The final verdict in the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) trial for the arson of the University of Washington’s Center for Urban Horticulture is finally in, after six years of investigation and litigation. The jury was tied on three accounts, but 32-year-old Briana Waters was convicted on two counts of arson.
Green extremist websites are suggesting that the recent ELF-attributed fire on the Street of Dreams development were part of a conspiracy to influence the jury in Waters’s court case. Her lawyers tried to have the case thrown out after the news about the fire came out on Monday, and they are appealing.
For police officers and Seattle residents, the Street of Dreams fire brings strong resemblance to the last ELF fire from 2006, but there is yet a ton of forensic evidence to gather.
The 12 ELF-attributed fire bombings are just a fraction of the more than 1,200 criminal incidents since 1990, which include arson, bombings, harassment, vandalism, and animal release. These guys claim they are non-violent and only attacks the property of corporations.
Aside from the fact that hurting people’s property is a form of violence, people have gotten hurt. One of their methods is running long nails into trees at the level where a logger will use his chain saw to cut the tree. The nail breaks the chain, which snaps back in the face of the logger.
We ought to worry about these domestic terrorists, who are attacking our safety and our livelihoods in the name of extremist ideals. They minimize the severity of their actions by saying they are not hurting people, just their property, but that is just as vicious. Destroying people’s livelihoods can cause an immense amount of harm.
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I’m curious if you have actually looked at the articles you’re linking to in this blog post. Nowhere in the very lengthy article I wrote about the arsons was it suggested that this was part of a conspiracy to influence the jury. Rather, I raised questions–that many others are raising–about how quickly the press jumped to conclusions rather than investigating the details.
Furthermore, I’m curious how you concluded that it is a “green extremist website.” The site has news and analysis of how environmentalists have been labeled “terrorists,” but could you please point me to any blog post on GreenIsTheNewRed.com that supports these crimes–or any crimes– in the name of the environment, or reflects an endorsement of the environmental movement?
Will Potter
Please
Hi Will,
Point taken, I attributed your quote from Olympia Civil Liberties to you, instead of saying you quoted that.
Your second question of me calling your website a green extremist website;
As far as I can read your website, you are arguing that people that do what Waters have been accused of doing are not terrorizing their community. Or that Paul Watson are not terrorizing people who hunt whales. Or that other groups that attack other people’s property in the name of the environment are not terrorizing the people who own or use that property.
I would consider defending such practices green extremism indeed. I can admire your vigilance of bad reporting, but like me, you are writing with a view. You need to own that view, although I might use other labels for it than what you use yourself.