FBI targets domestic terrorists; after years of trying to warn the public about the dangers of ecoterrorism, critics of extremist movements find themselves winning the war for public opinion

0 Comments | Insight on the News, April 22, 2002 | by Valerie Richardson

The FBI defines domestic terrorism as "the unlawful use, or threatened use, of violence by a group or individual ... committed against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives." Critics note that the "victimless-crime" argument isn't strictly accurate: In the 1998 Vail resort fire set by ELF, for example, a firefighter had to be treated for injuries.

That the harm hasn't been more serious owes more to good fortune than good intentions, says McInnis. "They are lucky so far that they haven't injured anyone, but their luck's going to run out," he says. "It's only a matter of time before someone's injured or killed."

Within the underground world of ALF and ELF, Barbarash's views aren't unusual, but something else about him is: He was captured. Since ALF began conducting its direct actions in 1979, hundreds of activists have joined the group, but only a couple dozen members in the United States and Canada have ever been apprehended.

Not even ALF and ELF organizers know the identity of all their members, who operate in semiautonomous cells. They receive training from groups such as the Ruckus Society and by reading the how-to manuals available on ALF and ELF Websites. Members also tend to be better educated than the average vandal, meaning that they rarely make rookie mistakes such as leaving fingerprints at the scene.

So confident are ALF and ELF leaders of their secrecy that they actually list their actions on their Websites and publish an annual report of their activities, "like they were IBM," says Nichols. To make matters worse, the attacks have inspired copycats. Residents of Phoenix feared they were under siege by ecoterrorists when eight homes in an upscale development were torched from April 2000 to January 2001.

A group calling itself the Coalition to Save the Preserves took credit for the arsons. As it turned out, however, the culprit was a 50-year-old unemployed public-relations executive named Mark Warren Sands who lived in the neighborhood and began his life of crime when he found a new home blocking his favorite jogging path.

In addition, ecoterror strikes often are handled by local law enforcement, who have limited resources and whose deputies don't always share vital information with other jurisdictions. To make communications among law enforcement easier, Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-Ore.) has proposed a bill that would create a national clearinghouse on ecoterrorism and bulk up federal assistance at the local level.

The FBI has tried to open the lines of communication with the establishment of joint terrorism task forces, teams that bring local and federal agents together to brainstorm on domestic-terrorism strikes. Launched in 1999, the agency now has task forces in 44 cities and plans to have one for each of its 56 field offices by 2003.

Despite the elusive nature of its prey, law enforcement can point to some significant arrests:

* In February 2001, one adult and three teen-agers pleaded guilty to a series of arsons committed at a Long Island, N.Y., housing development. One of the teen-agers, Jared McIntyre, said the arsons were committed in solidarity with the ELF movement.