October 30, 1996
South of Eugene, Oregon
Arson destroyed US Forest Service Oak Ridge Ranger Station south of Eugene. Cost estimate, $5.3 million. Joint ALF/ELF claim.

March 14, 1997
Mackenzie River, Oregon
Tree spiking at Robinson-Scott timber harvest site in the Mackenzie River watershed, Willamette National Forest. Joint ALF/ELF claim.

July 21, 1997
Redmond, Oregon
Arson of Cavel West meat packing plant in Redmond. Estimated cost over $1million. Joint ALF/ELF claim.

November 1997
Burns, Oregon
Arson of Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse Corrals, eight miles west of Burns. Estimated cost, $450,000. Joint ALF/ELF claim.

December 26, 1998
Medford, Oregon
Arson of U.S. Forest Industries' corporate headquarters in Medford, Ore. The three alarm blaze resulted in over $500,000 in damages. ELF claimed responsibility in a communiqué released by the Liberation Collective in Portland, Oregon.

December 25, 1999
Monmouth, Oregon
Arson of Boise Cascade office in Monmouth, Ore. ELF Claimed responsibility in a communiqué released by the Liberation Collective in Portland, Ore.

Cover

Up in Smoke

With several arsons in Eugene and beyond targeting Earth-unfriendly corporations, eco-terrorists and the Earth Liberation Front are making their blunt agenda and questionable tactics known.

By Brian Boone

At approximately 2:40 a.m. on March 30, Central Lane 9-1-1 received a phone call that reported several vehicles on fire at the Romania Chevrolet truck dealership at 2020 Franklin Boulevard, just east of the University. Fire and police crews were dispatched and the mysterious, deliberately-set fire was under control by 3:25 a.m., but not before over $1 million in private property and 35 sport utility vehicles were completely destroyed. The dealership had been given no prior threats or warnings of the fire. Police consider the event politically-motivated and connected to a June 2000 Romania fire set by radical environmentalists who went by the names "Free" and "Critter." The former awaits trial; the latter was convicted earlier this year. The public profile of the eco-terrorism group the men were possibly associated with, the Earth Liberation Front, has significantly increased around the University because of the two fires.

The North American Earth Liberation Front Press Office, operating out of Portland, released to the news media on March 31 an anonymous communiqué they received that took responsibility for the previous day's Romania dealership fire. The pseudo-confession, subsequent diatribe and the rest of the communiqué was released initially and exclusively to the ELF Press Office.

Here is that statement:

"1 million dollars worth of luxury SUV's were torched at Romania Chevrolet. Sucking the land dry, gas-guzzling SUV's are at the forefront of this vile, imperialistic culture's caravan towards self-destruction. We can no longer allow the rich to parade around in their armored existence, leaving a wasteland behind in their tire tracks. The time is right to fight back.

"Romania Chevrolet is the same location that was targeted last June, for which two earth warriors, Free and Critter, are being persecuted. The techno-industrial state thinks it can stop the growing resistance by jailing some of us, but they cannot jail the spirit of those who know another world is possible. The fire that burns within Free and Critter burns within all of us and cannot be extinguished by locking them up.

"In this continuous assault on both the planet and ourselves, SUV's destroy the earth while the prison system tries to destroy those who see beyond this empty life. We must strike out against what destroys us before we are all either choking on smog or held captive by the state. Take the power into your own hands. It's your life."

In addition to the brilliant word choice, bad grammar, and usual extremist rhetoric, the communiqué is notable for embarrassing clichés such as "it... can jail some of us, but they cannot jail the spirit of those who know another world is possible. The fire that burns within Free and Critter burns within all of us and..." oh, I can't finish, it's just so cheesy. But they raise an interesting point, claiming the prison system is trying to destroy those with the foresight to protect the environment. Well, not exactly. Actually, Free and Critter, it's the legal system, not the prison system, that tries criminal cases and it's really trying to prevent property damage and physical harm to law-abiding citizens.

The ELF's press release that coupled the communiqué went on to say that "there has been no indication that this was an action committed by the Earth Liberation Front but rather one claimed by an anonymous group of unidentified individuals." However, the media information for the Earth Liberation Front identifies the press office as a "public face ideologically in support of the Earth Liberation Front and similar acts of economic sabotage against those who profit from the destruction of the natural environment." The Press Office is thus the public, legitimate face that spins the underground, essentially criminal activities of the rest of the Earth Liberation Front. And via this press release, the ELF is basically saying that although they didn't necessarily set fire to 35 SUV's at Romania, they are glad it happened and support those who did do it. The ELF Press Office is closely involved with ELF organizers, yet they claim to have no idea who sent the communiqué or set the fires. That doesn't sound very convincing. To make an obvious point, it appears the ELF Press Office could be protecting the Romania culprits.

The latest Romania fire is the latest in a boom of suspicious fires in the Eugene area. Between April 1, 2000 and March 31, 2001, there have been 128 questionable fires within the city. The peak was last summer, with 26 in June, 28 in July and 34 in August. The only solved, closed case is the first Romania fire. The fires range in size, from trash bins and cars to grocery stores, oil refineries and even one ridiculous attempt to burn down the EPD substation near the University. Most are suspected to be politically and environmentally related. Police resources are strained, as EPD does not employ a full-time arson investigator. In lieu of that, an arson task force has been constructed, comprised of members of EPD, the FBI, Oregon State Police and the ATF. Seven investigators are working on the Romania case and have uncovered 61 pieces of evidence at the charred car lot and all are being analyzed at an ATF crime lab in Walnut Creek, California.

As stated, this is the second time in a year that Romania has been attacked by anti-SUV environmental activists. The June 2000 fire caused $40,000 in damage, and two men were arrested: Jeffrey Michael "Free" Luers and Craig Andrew "Critter" Marshall. In November, Marshall pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson and possession of a destructive device. A mistrial was declared for Luers after the passing of his defense attorney, longtime Eugene resident Ken Morrow. The March 31 communiqué suggests that Romania was targeted this year due to the persecution and wrongful imprisonment of Luers and Marshall. Even as the case goes to trial and guilty pleas are entered, fringe groups continue to demand the men be released from jail. Similar to how WRC protesters at the University were arrested and then had a hissy-fit at having to be officially booked, environmental activists in support of Free and Critter have also fully misunderstood the concept of civil disobedience. The point is to get arrested and then do your time to demonstrate the absurdity of whatever law it is you broke. Thoreau didn't really characterize civil disobedience as committing an act of vandalism and then demand to be released because it's unfair.

While Free and Critter have been charged, the culprits for the new fire remain anonymous and arrests don't appear to be forthcoming. Fortunately, law enforcement has found a scapegoat. Though it has not been proven if the ELF itself is responsible for the fires, though they are in correspondence with the arsonists and applaud the arson, police have gone after, of all people, the ELF Press Office's mouthpiece Craig Rosebraugh. On April 5, agents from the FBI, ATF and state police conducted a six-hour raid of Rosebraugh's home, business and vehicle. He was also subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury investigating the Romania fire. This is the seventh time since 1997 the UO Law School graduate has been subpoenaed in relation to ELF activities.

The search coincided with a national environmental "day of action" called for by the ELF. A press conference and likely subsequent uprisings, were supposed to go down at 10 a.m. that day in front of Portland's federal building but ended quickly because Rosebraugh never showed up to lead it. Instead, he was at home, watching his house being raided and removed of over 100 pieces of evidence including computer equipment, phone books, literature and videos that police thought may have information on ELF activities.

The Romania fires are not the only ELF-related eco-terrorism as of late. This group is getting very active nationwide with an onslaught of fires and vandalism. The ELF has admitted, via communiqué of course, that it set fire to three cement trucks at Ross Island Sand & Gravel in Portland on April 15. Damages are estimated at $210,000. In the communiqué, the ELF accused the company of misusing the earth and mishandling toxic waste. "Let this be a warning to all the greedy corporations who exploit our earth's natural resources," the memo said. The ELF also has claimed responsibility for an attempted arson of a Nike store in an Albertville, Minn. mall last March. The group opposes Nike's involvement in global economics.

It is because of ELF's admission to setting the Nike fire, as well as connections with Free and Critter and the fact that the same dealership has been attacked twice that has led the FBI to believe the ELF is connected to the Romania arson. That's some real expert detective work there, boys. Following the raid of Rosebraugh's property, Leslie James Pickering, Rosebraugh's roommate who was also searched, told KGW that things are only going to escalate. This is because the ELF supports, if not commits, acts of sabotage, including the Romania fire. They believe destruction of private property somehow protects the natural environment. It is hard to argue with someone whose inherent argument is essentially flawed and highly sophistic. It's a case of "yes it is" versus "no it isn't." The ELF truly believes massive gas fires are beneficial to our planet's ecology and no amount of logic is going to convince them otherwise.

It's not that the Romania arsonists didn't have a point. Yes, SUV's are high-polluting consumerist crap, but blowing them up is not the way to stop their onslaught. That's juvenile, ignorant and just as aggressive and ruthless as these eco-terrorists say corporations can be. Don't these arsonists realize that there are millions of other SUV's out there, and despite poor pollution and safety records, car companies will continue to make and sell them as long as there is a market to buy them? People are just going to think of eco-terrorists as confused goons if they blow up cars to make a point. There are better ways to make the point: raising awareness, company boycotts, introducing legislation, political lobbies, peaceful protests and the ilk are much more effective and attractive than committing crimes that are as bad for the environment and surrounding community as these activists seem to think SUV's are.

This whole deal of blowing things up in the name of mother earth really just reminds me of that Steven Seagal movie "Fire Down Below," where he preaches about the importance of the environment and conservation and all that and to hammer a point home to the evil polluting corporations by blowing up an oil rig and releases more toxins into nature than those polluters ever would have. Similarly, these Eugene eco-terrorists think a good way to save the environment is to blow up massive metal vehicles that smell toxic while burning. And that's not counting the attempted fire at the Tyree refinery.

Oregon is now the official home of white trash scandal and self-righteous political wackos. With the ELF and its kind, it's like the Rajneesh all over again, with all of it centered around Eugene. The world's news media's lasting image of Eugene as a patoulie-scented, granola-eating, pseudo-hippie wasteland has been replaced by an image of a city run by crazed, violent, extreme leftists. Not only is Eugene annoying, but now it's dangerous too. And if these anonymous eco-terrorists want to start an environmental revolution, they aren't going to get very far in a Northwestern college town with a population of barely 130,000. Then again, Eugene is nothing if not interesting with its long history of protest and extremism. It gives us a chance to get on CNN between football seasons.

Brian Boone, a senior majoring in journalism and theater arts, is Associate Editor of the Oregon Commentator.