Operation Backfire (FBI)
Encyclopedia
Operation Backfire is a multi-agency criminal investigation, led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

 (FBI), into destructive acts in the name of animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...

 and environmental causes in the United States described as eco-terrorism
Eco-terrorism
Eco-terrorism usually refers to acts of violence or sabotage committed in support of ecological, environmental, or animal rights causes against persons or their property....

 by the FBI.

Background

In 2004 the FBI merged seven independent investigations from its Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 field office and called them Operation Backfire. According to an agency statement, the operational focus is on investigating acts of domestic terrorism, carried out on behalf of two activist groups, the Earth Liberation Front
Earth Liberation Front
The Earth Liberation Front , also known as "Elves" or "The Elves", is the collective name for autonomous individuals or covert cells who, according to the ELF Press Office, use "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to stop the exploitation and destruction of the environment".The ELF was founded...

 (ELF) and Animal Liberation Front
Animal Liberation Front
The Animal Liberation Front is an international, underground leaderless resistance that engages in illegal direct action in pursuit of animal liberation...

 (ALF).

Arrests

In December 2005 and January 2006, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a federal law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice...

 (ATF), the FBI indicted six women and seven men on a total of 65 charges, including arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...

, conspiracy, use of destructive devices, and destruction of an energy facility. The defendants were named as Joseph Dibee, Chelsea Dawn Gerlach
Chelsea Dawn Gerlach
Chelsea Dawn Gerlach is an American radical environmentalist associated with the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front.-Biography:...

, Sarah Kendall Harvey (née Kendall Tankersley), Daniel McGowan, Stanislas Meyerhoff, Josephine Overaker, Jonathan Paul, Rebecca Rubin, Suzanne Savoie, Justin Solondz, Darren Thurston
Darren Thurston
Darren Todd Thurston is a Canadian anarchist and animal rights activist.In July 2006, Thurston pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy and related arson charges that occurred from 1996 through 2001 in Oregon and four other U.S. states, and which were claimed in the name of the Earth Liberation Front...

, Kevin Tubbs, and Briana Waters. A number of other unindicted co-conspirators were also named. A 13th alleged co-conspirator, William "Bill" Rodgers
William C. Rodgers
Bill Rodgers a.k.a. Avalon , co-proprietor of the Catalyst Infoshop in Prescott, Arizona, USA, was one of six environmental activists arrested December 7, 2005 as part of the FBI's Operation Backfire...

, also known as Avalon, committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 while in police custody.

According to reports, and their own websites, most of the indicted individuals initially claimed to be innocent of the charges.
Prosecutors alleged that the 11 conspirators collectively referred to themselves as "The Family" and had taken an oath
Oath
An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...

 to protect each other. The FBI indicated that some of the charges relate to an 1998 arson attack, claimed by the ELF, on the Vail
Vail, Colorado
The Town of Vail is a Home Rule Municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,589 in 2005. The town was established and built as the base village to Vail Ski Resort, with which it was originally conceived...

 Ski Resort in Colorado. Other charges were related to another attack on the botany labs at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

 in 2001. The combined cost of the damage from the attacks is estimated at approaching $80 million.

Convictions and abscondings



In late 2006, a number of self-described ELF members pled guilty to arson and other charges in U.S. federal courts.

On November 11, 2006, Joyanna Zacher, Nathan Block, Daniel McGowan and Jonathan Paul pleaded guilty to several eco-sabotage related charges, as part of a global resolution agreement with prosecutors. Judge Ann Aiken presided over the hearings. The change of pleas from the four defendants resolves all current “Operation Backfire” cases in Oregon.

On December 15, 2006, Chelsea Dawn Gerlach and Stanislas Gregory Meyerhoff, pleaded guilty to $20 million worth of arsons committed between 1996 and 2001 by the Eugene-based cell of the ELF known as "The Family". Their fire-bombing of a Vail ski resort resulted in damages totaling $12 million, with the FBI characterizing the ELF as the United States' "top domestic terrorism threat". Gerlach has previously pleaded guilty to 18 counts of arson in other attacks, saying she was motivated by "a deep sense of despair and anger at the deteriorating state of the global environment," but adding that she has "since realized the firebombings did more harm than good." Meyerhoff has renounced ELF and pleaded guilty to 54 counts, but is still under indictment in Michigan, Arizona, Washington, Wyoming and California.

On March 6, 2008, Briana Waters, who was arrested in Operation Backfire for another ELF attack in Washington State, was found guilty of two counts of arson and sentenced later that year to six years in prison.

The FBI alleged that the group was led by William C. Rodgers
William C. Rodgers
Bill Rodgers a.k.a. Avalon , co-proprietor of the Catalyst Infoshop in Prescott, Arizona, USA, was one of six environmental activists arrested December 7, 2005 as part of the FBI's Operation Backfire...

, who was arrested in December 2005 and committed suicide in jail just before he was to be transferred to Oregon. Two other ELF members indicted in the Vail arson, Josephine Sunshine Overaker and Rebecca J. Rubin, have not been apprehended; Rubin is believed to be in Canada while Overaker is believed to be in Spain. One other indicted co-conspirator not part of the Vail arson, Joseph Dibee, is also believed to be abroad; Dibee is believed to be beyond the reach of the FBI in Syria, which has no diplomatic relations with the United States.

Solondz was captured in China in March 2009.

Chelsea Dawn Gerlach

Gerlach was arrested in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 on December 7, 2005, and on July 21, 2006, she pleaded guilty to three counts of arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...

. The fires were at Childer's Meat Company, Boise Cascade
Boise Cascade
Boise Cascade Holdings, LLC, which uses the trade name Boise, is an American pulp and paper company, ranked as the thirteenth largest forest products company in the world....

, and an EPD
EPD
-Science:*Enzyme Potentiated Desensitisation, a treatment for allergies*Etch pit density, a measure for the quality of semiconductor wafers*Environmental Product Declarations, a method in life cycle assessment...

 substation. She was also charged with one count of destruction of an energy facility, the BPA transmission tower; one count of aiding and abetting
Aiding and abetting
Criminal=Aiding and abetting is an additional provision in United States criminal law, for situations where it cannot be shown the party personally carried out the criminal offense, but where another person may have carried out the illegal act as an agent of the charged, working together with or...

 an attempted arson, 12 counts of aiding and abetting an arson, at the Jefferson Poplar Farm; and eight counts of aiding and abetting arson in Vail, Colorado
Vail, Colorado
The Town of Vail is a Home Rule Municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,589 in 2005. The town was established and built as the base village to Vail Ski Resort, with which it was originally conceived...

. The Vail fires caused $12 million damage, leveling the Two Elk Lodge and the restaurant on top of Vail Mountain. The fires also razed a ski patrol headquarters and several lift buildings. On May 25, 2007, she was sentenced to nine years in prison. She is serving her sentence at a Federal Prison
Federal prison
Federal prisons are run by national governments in countries where subdivisions of the country also operate prisons.In the United States federal prisons are operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In Canada the Correctional Service of Canada operates federal prisons. Prison sentences in these...

. With time served and time off for good behavior, she is potentially eligible to be released in October 2013, after five years of imprisonment.

Related operations

In January and February 2006, as a result of separate investigations, but widely reported as extensions of Operation Backfire, three more individuals, Zachary Jenson, Eric McDavid
Eric McDavid
Eric McDavid, , is a green anarchist and vegan convicted of conspiring to use fire or explosives to damage corporate and government property. While U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott has called McDavid the first person in the U.S...

 and Lauren Weiner, were arrested in Auburn, California
Auburn, California
Auburn is the county seat of Placer County, California. Its population at the 2010 census was 13,330. Auburn is known for its California Gold Rush history.Auburn is part of the Greater Sacramento area.- History :...

 for conspiring to damage facilities "by explosive or fire." Eric McDavid, the only one of the three who refused to sign a plea agreement, was found guilty on all counts, and faces up to 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine, when sentenced on the 6th of December. In Washington, Nathan Block and Joyanna Zacher were arrested on charges relating to a 2001 arson on a farm near Clatskanie, Oregon
Clatskanie, Oregon
Clatskanie is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the Clatskanie River, which empties into the Columbia River within the city limits. The population was 1,528 at the 2000 census. The 2007 estimate is 1,710 residents.-History:...

 and in Tucson, Arizona, Rod Coronado
Rod Coronado
Rodney Adam Coronado is a Native American eco-anarchist and animal rights activist. He is an advocate and former activist for the Animal Liberation Front and a spokesperson for the Earth Liberation Front...

, a prominent American eco-anarchist, was arrested on a felony charge of demonstrating the use of a destructive device.

Analysis

The indictments of the 18 activists for alleged acts of eco-terrorism
Eco-terrorism
Eco-terrorism usually refers to acts of violence or sabotage committed in support of ecological, environmental, or animal rights causes against persons or their property....

 has drawn condemnation from activists and alternative media organizations. The National Lawyers Guild
National Lawyers Guild
The National Lawyers Guild is an advocacy group in the United States "dedicated to the need for basic and progressive change in the structure of our political and economic system . ....

 condemned the operation and the resulting indictments, arguing that "life sentences for property damage offenses where the actor has no intent to harm an individual are simply unconstitutional." Animal liberation activist and physician Jerry Vlasak
Jerry Vlasak
Jerry Vlasak is an American trauma surgeon and animal rights activist. He is a press officer for the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, a former director of the Animal Defense League of Los Angeles, and an advisor to SPEAK, the Voice for the Animals.Vlasak came to public attention in...

 accused the FBI of targeting "a bunch of above-ground, well-known, peaceful animal-rights activists and environmental activists and charg[ing] them with being members of the ALF and the ELF."

In response, then-U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales argued that "there’s a clear difference between constitutionally protected advocacy — which is the right of all Americans — and violent criminal activity."

See also

  • Green Scare
    Green Scare
    The Green Scare, alluding to the Red Scares periods of fear over communist infiltration of US society, is a term popularized by environmental activists to refer to legal action by the US government against the radical environmental movement....

  • Earth Liberation Front
    Earth Liberation Front
    The Earth Liberation Front , also known as "Elves" or "The Elves", is the collective name for autonomous individuals or covert cells who, according to the ELF Press Office, use "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to stop the exploitation and destruction of the environment".The ELF was founded...

     (ELF)
  • Earth First!
    Earth First!
    Earth First! is a radical environmental advocacy group that emerged in the Southwestern United States in 1979. It was co-founded on April 4th, 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, and less directly, Bart Koehler and Ron Kezar....

  • University of Washington firebombing incident
    University of Washington firebombing incident
    The University of Washington firebombing incident was an arson which took place in the early morning hours of May 21, 2001 when a firebomb was set off at Merill Hall, a part of the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture, causing an estimated $1.5 to $4.1 million in damages...

  • Craig Rosebraugh
    Craig Rosebraugh
    Craig Rosebraugh is a writer, filmmaker and activist advocating for political and social justice, human rights, and environmental and animal protection.- Activism :...

  • Will Potter
    Will Potter
    Will Potter is an American independent journalist and public speaker, based in Washington, D.C. He has written for several publications, including the Chicago Tribune, The Dallas Morning News, and Legal Affairs. In his writings, he has focused on how the "war on terrorism" affects civil liberties...

  • Jeff Luers
    Jeff Luers
    Jeffrey "Free" Luers is an political activist from Los Angeles, California, who served a ten year prison sentence for arson in the U.S. state of Oregon. On February 14, 2007, The Oregon Court of Appeals overturned Luers' sentence, instructing the Lane County circuit court to determine a new sentence...

  • Ecotage
    Ecotage
    Ecotage is a portmanteau of the "eco-" prefix and "sabotage". Ecotage is often used as a descriptive term for the direct actions of environmental groups such as Earth First! and similar groups throughout the Western world. The term is only applied for actions of sabotage committed within the...


External links

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