serving time in prison, it’s impossible to shake an “eco-terrorist” label.

I haven’t written much about this because the targets in recent “eco-terrorism” and “animal rights terrorism” cases are, overwhelmingly, still in prison. The Operation Backfire defendants are just starting their terms, and some are still in court. Peter Young, the first prosuection for “animal enterprise terrorism” is out of prison, but only one of the SHAC 7, Darius Fullmer, has been released.

Here’s a case, though, from a few years ago that’s still trailing one environmental advocate who is pursuing very mainstream, above-ground work.

As a student at Freeman High School, in 2002, John Wade and two others poured Karo syrup into the gas tanks of construction vehicles at the development site of a mall and some suburban homes. They also poured etching fluid on some glass and broke some equipment. In a turn of events quite similar to the Operation Backfire cases, one of the defendants turned on the others: the cooperating defendant received less than six months, Wade got three years.

He’s out now, and says he no longer supports property destruction. He’s now 22, studying at Virginia Commonwealth University, and putting together Richmond’s first environmental film festival (with Ralph Nader billed as a speaker). By all accounts, he was doing everything right: seeing the error of his ways, becoming a productive member of society, using lawful means to promote change.

But once you’ve been labeled an “eco-terrorist,” none of that seems to matter. Style Weekly heard about his criminal record, pulled its sponsorship of his event, and ran an article headlined, “Former Eco-Terrorist Organized Environmental Film Festival.” [As an aside, I think it’s hilarious that Style Publisher Lori Waran is quoted lamenting the situation, saying “It is too bad the history of the organizer is distracting from the message of the event.” Mind you, this is in her own publication, as it is smearing Wade as an “eco-terrorist.”]

Karri Peifer at Richmond.com interviewed Wade, and here is a highlight:

Do you think you should have disclosed your past to the sponsors and speakers involved with “The Biggest Picture” and do you think other sponsors will be influenced by this?

It was definitely something that I thought about and it was a conscious decision not to. In retrospect I certainly would have, but I was trying to keep that and the film festival separate.
No [I don't think other sponsors will pull out]. Other sponsors have told me that, if anything, it’s a story of making mistakes and turning it around and being really productive. Other people have contacted me and they’re all really supportive and they’re really supportive of the festival. [The festival] has gotten to be really big and people are excited about it and I don’t think they’re going to let something like this get in the way of it.

Do you think you’ve paid your debt to society, and how did your prison time influenced your life?

Yeah. I was involved in what amounted to vandalism and the government punished my intent. That is they punished the fact that I had a political motivate. They did so by investigating me with a task-force of FBI agents and then putting me in federal prison for three years when I was 18 years old. I think any debt I owe is paid in full. I can’t ever vote or carry a gun or visit certain countries. [Prison] was a good opportunity to read and crystallize my thinking, how I thought about different political and social issues. It allowed me to experience first hand the underbelly of the United States and that is our extremely large prison system. The United States incarcerates more people per capita than any other county in the world. It’s scary, the length of sentences they’re handing out for political-motivated crimes, like mine, and for nonviolent drug offenses. I think in 2002, the year I committed my crimes, the average sentence for a homicide was seven years and the average sentence for a crack offense was 11 — if that tells you anything about the government’s priorities.

Related posts:

1. Breaking: Jeff Free Luers Released From Prison Early
2. Animal Rights Activist Jailed at Secretive Prison Gives First Account of Life Inside “CMU”

Mention the name Rod Coronado in the presence of fur farmers, animal research supporters, or law enforcement agents and blood will boil. He’s a “terrorist.” A “violent criminal.” A “national security threat.”

Coronado was just convicted yet again for illegal actions defending the environment. So what was this “eco-terrorist” up to this time? Conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, a felony, and two misdemeanor charges of destroying government property and of interfering with a U.S. Forest Service officer.

Those charges sound like heavy stuff, maybe even worthy of the T-word. But take a look at what he did: Coronado and another individual entered the Sabino Canyon National Recreation Area in March 2004 to disrupt the government’s killing of mountain lions. He allegedly busted snare traps, pulled up sensors, and spread mountain lion urine to confuse tracking dogs.

That’s it. Really. They’re not charged with anything else: no attempted suicide bombings, no firearms, no weapons of mass destruction, nothing. Interfering with a hunt would typically merit a ticket or a fine, but Coronado was sentenced to eight months in prison and three years supervised probation.

But wait! Rod really is a national security threat. He’s facing other charges as well… for possessing eagle feathers. (In case you were wondering if this environmental activist hunts endangered species in his other life, he’s of Pasqua Yaqui heritage). When that news broke, the Tucson Citizen proclaimed “Convicted ecoterrorist faces new charges.” He’s facing a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Coronado has a hell of a rap sheet, to be clear. He served five years in prison for an arson attack on research facilities at Michigan State University as part of the Animal Liberation Front’s “Operation Bite Back.” He also freed mink from nearby fur farms. No human or non-human animal was injured in any of his crimes.

On top of the charges I mentioned earlier, he’s facing 20 years under a little-used law prohibiting the distribution of information about assembling explosives. In February, Coronado gave a speech to activists in San Diego: afterwards, someone in the audience asked how he destroyed the laboratories. He grabbed a plastic juice bottle from a table and said he used a bottle like that one, filled with gasoline and attached to a timer, then went to the next question. It wasn’t exactly an “eco-terrorism” how-to session, but that’s what the feds are calling it.

Do you think Coronado would be feeling all this heat for civil disobedience and possessing eagle feathers if he didn’t have this “eco-terrorist” label? Doubtful. But corporations, right-wing politicians and groups like the Anti-Defamation League have ratcheted up the Green Scare tactics. The Anti-Defamation League calls Coronado an “eco-terrorist” and sends out press releases about his case: it may win them cheap political points with the Bush administration, but I don’t think even Coronado’s opponents would put him in the same camp as the Nazis the group claims to focus on.

For every hour and every dollar spent harassing activists like Coronado, and pursuing trumped-up charges, that’s an hour and a dollar that could be spent prosecuting real terrorists and violent criminals. This Green Scare is wasting valuable anti-terrorism resources to blatantly push a political agenda: and one that does nothing to protect national security or keep Americans safe.

And activists will undoubtedly have to think twice about engaging in any non-violent civil disobedience to protest government violence, because they too might get labeled “eco-terrorists.” Even if it’s just for pulling up sensors and spreading some lion pee. On the message board of The Arizona Daily Star, a few readers questioned the hefty sentence for non-violent crimes. “Don’t forget,” one reader responded, “these animal rights people are terrorists! He got off light.”

Related posts:

1. How Corporate Provacateurs Made Fran Trutt an “Animal Rights Terrorist”

The Brooklyn Rail has a profile up today of Daniel McGowan, a well-known activist in the NY area who is facing life in prison. McGowan and 14 others were arrested earlier this year as part “Operation Backfire,” a government roundup of activists in the name of fighting “eco-terrorism” and property crimes.

Many of those targeted are prominent environmental activists with histories of public, legal activism. Feds haven’t been able to catch many of the environmental activists committing property crimes, so they’re going after the next best thing: legal activists like McGowan and others that work on the same issues. It looks like the government is pretty desperate to show corporations it’s cracking down on “eco-terrorism.”

Related posts:

1. Animal Rights Activist Jailed at Secretive Prison Gives First Account of Life Inside “CMU”
2. Secretive U.S. Prison Units Used to House Muslim, Animal Rights and Environmental Activists
3. Minneapolis Activist Indicted for Conspiracy to Violate Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act