Beyond Arson? A threat assessment of the Earth liberation front

Terrorism and Political Violence

Volumn 15, Issue 4, 2003, Pages 143-170

  Ackerman, Gary A ^a  

^a MONTEREY INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES   (United States)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 3042656343     PISSN: 09546553     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/09546550390449935     Document Type: Review

References (76)

1. The terms radical environmentalists, eco-radicals, ecological extremists and so forth are here used interchangeably to denote extremists with an ideology predominantly oriented towards saving entire eco-systems. A distinction is drawn between these groups and those focused on the well-being of individual animals, the latter being denoted as animal-rights groups.
2. The ELF describes itself as 'an international underground organization that uses direct action in the form of economic sabotage to stop the exploitation and destruction of the natural environment' - 'Frequently Asked Questions About the Earth Liberation Front' found at 〈 http://www. earthliberationfront.com/library/elf-faq.pdf 〉, p.1.
3. Former FBI Director Louis Freeh referred to the ELF as one of America's leading domestic terrorism threats - The Boy Who Cried "ELF " ', Wall Street Journal (14 Feb. 2001) p.sA22.
4. The FBI defines eco-terrorism as 'the use or threatened use of violence of a criminal nature against innocent victims or property by an environmentally oriented, subnational group for environmental-political reasons, or aimed at an audience beyond the target, often of a symbolic nature' -James F. Jarboe, The Threat of Eco-Terrorism, House Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health (12 Feb. 2002).
5. Discussed in S. H. Leader and P. Probst, "The Earth Liberation Front and Environmental Terrorism", Terrorism and Political Violence, Winter 2003, pp. 217-238.
6. This assessment is part of a series of similar studies on radical groups that involves taking a long view of strategic-level extremist threats to the US public in order to forestall the type of strategic surprise visited by events such as the 1995 Tokyo sarin release and the September 11 attacks.
7. Law enforcement agencies often conflates the ELF and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), as seen from Domestic Terrorism Section Chief James Jarboe's declaration before a Congressional subcommittee that the 'ALF/ELF have committed more than 600 criminal acts in the United States since 1996, resulting in damages in excess of 43 million dollars', Jarboe (note 4). While the evidence suggests a close relationship between the ELF and the ALF, in that they are structured similarly, cooperate operationally on occasion, and have some overlap in membership, there are subtle yet significant differences that necessitate distinct evaluations. For example, while animal liberationists decry the treatment of individual animals and restrict their concern to sentient beings, radical environmentalists display a more global, macro-level approach and are concerned with entire species and whole ecosystems. This basic discrepancy in ideological orientation can have a large impact on decisions, say, concerning mass casualties - a group that perceives injustice in the mistreatment of several animals in a research laboratory may act differently from one that anticipates the destruction of the entire earth if it does not act to prevent this.
8. Deep Ecology, a philosophy first proclaimed in the 1970s by writers such as the Norwegian Arne Naess, arguably forms the basis for ELF ideology.
9. 'Frequently Asked Questions About the Earth Liberation Front' (note 2) p. 15.
10. Bron Taylor, Samuel S. Hill Jr. Chair of Religion, University of Florida, telephone conversation (11 Dec. 2002).
11. Since, among radical environmentalists, being human is often viewed with disapprobation, perhaps a more appropriate term in this context would be 'de-animation'.
12. The misanthropism can lead some activists to reject any role for human beings within the ecosystem - see Sheldon Kamieniecki, S. Dulaine Coleman and Robert O. Vos, The Effectiveness of Radical Environmentalists' in Bron Taylor (ed.), Ecological Resistance Movements: the Global Emergence of Radical and Popular Environmentalism (NY: State University of New York Press, International Environmental Policy and Theory Series 1995) p. 326.
13. 'Gula', 'Eco-Kamikazes Wanted', Earth First! Journal (22 Sept. 1989) p.21.
14. One of the stated ELF guidelines is 'To take all necessary precautions against harming life' - 'Frequently Asked Questions About the Earth Liberation Front' (note 2) p. 15.
15. Michael Roselle, 'Forest Grump', Earth First! Journal(21 Dec. 1994) p.23.
16. Bron Taylor asserts that this martial rhetoric does not necessarily signal a proclivity towards inflicting harm on people. He cites as an example the observation that Roselle has described violence as being unproductive in terms of garnering public support, 'Religion, Violence and Radical Environmentalism', Terrorism and Political Violence 10/4 (Winter 1998) p. 18. While Taylor is correct in cautioning against relying solely on violent rhetoric as an indicator of intentions, the fact that activists like Roselle rejected violent tactics for purely pragmatic reasons is hardly evidence of an enduring commitment to non-violence.
17. Igniting the Revolution, self-produced video by the Earth Liberation Front.
18. Taylor, telephone conversation (11 Dec. 2002).
19. Defensive aggression is thus related to notions of preemptive self-defense and can tap into the legitimizing force associated with self-defense. It also involves elements of fear-anger mechanisms and carries with it a greater risk of distortions in the decision-making process. These can result from such psychological factors as time stresses and an exacerbation of deleterious group dynamics, including polarization and groupthink.
20. 'Activists can be forgiven for wondering why in Eugene, Oregon, Jeffrey Luers (who was judged to have taken precautions against harming people) was sentenced to 22 years and 8 months for damaging SUVs, while six days earlier a man who killed a woman while driving drunk received a ten-year jail sentence', Thomas Jackson, 'For Christmas: The E.L.F. Interview', Delicate Monster vol. 3 (Dec. 2002) accessed at 〈 http://www.delicatemonster.com/vol3 〉.
21. Accessed from the North American Earth Liberation Front Press Office (NAELFPO) website at 〈 http://www.earthliberationfront.com/news/2000/ 001231cl.html 〉.
22. Some scientists have been coerced into ceasing their work and several companies have severed ties with Huntingdon Life Sciences owing to the threats or actions of SHAC.
23. For example: 92.7 per cent of federal defendants convicted of violent crimes in the US in 2000 were male and 47 per cent of defendants convicted of violent crimes were between the ages of 19 and 30 - Table 5.18: Federal defendants convicted in US District Courts', Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 2001, US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (2001) p.415.
24. It must be noted that the assessment provided here does not in any way claim to provide point predictions; trying to quantify factors to determine threat levels using qualitative data sources would likely prove misleading. Rather, the frameworks used are to be viewed merely as analytical tools that help place a multiplicity of factors in policy-relevant perspective.
25. Jerrold M. Post, Kevin G. Ruby and Eric D. Shaw, The Radical Group in Context: 1. An Integrated Framework for the Analysis of Group Risk for Terrorism', Studies in Conflict & Terrorism vol. 25 (2002).
26. Since the ELF has not yet engaged in violence against persons and the Post-Ruby-Shaw framework seems oriented towards terrorism involving human targets, it can prove useful in analyzing the prospects of a further shift towards intentionally causing casualties.
27. Although limitations on space prevent a full exposition here, the author can be contacted for a detailed application of the 27 relevant variables from the Post-Ruby-Shaw framework to the ELF.
28. Communiqué published on NAELFPO website, 3 Sept. 2002, at 〈 http://www.earthliberationfront.com/news/2002/090302.shtml 〉.
29. Amy Roe, 'He Says He Wants a Revolution: A Former ELF Figure Defends The Historic Role Of Violence In Social Change', Willamette Week (Portland 8 Jan. 2003) at 〈 http://www.wweek.com/flatfiles/News3512.lasso 〉.
30. 'From Push to Shove', Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Report Issue 107 (Fall 2002) accessed at 〈 http://www.splcenter.org/ intelligenceproject/ip-index.html 〉, p.7.
31. Roe (note 29).
32. About Arissa, accessed at 〈 http://www.arissa.org/about.html 〉; the website does not disclose the origin of the name.
33. Mass casualties here refers to a total number of casualties in excess of 1,000 people or a total number of fatalities in excess of 300.
34. This is an abbreviation of a more complex construction that includes consideration of the value and vulnerability of potential targets. In the present case, however, the targets are not known with sufficient specificity for this approach to be useful and one can assume that a generic mass-casualty target will consist of unsuspecting civilians, making both the value and vulnerability high.
35. In the context of a threat assessment, structural factors are relevant only so far as they inform motivations or capabilities and therefore will not be treated as a separate category here.
36. Advocated by Taylor, 'Religion, Violence and Radical Environmentalism', pp.21-22.
37. Regarding finances, in 2002 PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) was criticized for contributing $1,500 towards the legal defense of an alleged ELF member who had been apprehended, Bill Burke, 'Accusations Raise Hackles at PETA', Virginian-Pilot, 22 June 2002, p.A1. While some may high-light this episode as evidence of sources of external financial support for the ELF, the fact that the somewhat paltry sum of $1,500 was needed in this matter is more suggestive of a lack of financial resources.
38. Bruce Barcott, 'From Tree Hugger to Terrorist', New York Times (7 April 2002). p.6.
39. Anonymous, '2001 Year-End Direct Action Report', North American Animal Liberation Front Press Office (12 Jan. 2002) p. 17.
40. Bearing in mind the imperfect nature of most qualitative measurements, the five-point scale presented here is not meant to connote any one-to-one correspondence with particular probability values. Rather it provides an evaluation of the threat in general terms, based on commonly understood meanings of the values on the scale.
41. Two examples in this regard are Kaczynski, whose ideology differed rather substantially from that of most other radical environmentalists, but who monitored the environmentalist milieu and at times used its literature to select his targets, and Andrew McCrae, a 23-year-old college student who killed a police officer outside Red Bluff California in November 2002 protesting what he viewed as corporate irresponsibility including against the environment. Even if an organization like the ELF continues to repudiate inflicting physical harm on people, these cases highlight the danger posed by an idiosyncratic loner who attaches himself or herself to the peripheries of the organization. The ELF's 'open' structure might even enable a lone fanatic - who may be too mentally unstable to operate as part of a group - to feel as if he or she were participating in the movement and to gain enough confidence to launch a violent attack. In this circumstance, the perpetrator would receive the morale-boosting and instructional benefits of the organization (for example, from the ELF's propaganda or from its various tactical manuals) while remaining unexposed to any of the elements of group dynamics that could ameliorate violence (such as socialization or internal debate and compromise).
42. The FBI points to the continuing emergence of splinter groups within the environmentalist movement, which 'have escalated the intensity of their protests with ever increasing violence' - James F. Jarboe, FBI Domestic Terrorism Section Chief, Counterterrorism Division, online discussion moderated by the Washington Post (27 Feb. 2002) 1 p.m. EST.
43. Alex Plows, Derek Wall and Brian Doherty, 'From the Earth Liberation Front to universal dark matter: the challenge of covert repertoires to social movement research', paper delivered to the Workshop on Democracy and Extremism, sponsored by the European Consortium for Political Research Joint Sessions (Grenoble 6-11 April 2001) p.2 - 'covert ecotage has become a widely generalized repertoire which is no longer exclusively tied to a particular ideological orientation but is used by a range of activists with various rationales for taking covert action ranging from pragmatic to ideological.'
44. Quoted in James Rosen and Liza Porteus, '"Eco-Terrorists" Go to Extremes' FOXNews (3 Dec. 2002).
45. ELF communiqué taking responsibility for burning down a house in Long Island, New York on 9 Dec. 2000 see (http://www.earthliberationfront.com/ doa/).
46. Barcott (note 38) p.2.
47. Leslie James Pickering, Final Statement of Leslie James Pickering as Spokesperson of the North American Earth Liberation Front Press Office, accessed at 〈 http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story = 02/06/15/3229576 〉 hence the establishment of Arissa comes as little surprise.
48. David Graber writes: 'I know scientists who remind me that people are part of nature, but it isn't true. Somewhere along the line ... we quit the contract and became a cancer. We have become a plague upon ourselves and upon the Earth ... Until such time as Homo Sapiens should decide to rejoin nature, some of us can only hope for the right virus to come along.' David Graber, 'Mother Nature as a hothouse flower', Los Angeles Times Book Review, (22 Oct. 1989) p. 10.
49. 'Interview with Craig Rosebraugh', No Compromise, 16, accessed at: 〈 http://www.nocompromise.org/issues/16craig.html 〉.
50. The ELF's chief congressional antagonist is Rep. Scott McInnis of Colorado. In a letter dated 30 Oct. 2001, he requested that various mainstream environmental organizations like the Sierra Club denounce the ELF and ALF. His request contained the following text: 'As our Nation begins the recovery and healing process following the tragedy of Sept. 11, we believe it is critical for Americans of every background and political stripe to disavow terrorism in all its forms and manifestations: Americans simply cannot tolerate, either overtly or through silence, the use of violence and terror as an instrument of promoting social and political change.' At the same time he calls the acts of eco-terrorists 'no less deplorable' than the attacks on the World Trade Center. Accessed at 〈 http://www.house.gov/mcinnis/pr011102.htm 〉.
51. For example, in June 2003, a bill was introduced to the New York State legislature that creates a new category of criminal: 'an ecological terrorist' prescribing specific penalties and a requirement for those convicted to register their names and addresses, similar to sex offenders. 'Bill would label them "terrorist"', Times Union (16 June 2003).
52. Charles Maol and Roland Glasgow, 'Burn, Baby, Burn - The ELF: Terrorists or Defenders of the Planet? Guerilla News Network, accessed at 〈http://www.guerrillanews.com/environment/doc448.html〉.
53. James C. Davies, The J-Curve and Power Struggle Theories of Collective Violence', American Sociological Review 39/4 (1974); the author is indebted to Barcott (note 38) p.5, for suggesting the application of this mechanism in connection with the ELF.
54. 'From Push to Shove' (note 30) p.1.
55. The assassin, Volkert van der Graaf, was a 32-year-old veteran animal rights activist who founded an organization called Milieu Offensief (Environment Offensive), Ibid., p.7. A search of his home revealed environmentalist material, although Van der Graaf's motivation for the shooting has not been confirmed - Abigail Levene, 'Fortuyn's party says his killer was animal rights activist' Reuters (7 May 2002).
56. The assassin, Volkert van der Graaf, was a 32-year-old veteran animal rights activist who founded an organization called Milieu Offensief (Environment Offensive), Ibid., p.7. A search of his home revealed environmentalist material, although Van der Graaf's motivation for the shooting has not been confirmed - Abigail Levene, 'Fortuyn's party says his killer was animal rights activist' Reuters (7 May 2002).
57. North American Earth Liberation Front Press Office.
58. Activists like Rodney Coronado continue, however, to speak out in support of the ELF.
59. Thomas Jackson, 'For Christmas: The E.L.F. Interview' (note 30).
60. Leslie James Pickering (note 47).
61. Bron Taylor, 'Popular Ecological Resistance and Radical Environmentalism' in Bron Taylor (ed.), Ecological Resistance Movements, p.344.
62. 'Gula' (note 13).
63. The author is indebted to Bron Taylor for drawing his attention to this.
64. There have been several cases of groups linked to environmentalist causes attacking nuclear facilities. For example, on 10 Oct. 1977, the 'Environmental Assault Unit' of the New World Liberation Front claimed responsibility for a bomb that was detonated at the visitor center at Trojan Plant (part of the Portland General Electric Company nuclear plant) in Columbia, Oregon, Konrad Kellen, The Potential for Nuclear Terrorism: A Discussion', with 'Appendix:. Nuclear-Related Terrorist Activities by Political Terrorists', in Paul Leventhal and Yonah Alexander (eds.), Preventing Nuclear Terrorism: The Report and Papers of the International Task Force on Prevention of Nuclear Terrorism (Lexington: Lexington Books 1987) pp.104-22 (The Potential ...') and pp.123-33 ('Appendix'). In June 1978, 250 ecologists met for 'World Environment Day' and broke the windows of the main office at the Lemoniz reactor in Spain (RAND-St. Andrews Terrorism Chronology, 1968-1995, Case #19780605), and in June 1979, a handful of Greenpeace members parachuted onto the roof of the Darlington nuclear power plant in Ontario, Canada to demonstrate the vulnerability of such plants (RAND-St. Andrews Chronology, Case #19790602). However, in none of these cases were any vital areas threatened and there is no evidence to suggest that any of these groups had intended the release of radiological contaminants. Instead most of these incidents seem to demonstrate the disdain with which radical environmentalists hold nuclear facilities of any type.
65. There have been several cases of groups linked to environmentalist causes attacking nuclear facilities. For example, on 10 Oct. 1977, the 'Environmental Assault Unit' of the New World Liberation Front claimed responsibility for a bomb that was detonated at the visitor center at Trojan Plant (part of the Portland General Electric Company nuclear plant) in Columbia, Oregon, Konrad Kellen, The Potential for Nuclear Terrorism: A Discussion', with 'Appendix:. Nuclear-Related Terrorist Activities by Political Terrorists', in Paul Leventhal and Yonah Alexander (eds.), Preventing Nuclear Terrorism: The Report and Papers of the International Task Force on Prevention of Nuclear Terrorism (Lexington: Lexington Books 1987) pp.104-22 (The Potential ...') and pp.123-33 ('Appendix'). In June 1978, 250 ecologists met for 'World Environment Day' and broke the windows of the main office at the Lemoniz reactor in Spain (RAND-St. Andrews Terrorism Chronology, 1968-1995, Case #19780605), and in June 1979, a handful of Greenpeace members parachuted onto the roof of the Darlington nuclear power plant in Ontario, Canada to demonstrate the vulnerability of such plants (RAND-St. Andrews Chronology, Case #19790602). However, in none of these cases were any vital areas threatened and there is no evidence to suggest that any of these groups had intended the release of radiological contaminants. Instead most of these incidents seem to demonstrate the disdain with which radical environmentalists hold nuclear facilities of any type.
66. W. Seth Carus, 'RISE (1972)' in Jonathan B. Tucker (ed.), Toxic Terror: Assessing Terrorist Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons (Cambridge: MIT Press 2000).
67. A statement from Dark Harvest read 'Over the next twelve-month period, these bags will be deposited at appropriate points that will ensure rapid loss of indifference of the government and the equally rapid education of the general public ... Porton Down has just received a gift from Guinard Island, the first of many.' 'Dark Harvest: Scattering "Seeds of Death'", TIME (9 Nov. 1981) p.55.
68. Monterey Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism Database, Case #827.
69. Monterey Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism Database, Case #814.
70. I b i d.
71. In addition to these incidents linked to radical environmentalists, there are several cases where animal-rights groups have used or threatened to use toxic substances. These include the arrest of ten people in the United Kingdom on 14 Nov. 1991 in an alleged ALF plot to contaminate soft drinks made by SmithKline Beecham; an incident in which at least 20 students at Laval University in Quebec City, Canada became ill in May 2000 after drinking arsenic-laced coffee from a vending machine near the Department of Animal and Food Science laboratories; Canadian medical researchers receiving razor blades coated with rat poison in the mail from the 'Justice Department' in Oct. 1999; and a hoax by the ALF in Dec. 1998 in which it threatened to poison cakes in Italy made by Nestle in order to protest against genetically modified organisms used in Nestle products. Monterey WMD Terrorism Database, Cases #281, #894, #686, #589.
72. Indeed, the ELF seem prepared to utilize whichever means best suit their purposes, as encapsulated in the following statement by Jeffrey Luers 'As for using fire: It was appropriate for the situation and for the goal we wanted to achieve', 'Georgette' and Turtle', 'Fighting an Uphill Battle Toward Freedom: Free Speaks from Prison', Earth First! Journal 22/1, 2001.
73. Of the six threat indicators that emerged from Toxic Terror, a volume of case studies of chemical and biological terrorism, four apply in at least some degree to the ELF (apocalyptic ideology; loner or small militant subgroup; sense of paranoia and grandiosity; defensive aggression), see Tucker (note 64). One can detect low levels of paranoia in ELF literature and interviews (such as Craig Rosebraugh's contention that a grand jury was convened primarily to harass him personally) and a certain amount of grandiosity as well (for instance, when veteran animal-rights activist Rodney Coronado commented that environmentalists are the earth's defense system, representing an 'ancient struggle' that has gone on for centuries) - Rodney Coronado, The Ethics of Direct Action', Panel discussion at Revolutionary Environmentalism: A Dialogue between Activists and Academics conference held at California State University, Fresno (14 Feb. 2003).
74. Although every effort was made to study the ELF in as much detail as possible, it was difficult to gather any detailed information on ELF operational methods. Further research could attempt to pierce the veil of secrecy around ELF operations and thus explore the capabilities of the ELF in greater depth.
75. It must be remembered that within radical movements, especially when it comes to ideology, developments are fluid and trends can reverse at any time. Analysis can only provide expectations and probabilities based on current information and should periodically be updated to encompass any new developments.
76. Obviously, the use of explosives in which people are killed may require a federal response.