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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 18, 2005 Violence mars environmentalism, activists say By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune The environmental community continues to remain largely silent on the Dec. 7 arrests of six people federal prosecutors have labeled ecoterrorists. More than half a dozen activists, while voicing disgust with any violent acts in the name of the environmental movement, declined to be interviewed for this story, indicating that simply being mentioned in the same article could brand them as sympathizers. Three of those arrested are suspected of arson fires causing nearly $1 million in damage at timber company offices in Medford and Glendale in 1998 and 2001 respectively. The shadowy radical groups known as the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the firebombing. One Applegate Valley area resident noted the crimes don’t do any favors for those working peacefully to protect the environment. As a result of the notoriety arising from the crimes, he fears a new "McCarthyism" is merging against anyone who speaks out for environmental causes. Advertisement He was referring to the fervent anti-communist campaign waged by Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the early 1950s. "Used to be the worst thing you could be called was ‘communist’ — now it’s ‘environmentalist’," he said. Garberville, Calif., resident Darryl Cherney, 48, an environmental activist, understands the concern. "People always remember the headlines with the accusations, rarely do they remember the details of what happened next," he said. Cherney observes that many recall that he and fellow activist Judi Bari were in a car when it exploded on May 24, 1990, in Oakland, Calif. At the time, they were organizing protests against clear-cut logging in a campaign known as Redwood Summer. Bari, who has since died of cancer, spent months in the hospital; Cherney received minor injuries. Both were arrested on suspicion of terrorist-related activities. But in 2002, Cherney won a $4.4 million lawsuit against the FBI and Oakland Police Department for civil-rights violations. The 10-member jury unanimously agreed the defendants violated the First and Fourth amendments of the U.S. Constitution by arresting Bari and Cherney and blaming them for the car bombing. Cherney’s attorney successfully argued the police made the arrest in an attempt to take away their freedom of speech instead of searching for the would-be assassin. The police failed to follow leads in the unsolved case, which included threats from someone calling himself or herself "The Lord’s Avenger," Cherney said. "They arrested us and told the media we were guilty, specifically to silence and intimidate us," he said. "They knew we were innocent." But many who read the early stories about the case likely still believe he and Bari were guilty, he said. "They don’t know that the FBI bought me a house," he said. Cherney cautioned that those arrested on the arson charges have yet to have their day in court. "We don’t know if they are guilty or innocent," he said. "Obviously, somebody did these things. Maybe they could have been agent provocateurs. We don’t know." Although Cherney didn’t condone the arsons, he said he understands the climate that created them. "If you present to young people a bleak situation where the world you live in is being systematically destroyed and there is the appearance of no legislative or administrative remedy to help protect the very air we breathe and water we drink, then it should come as no surprise there will be some who take the law in their own hands," he said. The arrests were part of a multi-agency investigation in five states over nine years that netted six suspected ecoterrorists, according to Kent Robinson, chief of the Oregon criminal division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He declined to discuss specifics in the case. Jerry Bramwell of Medford, retired president of the now defunct U.S. Forest Industries, told the Mail Tribune that the fire "was a tremendously cowardly act. We cannot allow that kind of behavior and action to dictate what goes on in our society." Steve Swanson, president of the Swanson Group Inc. of Glendale, formerly Superior Lumber Co., agreed. "My hope is that these individuals are prosecuted to the full extent of the law and face the stiffest penalties if they are convicted," he said. Although no one was injured in the arsons which occurred when no one was working, the crimes have the potential to either kill or seriously injure someone, he said. Sarah Kendall Harvey, 28, of Flagstaff, was charged with starting the Dec. 27, 1998, fire at the U.S. Forest Industries headquarters in Medford. The fire caused an estimated $500,000 in damages. Stanislas Gregory Meyerhoff, 28, of Charlottesville, Va., where he attended Piedmont Community College, and Daniel Gerard McGowan, 31, of New York., N.Y., were both arrested for the Jan. 2, 2001, arson of the Superior Lumber Co. office in Glendale. The Glendale blaze destroyed the 6,000-square-foot building, causing some $400,000 in damage. Both fires occurred at night when no one was working. All have been charged with arson. Both Meyerhoff and McGowan face a maximum penalty of life in prison. Harvey could receive up to 20 years if convicted. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at Violence mars environmentalism, activists say ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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