INHOFE APPLAUDS 65-COUNT ECOTERROR INDICTMENT
Local and Federal Law Enforcement Officials Deserve Strong Praise for Diligence in Ongoing Efforts to Curb Most Dangerous Domestic Terror Threat
WASHINGTON, DC – Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Chairman of the Environment & Public Works Committee, today applauded the 65-count indictment handed down by a Federal grand jury in Eugene, Ore. against 11 defendants accused of committing acts of domestic terrorism in Oregon, Wyoming, Washington, California, and Colorado from 1996 through 2001. According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ), the indictment alleges that the defendants were acting on behalf of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the Earth Liberation Front (ELF).
“I am very pleased with the dedication and diligence shown by local and Federal law enforcement officials in pursuing these extremists and gathering the evidence that ultimately led to the indictment,” Senator Inhofe said. “FBI counter-terror experts have warned time and again that ecoterror is the most dangerous domestic terror threat our nation faces, and I applaud our Federal agents’ ongoing efforts in cracking down on groups like ALF, ELF and SHAC in the name of protecting property and saving lives.
“We can be doing much more on Capitol Hill to provide law enforcement with the tools they need to pursue and prosecute not only ecoterrorists, but foreign terrorist cells as well. I hope we can act this year to pass legislation I introduced last fall in consultation with Federal law enforcement, the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, which will enhance our ability to prevent future activities, and to better investigate and prosecute ecoterror cases.”
According to today’s statement from USDOJ, the indictment refers to attacks on 17 sites:
Oct. 28, 1996, at the U.S. Forest Service Detroit Ranger Station in Marion County, Ore.;
Oct. 30, 1998, at the U.S. Forest Service Oakridge Ranger Station in Lane County, Ore.;
July 21, 1997, at the Cavel West, Inc. meat packing company in Deschutes County, Ore.;
Nov. 30, 1997, at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Facility in Harney County, Ore.;
June 21, 1997, at the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Wildlife Facility in Olympia, Wash.;
Oct. 11, 1998, at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse Holding Facility in Rock Springs, Wyo.;
Oct. 19, 1998, at the Vail Ski Facility in Vail, Colo.;
Dec. 27, 1998, at U.S. Forest Industries in Jackson County, Ore.;
May 9, 1999, at Childers Meat Company in Lane County, Ore.;
Dec. 25, 1999, at the Boise Cascade office in Polk County, Ore.;
Dec. 30, 1999, at a Bonneville Power Administration high-tension power line tower near Bend, Ore.;
Sept. 6, 2000, at the Eugene Police Department West University Public Safety Station in Eugene, Ore.;
Jan. 2, 2001, at the Superior Lumber Company in Douglas County, Ore.;
March 30, 2001, at Joe Romania Chevrolet Truck Center in Eugene, Ore.;
May 21, 2001, at Jefferson Poplar Farms in Columbia County, Ore.;
May 21, 2001, at the University of Washington Horticultural Center in Seattle; and
Oct. 15, 2001, at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse Facility in Litchfield, Calif.
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