EcoTerrorism Strikes

Bathed in the headlines of today, P.L. Reiter's latest novel shines light on the shadowy group who call themselves the "E.L.F." - the Earth Liberation Front.

20 Year Sentence for Eco-Terror Plot

May 9, 2008

SACRAMENTO - An environmental activist was sentenced yesterday to nearly 20 years in federal prison for conspiring to destroy a Northern California dam, a genetics lab, a forestry site and other targets.

Eric McDavid, 29, of Foresthill in Placer County, was convicted by a federal jury in March for masterminding what FBI agents described as an eco-terrorist plot in the name of the Earth Liberation Front. The group has claimed credit for arsons across the West.

McDavid's defense lawyer argued his client was a victim of entrapment by an FBI informant. Two co-conspirators, Zachary Jenson and Lauren Weiner, pleaded guilty and cooperated with the government. They will be sentenced later.

McDavid's sentence of 235 months in a federal prison "should serve as a cautionary tale to those who would conspire to commit life-threatening acts in the name of their extremist views," U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott said.

Federal prosecutors said the targets the three defendants planned to attack included the U.S. Forest Service Institute of Forest Genetics, the Nimbus Dam and Fish Hatchery near Sacramento, cellular telephone towers and electric power stations.

As part of the plot, Weiner ordered a book called "Poor Man's James Bond" with recipes and instructions for creating explosive devices, prosecutors said. McDavid, Jenson and Weiner were arrested in January 2006 outside a store in Auburn in the Sierra foothills after buying items to create the explosives, prosecutors said.

At the end of a long hearing before a crowded courtroom, U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. found McDavid's plan to "disrupt government and commercial installations" overrode the fact that McDavid had no criminal history and a reputation among family and friends as "a peaceful individual."

As recently as the 3rd of March, 2008, this group appears to have been involved in the torching of five multi-million dollar homes on the "Street of Dreams", in Woodinville, Washington.

Headline, March 07, 2008

A federal jury found an Oakland woman guilty of two counts of arson for being the lookout in the 2001 burning of the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture by members of the radical Earth Liberation Front.

The Earth Liberation Front is a loosely organized collection of radical environmentalists authorities say is responsible for other arsons in the Northwest and other locations around the western United States.

Author P.L. Reiter captures the intrigue of these events, told through the eyes of a Viet Nam war veteran who was awarded the Silver Star for Gallantry in Action. Jack Stone prefers to use alcohol to blot out the voices that rage in his head, rather than as a fuel to torch multi-million dollar dwellings in the name of saving the environment.

Two Confess to Helping Firebomb UW Facility in 2001

Two defendants pleaded guilty to participating in the firebombing of the UW Center for Urban Horticulture in 2001, one of a string of destructive crimes committed by members of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and the Animal Liberation Front.

Jennifer Kolar, 33, of Seattle, and Lacey Phillabaum, 31, of Spokane, promised to testify against other members of their group at future trials. Kolar faces five to seven years in prison. Phillabaum faces a three- to five-year term.

The arson burned Merrill Hall beyond repair; severely damaged the Elisabeth Miller Horticulture Library; ruined the work space of 50 research faculty members, graduate students and staff; destroyed one-quarter of the world's population of an endangered plant species; consumed decades' worth of academic literature; closed cooperative extension offices; and melted hundreds of slides, including some illustrating the step-by-step recovery of Mount St. Helens.

It cost the UW $7 million in state funds and private gifts to rebuild the center. The underground group claimed it was targeting genetically engineered poplar trees. However, only traditional breeding methods were used in the research. A genetically engineered plant of any kind has never been released into the environment. Of the ELF, the lead researched said at the time, "They're unbelievably ignorant about science. We're not dealing with the brightest pennies in the fountain, here."

In the plea agreement, Kolar and Phillabaum explained how they met with Briana Waters, 30, of Berkeley, Calif.; Justin Solondz, 27, who is now a fugitive; and William Rogers, who committed suicide in an Arizona jail cell last year; to commit the crime. Waters was allegedly a lookout while the others attacked the building. Kolar said she cut the window glass at Bradshaw's office. The two women said that Rogers and one other defendant went inside, placing incendiary devices in the office. Waters faces a trial next year on arson charges.

San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant

Maria, a beautiful, resourceful, and highly motivated latina, has been brainwashed by the high mucky-mucks of the E.L.F. to shut down a nuclear reactor at San Onofre, California, before it contaminates their idyllic lifestyle. In the process, several people are killed, and a mysterious white powder begins to envelop all of Los Angeles, with disastrous results.

The Author's Motivation

In 2002, P.L. Reiter was working as a system consultant in Los Angeles for the world's largest automobile manufacturer, driving six hours a day in the commute from San Diego to LA. This gave him lots of time to contemplate various subjects, such as how to stop driving six hours a day. Looking at the bigger picture, he had been doing this type of computer work for over 25 years, and decided it was high time he did something else. He didn't want some Information Systems gibberish scrawled on his tombstone when he died.

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