Environmentalist Tim DeChristopher was sentenced to two years in prison for using non-violent civil disobedience to disrupt a sham oil and gas auction. He had been found guilty on two felony counts for making fake bids in the auction, costing corporations hundreds of thousands of dollars, and faced up to ten years.

He increased the bids on 22,000 acres of land in Utah national parks. A federal judge later ruled the auction was illegal.

DeChristopher’s case has attracted international attention, and he has become a spokesperson for the environmental movement. This case is much bigger than DeChristopher, though (as he has often said himself). We all need to be thinking: what’s next? How do we move forward?

Even if you do not consider yourself an environmentalist, or don’t agree with DeChristopher’s tactics, this case should raise serious questions about the misplaced priorities of our government and our entire culture. DeChristopher’s two-year sentence is comparable to what members of underground groups have received for property destruction. The court has sent the message that public, aboveground activists, who use non-violent civil disobedience, will be treated on par with underground activists who use economic sabotage.

More importantly, though, the government has sent the message that the people who step forward to stop ecological destruction will be met with harsh punishments, while those who responsible for this destruction, such as the oil and gas corporations bidding for public lands, will go about business as usual.

As the judge said during sentencing: “Civil disobedience can’t be the order of the day,” or it will lead to “chaos.”

But chaos for who? For the people? For the planet? Or for corporations?

This case, and the larger crackdown on the environmental movement, makes strikingly clear that the government is more concerned about the latter. As defense attorney Ron Yengich said: “We never impose the rule of law on people who steal from poor people, destroy the banking systems or destroy the earth.”

Moving forward, we need to remember one thing above all else: this is happening because DeChristopher was effective.

DeChristopher’s actions exposed what goes on inside sham corporate auctions, it cost corporations hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it galvanized the movement.

At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Dee Benson said that DeChristopher’s leadership in the environmental movement, his “continuing trail of statements” for civil disobedience, and his speech outside the courthouse were the reasons he faced prison time.

The judge went so far as to take the unusual step of having DeChristopher taken into custody of the U.S. Marshalls until his prison sentence begins. In many other cases I have covered, including those of convicted arsonists, the prisoners were allowed to self-surrender. People are generally only taken directly into custody if they are a violent threat or a flight risk. Why was this different?

Because DeChristopher is inspirational, and he would clearly use his time before prison to organize.

“You have authority over my life, but not my principles. Those are mine,” DeChristopher said to the judge. “I’ll continue to confront the system that threatens our future.”

Others have vowed to do the same. Thousands will be in Washington, D.C. in August to protest the Keystone XL pipeline to the Tar Sands. They are planning mass non-violent civil disobedience.

Jacob Ferguson was the lead arsonist in the Earth Liberation Front cases dubbed “Operation Backfire,” but the heroin addict avoided any prison time by wearing a wire and recording conversations with his former friends that could be used against them in court. By being an informant, Ferguson got a free pass on all of his crimes, and avoided decades in prison.

Ferguson was unable to stay away from heroin, though, and in April he was arrested on drug charges. Now he has been sentenced to five years in prison. He pleaded guilty to manufacturing and selling heroin (he was caught with two grams at his home), possessing cocaine, and neglecting and endangering his 4-year-old daughter.

That 5-year sentence is just for the drug charges, though. Another consequence of his guilty plea is that it means he has violated the conditions of his probation in the ELF cases. In other words, a federal prison sentence will likely be on the horizon. Ferguson– one of the most notorious government informants in recent FBI history– is going to have a difficult time in prison as a well-known “snitch.”

More broadly, Ferguson’s heroin charges should also raise some questions about the type of people the FBI is willing to rely upon in their desperation to convict “eco-terrorists.”

It should also raise some questions about sentencing disparities in the criminal justice system. Ferguson, a drug addict who neglected and endangered his child, was sentenced to 5 years  in prison. Daniel McGowan — one of the people Ferguson informed on, who destroyed property in the name of defending the environment — was sentenced to 7.

Previously: Lead ELF Informant Jake Ferguson Arrested on Drug Charges

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 statements about the actions.

By the government’s repeated admission, this is the only reason that the FBI and Department of Justice were able to successfully prosecute the group of activists the Feds called “The Family.” Without Ferguson, none of this would have been possible. “It was essential,” said assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Engdall.

The FBI has overwhelmingly been incompetent in going after the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front. They’ve had few successful prosecutions, which would never have been possible without snitches. It’s part of the government’s seven step process for convicting activists as terrorists.

Ferguson was recently featured in a CNN “exclusive” about the case. Even by mainstream media standards, it was a pathetic excuse for journalism. CNN repeatedly played up the “terrorist” rhetoric as much as possible, and had no questions about Ferguson’s character. (For instance, Ferguson wore a hat during the interview to cover up the tattoo of a pentagram on his forehead. And according to all of the other defendants and attorneys I have interviewed, he had a serious drug problem that made the FBI’s offer to turn snitch more palatable.)

Ferguson received 5 years probation for his crimes. His co-defendants received 3-13 years in prison, with the “terrorism enhancement.” One co-defendant, Daniel McGowan, is now in a secretive prison facility called a Communication Management Unit because of this “terrorist” status.

The reporter also did not press Kirk Engdall, the U.S. Attorney. There is one question regarding Jacob Ferguson that the government needs to held accountable for, and it is this: If the ELF is the “number one domestic terrorism threat,” if it is “violent” and “dangerous,” and if Ferguson was the lead arsonist of the most destructive ELF cell in U.S. history… how is he walking free? If these activists are truly national security threats, Ferguson, of all people, should be behind bars.

To use the government’s rhetoric, that’s kind of like arresting Osama bin Laden, and then agreeing to let him walk if he wears a wire and entraps some of the other Al Qaeda operatives. It’s a sham. The government let Ferguson walk, regardless of his crimes, because he helped them declare a victory in the War on Terrorism.

Four animal rights activists are facing charges under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act for chanting, demonstrating with masks covering their faces, and chalking defamatory slogans on the sidewalk. If convicted, the “AETA 4,”—Joseph Buddenburg, Maryam Khajavi, Nathan Pope, and Adriana Stumpo—could be sentenced to 5-10 years in prison.

The AETA 4 case is a startling example of how federal terrorism laws are being used to create new crimes targeting political activists, and astronomically increase sentences for existing crimes. For instance, Marie Mason was sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison for setting fire to empty buildings and taking precautions to not harm anyone.

Meanwhile, during a Congressional hearing on the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, the Justice Department proclaimed “we are apolitical in this.” But this is anything but apolitical. Animal rights activists could receive 5-10 years in prison, as terrorists, for not harming anyone or attempting to harm anyone. Meanwhile, take a look at what some others are facing for much more serious crimes:

• Burning at a cross at the home of an African-American man, close to his home, while his family is inside: 3.5 years.
• Threatening president-elect Obama with statements including, “I’m going to assassinate the new president of the United States of America. PS you have 48 hours to stop it from happening”: four years probation.
• Setting fire to a hotel with people inside: 1 year.
• Police officer rapes a girl in juvenile custody: 8 months.
• Assaulting black men on election night because Obama was elected president: about 5 years.
• Enron exec guilty of $7 million in wire fraud and securities fraud: 16 months.
• Possessing child pornography: 4 years.
• Tying up a black student and taunting him with racial epithets as part of a high school graduation party: six months.
• Mailing anthrax threats to the IRS: one year.
• “Using the Internet to threaten to destroy buildings of the Federal Bureau of Investigation by fire or explosives”: one year.
• Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth kills a construction worker while driving drunk: 30 days.
• Threatening to bomb an Air Force base: one year.
• Drunken man drives over his brother during an argument: 1.5 years.
• Scheming to defraud an insurance company through arson: 2 years.
• Mailing anthrax threats to an assistant U.S. attorney: up to 5 years.
• Manufacturing and selling home-made explosive devices: 5 years probation
• Sending 65 anthrax hoax letters: four years.
• Dumping nearly 13 million gallons of untreated liquid waste: 15 months.
• Threatening to bomb the Oklahoma city federal building: up to 5 years.
• Setting a dog on fire and burning 50 percent of his body: 45 days.

According to the government, high sentences for animal rights activists are intended as a deterrent, they are intended to send a message.

What kind of message do you think this sends?

Note: Funds are needed for the AETA 4 legal defense. Please make a contribution. Go to Paypal.com and send a donation to support@aeta4.org. Or you can make a tax-deductible donation through the National Lawyers Guild Foundation. The mailing address is 132 Nassau Street, Suite 922, NY, NY 10039, please indicate AETA Defense Fund on your check.

Two federal Green Scare prisoners, Jonathan Paul and Daniel McGowan.

By all accounts, judges and prosecutors often say, there is every reason to believe that these activists can, and should, be leaders in their communities.

That’s exactly why new legislation called the Good Time Bill (H.R. 1475) is so vitally needed. It will reduce the sentences of people in federal prisons by increasing the “good time” credit they can receive. The bill would impact all federal prisoners (except those serving life sentences), but Green Scare prisoners would be some of the ideal candidates.

That being said, this is an issue that impacts everyone, regardless of how you feel about environmental issues or animal rights, and regardless of how you feel about these defendants. Along the lines of my previous post, “5 Reasons Why Republicans Should Care About the Government Labeling Activists “Terrorists,” here are three reasons why every taxpayer should support the Good Time Bill:

1. Money. The bill could save taxpayers more than $2-billion per year. It costs about $40,000 per year to keep each federal prisoner behind bars. With the greatest economic crisis since the depression, this money shouldn’t be spent on prisoners with a long, demonstrated track record of good behavior and rehabilitation.
2. Safety. The Federal Bureau of Prisons is over 40% overcrowded and many facilities are operating at 100% capacity. Increased incentives for good behavior will keep prisons at a more controlled level, and make them safer prisoners and staff.
3. Priorities. Nearly three out of every four federal prisoners are serving time for a non-violent offense and have no history of violence. They aren’t the only ones who suffer from being locked up: they have children, spouses, and friends whose lives have been impacted. People in federal prison deserve a second chance to make positive contributions to society.

The bill was introduced last week, and has 11 cosponsors. It’s still early in the process, which makes it a great time to get involved and take action. Visit GoodTimeBill.info for a list of things you can do.

While the FBI targets environmentalists, Osama bin Laden remains free.

Christopher Paul, aka “Abdul Malek,” is an Ohio native who joined Al Qaeda in the early 90s. According to the FBI, he:

• received training in “the use of assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, and small unit tactics,”
• fought with the mujahedeen in Afghanistan,
• and returned to Ohio to recruit and establish a terrorist cell.

He pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to use a weapon of mass destruction against Americans at home and abroad. His sentence: 20 years.

By comparison, Marie Mason was sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison, as a “terrorist,” for property destruction in the name of defending the environment.

Her sentence, for arson targeting genetic engineering at Michigan State University, was the most severe yet in what many are calling the “Green Scare.” Unfortunately, it is not an isolated incident. Jeffrey “Free” Luers was sentenced to 22 years and 8 months for setting fire to SUVs. And Eric McDavid was sentenced to 20 years for “conspiracy” to sabotage the Nimbus dam, even though an FBI operative 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.

The FBI has labeled the environmental and animal rights movements as the “number one domestic terrorism threat.” Groups like the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front, and activists like Marie Mason, have clearly broken the law in the name of defending the environment. But they have never used rocket-propelled grenades, never created weapons of mass destruction, and never harmed a single human being.

This should concern everyone, regardless of how you feel about environmental issues or economic sabotage: Such skewed government priorities are wasting valuable law enforcement resources targeting environmentalists while Al-Qaeda continues to place American lives at risk.

What kind of message do you think this sends, when environmentalists who target property are a greater national security threat than the organization responsible for the most deadly act of terrorism in the history of the United States?

Marie Mason

I’ve written a lot of articles like this, when prison sentences are handed down to activists who have been labeled “terrorists” for property crimes, and instead of getting easier it just keeps getting harder. It’s getting harder to write about this rationally, calmly. These cases are getting worse, folks. The government is growing increasingly aggressive in its prosecutions, and increasingly transparent in its tactics.

Marie Mason, a longtime environmental activist and mother of two, was sentenced this afternoon to 21 years in prison, as a “terrorist,” for non-violent property crimes in the name of defending the environment. It’s a historic sentence, the longest yet for any of these Green Scare cases.

In the lead up to her sentencing, the FBI took their “eco-terrorist” scare-mongering to a new level. Mason’s friends and family were prepared to attend the sentencing hearing and support her at such a terrible moment in her life. So what did the FBI do? Agents had the audacity to warn the press that “terrorists” might be attending Mason’s sentencing. They said they “expect members of the eco-terrorist groups, the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front to gather and protest.” This, of course, is a bold-faced lie. Any FBI agents worth their salt knows that clandestine organizations like the ALF and ELF do not protest: they are illegal, underground groups. This was a calculated scare-mongering move meant to make normal, everyday people afraid of showing up to a public court proceeding, lest they be labeled as members of the “number one domestic terrorism threat.”

Let me reiterate this: The government made a concerted effort to demonize not just the defendant, but anyone who supports the defendant by attending a public court proceeding. Regardless of how you feel about Marie Mason, or the Green Scare more broadly, moves like this are antithetical to any semblance of a democracy. Intimidating citizens to keep them from attending a politicized court date is a defining characteristic of an out-and-out police state.

If that isn’t enough, let’s look at Mason’s sentence. Twenty-one years for arson that caused about $1 million in damage to genetic-engineering research at Michigan State University and didn’t harm anyone.

By comparison, on Monday the FBI put out a press release patting themselves on the back for the guilty pleas of four men who assaulted three African-Americans on the night of President Barack Obama’s election victory. [I've written previously about how the FBI is more concerned about environmental activists than presidential assassination attempts].

From the FBI’s news release:

Nicoletti drove the group to the Park Hill section of Staten Island, a predominantly African-American neighborhood, where they came upon an African-American teenager and assaulted him. Nicoletti struck the teenager with a metal pipe and Garaventa hit him with a collapsible police baton.

The expected sentences for racist, violent attacks meant to punish people for voting for a black man? Between 10 and 12 years. That’s about half of Marie Mason’s.

The government’s press release said that “this successful prosecution sends a clear message.”

What is the message that you think it sends?

As both the US and UK governments (and many others) are cracking down on animal rights and environmental activists, labeling them as terrorists and hitting them with outrageous prison sentences, supporters say it is for a few reasons. First, they say that these activists are national security threats. Second, they say that this boot-on-the-throat approach will deter future illegal activity by underground, “eco-terrorist” groups like the Animal Liberation Front.

But here’s a recent example of how this “Green Scare” plays out in real life.

A UK activist named Sara Whitehead was just sentenced to 2 years in prison for rescuing a beagle from an abusive home. That’s right, two years. Neighbors had filed complaints with the police and the RSPCA, to no avail. When Whitehead rescued the dog, cops pounced surprisingly quickly: it turns out Whitehead, like many activists, was already under police surveillance.

So has this use of police resources, to crack down on a woman rescuing an abused dog, deterred illegal activity by “eco-terrorist” groups like the Animal Liberation Front?

Far from it.

Bite Back Magazine has published an anonymous communiqué that says:

“Animal liberation volunteers are claiming responsibility for the direct intervention in the animal farming industry, as an act of solidarity with Sarah Whitehead who is currently behind bars for doing the right thing. While Sarah remains locked in her cell for freeing animals from pain and misery, volunteers successfully liberated 50 Turkeys from an Eastern factory farm.

This action means these sentient beings were spared from constant suffering, their lives destined to be cut short with the blade of slaughterhouse machinery. No longer will their existence be to fill the mouths of a salivating and greedy nation. They now exist as valued individuals, remaining happy and free.

Love and liberation for Sarah and all other captive individuals!
Animal Liberation Front”

This isn’t a new phenomenon. After a US court convicted the SHAC 7 on “animal enterprise terrorism” charges for running a controversial website, underground activists retaliated. And after lawmakers passed the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, underground activists retaliated.

The outrageous prison sentences, the scare-mongering legislation, the spying: it’s not deterring underground activists. It’s only giving them one more reason to fight.

But lets stop for a moment so we can truly appreciate the absurdity of this situation. This is what the global “War on Terrorism” has become: an “animal rights terrorist” sentenced to two years in prison for rescuing a dog, and the method of retaliation chosen by the “terrorists” is… saving more lives.

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 she has a 3-year-old daughter.

Prosecutors had recommended a 10-year sentence. Her lawyer asked for no more than a year-and-a-half.

Waters was taken into custody after Thursday’s sentencing in federal court in Tacoma. She had been convicted March 6 of arson, and her lawyer is working on an appeal.

The 32-year-old from Berkeley, Calif., was an Evergreen State College student who acted as a lookout in 2001 when others set fire to the Center for Urban Horticulture in Seattle. The Earth Liberation Front claimed responsibility because it believed, mistakenly, a researcher was genetically modifying poplar trees.

Background on Briana Waters is here.

More later…

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.”