Calif. firebombs probed as ecoterrorism

A contractor walked in August 2003 through Clippinger Chevrolet in West Covina, Calif., where Earth Liberation Front members allegedly vandalized more than 120 sport utility vehicles. (AP File Photo)

LINCOLN, Calif. -- Inside upscale houses being built in the gold rush foothills of the Sierra Nevada, construction crews last month found three unexploded firebombs investigators say had the potential to kill and destroy. Left behind, too, were threats scrawled in spray paint on windows and walls: ''U will pay" and ''Enjoy the world as is -- as long as you can."

On Jan. 12, five more firebombs, similar to those found Dec. 27 in Lincoln, were dismantled in a nearly completed office building 15 miles away in Auburn, east of Sacramento.

The firebombs, which caused no damage or injuries, startled residents in communities that are among the state's fastest growing and introduced them to an underground environmental movement that in recent years has become more active and dangerous.

''Ecoterrorism has grown more violent as their frustration has grown," said Kelly Stoner, executive director of Stop Eco-Violence!, an Oregon-based group. ''The movement has increasingly become about individuals who are looking for quick, easy fixes."

Four area newspapers have received letters claiming responsibility for the bombs by the Earth Liberation Front, or ELF, an environmental extremist group to which federal authorities attribute millions of dollars in arson-related destruction and numerous acts of vandalism in the United States. The letters threatened ''one or more actions every few weeks."

www.boston.com...

OK, now we have a "vote" for freedom in Iraq, perhaps it is time to focus efforts back here in america on home grown terrorist. Send these punks to Gitmo......ELF is still all about impressing some cute little chick...........

[edit on 1-2-2005 by DrHoracid]