Eco-Terror Expert Calls For Inquiry of Green
Anarchists
By Marc Morano
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
July 18, 2002
(CNSNews.com) - An expert on eco-terrorism is calling on the FBI to
investigate an organization that is touting a nationwide tour to "destroy
civilization" and raise money for convicted eco-terrorists, but a spokesman for
the FBI's Domestic Terrorism Program said the agency is taking a hands-off
approach for the time being.
The Green Anarchy Tour 2002,
currently traveling from Ashland, Ore., to Washington, D.C., advertises its
participants as "anarchists," refers to police as "the fascist force we are up
against" and calls convicted eco-terrorists "prisoners of war."
Such rhetoric has Ron Arnold concerned. Arnold, vice president of the Center for
the Defense of Free Enterprise, said the tour "presents probable cause for
investigation."
"You do have people here recommending violence, murder, property damage,
everything you can think of," he said.
Arnold is author of several books
on the environmental movement including "Ecoterror: The Violent Agenda to Save
Nature: The World of the Unabomber."
He believes that with the increasing number of domestic environmental and animal
rights terrorist acts in the United States, the FBI should be more proactive in
investigating possible threats like the Green Anarchy Tour.
"I would say that law enforcement has an obligation, probable cause to at least
look into it," Arnold said. "If they say they are going to destroy
civilization, I think we should take them at their word," he added.
FBI Lukewarm to Investigation
The FBI is less concerned than Arnold, at least publicly, saying it won't do
anything until and unless the law is broken.
"The FBI is only concerned when there is a violation of the law," said Steven
Berry, spokesman for the FBI's Domestic Terrorism Program. "We fully support the
rights of any and all groups, no matter what their message or their purpose, to
lawfully assemble, protest and march."
When asked about the risks of terrorism from domestic sources, Berry said, "The
FBI is only concerned when there is a violation of federal law," adding that
eco-terrorism is "the number one investigative priority of the domestic
terrorism section."
But Arnold thinks the matter deserves greater attention, noting that the Green
Anarchy Tour's support of convicted members of the radical environmental group
Earth Liberation Front makes an investigation more necessary.
The group's Internet website says that proceeds from the tour will help
convicted arsonists such as Jeffrey "Free" Luers and Craig "Critter" Marshall.
"[Earth Liberation Front] is an FBI declared terrorist organization that they
want to be the beneficiary of their proceeds," Arnold said.
Eco-Terrorism on The Rise
According to Arnold, the threat of domestic terrorists cannot be underestimated.
"I think it is as much a threat as foreign terrorism. These people are going to
damage property and kill people," Arnold said.
Domestic terrorism and violence by environmental and animal 'rights' activists
is on the rise, according to Arnold. "We've had 'animal rights' activists beat
people with baseball bats causing serious injury. We see that kind of violence
growing," Arnold said.
According to the FBI, there have been more than 600 cases of eco-terrorism
causing $43 million dollars in property damage over the past decade, prompting
Arnold to call the federal response to eco-terrorism "a day late and a dollar
short."
Arnold cited the failure of federal law enforcement for the escalating violence.
"We probably have got [sic] literally thousands of [eco-terrorists] who ought to
be in jail," he said, placing the blame squarely on the FBI for "failing to
investigate exactly the kind of things you see on the (Green Anarchy) web site."