Operation Backfire

Justin Solondz, ELF Fugitive, Arrested by FBI

Justin Solondz was arrested by the FBI on Wednesday after being extradited from China, where he was imprisoned on drug charges. Solondz was wanted by the FBI for his involvement in arsons claimed by the Earth Liberation Front, particularly the arson at the University of Washington Center for Urban Horticulture. Solondz is alleged to have [...]

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Lead ELF Informant Jake Ferguson Arrested on Drug Charges

The government’s roundup of environmental activists in “Operation Backfire” was only possible because the lead arsonist, Jacob Ferguson, had agreed to wear a wire, travel the country, and prod his friends into talking about the crimes with the Earth Liberation Front. The government has repeatedly called Ferguson a “hero.” U.S. Attorney Kirk Engdall has said [...]

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When are Militias and Tea Party Members “Terrorists”?

Tea Party groups and right-wing militias have been plotting attacks on Muslims, throwing bricks through lawmakers’ windows, and issuing death threats, yet the mainstream press and the federal government have not labeled these acts “terrorism.” By contrast, the “number one domestic terrorism threat,” according to the FBI, is the animal rights and environmental movements. Here [...]

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Jacob Ferguson, Lead ELF Arsonist, Interviews with CNN

Jake Ferguson was the lead arsonist in the “Operation Backfire” Earth Liberation Front actions in the Northwest. He was involved in more than a dozen arsons, more crimes than any other defendant. But he is walking the streets, free, because he became a government informant. He wore a wire and entrapped his friends into make [...]

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The Government’s 7-Step Process for Convicting Environmentalists as Terrorists

Despite my deep-seated distaste for all things Baltimore (my apologies to folks in Bawlmor, but your town and I don’t seem to get along), I’ve been watching HBO’s The Wire on Netflix. The series—created by David Simon, a 13-year-veteran of the The Baltimore Sun—is structured so that each episode is a small piece in a [...]

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FBI: “Eco-terrorists” Are Bigger Threat Than Osama bin Laden, Hate Crimes, and Attempts to Assassinate Obama

Come December 7, it will have been three years since the “Operation Backfire” arrests of Earth Liberation Front members, for a string of arsons and property crimes in the Northwest that caused upwards of $48 million in damages. Those defendants were hit with “terrorism enhancement” penalties for their crimes, which never harmed anyone, and are [...]

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Just in: Briana Waters Sentenced to Six Years

From The Seattle Times: The woman convicted in an ecoterror attack at the University of Washington has been sentenced to six years in prison. TACOMA, Wash. -The woman convicted in an ecoterror attack at the University of Washington has been sentenced to six years in prison. KIRO-TV reports that Briana Waters asked for mercy because [...]

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It’s Not Over: An Update to the “Green Scare”

It’s Not Over: An Update to the “Green Scare” April 29, 2008 By Will Potter As the trial of Briana Waters wound down in March, as jurors deliberated her innocence or guilt, and as the press largely ignored her “eco-terrorism” case in lieu of Obama-Clinton-Anybody-But-Bush mania, it seemed, just for a moment, like one chapter [...]

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Briana Waters Found Guilty on Two Counts of Arson

Briana Waters has been found guilty of two counts of arson for the 2001 arson at the University of Washington, claimed by the Earth Liberation Front. The jury hasn’t been able to reach a verdict on the other three counts. Among those, the most important, using a destructive device during a crime of violence. That [...]

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Before the Smoke Even Clears in Seattle, Bringing Out the T-Word

UPDATE: This blog post was also published by Counterpunch, on March 07, 2008. Multi-million dollar mansions in a Seattle suburb–each about 4,200-4,750 square feet, going for about $2 million a pop, touted as “green”– were burned Monday. About $7 million in damage on the “Street of Dreams.” Nobody injured, nobody home. But before the smoke [...]

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