Posted in Legal Issues, Prisoner Support on Oct 2nd, 2009
Jeff “Free” Luers was released from prison early today after a Lane County Circuit Court Judge signed a supplemental judgment granting him an additional 30 percent reduction in his total incarceration time. In 2001, Luers was sentenced to 22 years, 8 months in prison for burning three SUVs in the name of defending the environment. [...]
Posted in Legal Issues, Terrorism Definitions on Mar 2nd, 2009
While the FBI targets environmentalists, Osama bin Laden remains free.An Al-Qaeda operative charged with creating a weapon of mass destruction has received a lesser prison sentence than an environmentalist who set fire to an empty building.
Christopher Paul, aka “Abdul Malek,” is an Ohio native who joined Al Qaeda in the early 90s. According to the [...]
Posted in Activism & Activists' Response, Legal Issues, Life as a Terrorist, Prisoner Support on Feb 2nd, 2009
Jeff Free LuersOver at Mostly Water, Marlena Gangi has an interesting interview with Jeff Luers. Jeff “Free” Luers was sentenced to 22 years and eight months for burning three SUVs at the Romania Chevrolet in Eugene, Ore. His case rose to international attention because of the aggressive attempts by the government to label him an [...]
Posted in Activists Arrested, Legal Issues on May 24th, 2007
A federal judge labeled property destruction in the name of the environment “terrorism” yesterday and sentenced the first of the Operation Backfire defendants to 13 years in prison. Activists around the country– and particularly the remaining nine defendants– had been watching the sentencing very carefully, because the judge’s tenor may foreshadow the remaining court dates. [...]
Posted in Legal Issues on Apr 13th, 2007
This film was put out a while back, but recently uploaded to YouTube (with the consent of the filmmakers, it looks like). It’s five parts, and worth watching. It was produced before Luers’ sentence was reduced, but is an interesting look at the case from the perspective of him and his supporters.
Here’s the blurb on [...]
Posted in Legal Issues on Apr 12th, 2007
In a move environmental activists are, cautiously, calling a victory in the Green Scare, the Oregon Court of Appeals recently overturned the massive sentence handed down to an environmental activist who admittedly torched three SUVs. Jeff “Free” Luers was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in arson at the Romania truck lot [...]
The War on Terrorism has come home. Corporations and politicians are labeling activists "eco-terrorists" and national security threats. Think red-baiting, with a green twist. Here you'll find original reporting and analysis of the Green Scare, and history repeating itself.