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Feds turn up the heat on 'ecoterrorists'

BY TINA SUSMAN | STAFF WRITER

August 7, 2005

Tre Arrow speaks from a building ledge in Portland, Ore., July 13, 2000, while spending 11 days on the ledge protesting the cutting of old growth trees in the Eagle Creek Wilderness Area.To the chagrin of some, the FBI has likened the tactics of environmental activists like Arrow to al-Qaida. (AP Photo)

Who is a terrorist?

Is it Tre Arrow, aka Michael James Scarpitti, the impish-looking environmental activist, a suspected arsonist who posted an "I love you, mom" message on his Web site on Mother's Day and who reads books from "The Da Vinci Code" to vegan diet guides?

Or is it Osama bin Laden, the hawk-nosed, turbaned al-Qaida chief whose heavy-lidded eyes have been staring at Americans from wanted posters since he ordered the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks?

According to the FBI and to an increasing number of state lawmakers, both fit the bill, a conclusion drawing fire from environmental, animal-rights and civil-rights groups who say the "terrorist" label is being bandied about too freely in the post-Sept. 11 world, particularly in regard to so-called ecoterrorists.

That's not to say they support Arrow, 31, originally from Florida, who is accused of masterminding firebomb and arson attacks against logging and cement trucks in Oregon. The acts in April and May 2001 caused about $250,000 damage and were linked to the Earth Liberation Front, whose supporters have claimed responsibility for scores of such incidents, including several Long Island arsons in 2000.

"When you're talking about something at that level, and it does pose a threat to human life, that is a very serious crime," said Michael Markarian of the Humane Society, the country's largest animal-rights organization. Like other mainstream groups, it opposes violence and distances itself from Arrow, ELF and the militant Animal Liberation Front, which is being investigated in connection with threats against a Long Island pharmaceuticals executive and his family. "We applaud the FBI and law enforcement authorities for trying to crack down and root out these criminals, but we don't think we need a new law."

Aiming at ecoterrorists

Nevertheless, since 2001, 14 states, including New York, have introduced laws aimed at ecoterrorism, according to the American Legislative Exchange Council, an association of conservative state legislators spearheading efforts to pass the laws.

The harshest, including New York's, would outlaw unauthorized filming of animal enterprises - a frequent method for groups investigating animal cruelty - and ban donations to organizations alleged to support ecoterrorism. In addition, they would enhance penalties for crimes such as trespassing and vandalism if committed in the name of animal or environmental activism.

Only Oklahoma, California, Utah and Colorado have passed laws, ALEC says, but opponents of legislation say other states' eagerness to follow suit is disturbing. They say state laws against arson, vandalism and other property crimes are sufficient, given that environmental militants have caused no casualties and say they oppose harming humans. In addition, they note that the federal Animal Enterprise Protection Act protects everything from zoos to research labs from animal-rights extremists.

Proponents of new laws say the federal legislation is too limited because it applies only to animal enterprises, whereas radical groups have targeted everything from SUV dealerships to construction projects to logging companies.

In addition, they say state vandalism and trespassing laws are geared more toward pranksters and individuals. On Friday, for example, two animal activists in New Jersey were charged with criminal mischief and trespassing and freed on $2,500 bail after allegedly vandalizing the car and home of a man they thought worked for a company that uses animals for research. Police said they targeted the wrong person.

In October, the two had pleaded guilty to harassment and disorderly conduct in another incident and were freed after paying $400 fines.

Seizing assets

Ecoterror laws would go after individuals as well as the groups they support, and their backers. Prosecutors could seize assets and charge people who fund groups like ELF and ALF, which the FBI considers among the most dangerous domestic terror organizations.

"It is not the tree-huggers or the bunny-lovers who are committing these acts," said Sandy Liddy Bourne of ALEC. "These groups are not your Sierra Club members. They are not members of the Nature Conservancy. These guys are the real deal when it comes to using violence to try to push forward a political agenda. They've become more brazen, and they're very close to committing murder in the name of the environment."

According to the FBI and Bourne, ELF, ALF and Stop Huntingdon Life Sciences, which targets research labs, are akin to al-Qaida in their use of violence to push their political agendas, and in their ability to slip through law enforcement cracks.

Others, such as Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors extremist groups, called that comparison "ludicrous."

They have no firm command structures. Instead, they are comprised of local cells that plan and execute acts, then claim them on behalf of the groups. There are no official presidents, spokesmen, physical headquarters or membership fees.

As the ALF Web site states, the group "consists of small autonomous groups of people ... who carry out direct action according to the ALF guidelines. Any group of people who are vegetarians or vegans and who carry out actions according to ALF guidelines have the right to regard themselves as part of the ALF." ELF's Web site carries a similar statement. It describes itself as an "underground movement" whose supporters commit arson and other acts under the ELF banner, but without direct orders from above.

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Feds turn up the heat on 'ecoterrorists'

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