Green Scare

from email, 29 September 2008: by S Sugarman: "You should expect to go through a lot of hassle, stress and possibly prison. You should also expect to earn the respect of your friends, foes and many more you’ve never met, while learning about yourself, and just how strong, brave and good a friend you can be. Books —long books— have been written in answer to your question, so I’ll just review a few basics. Hopefully, the seven items I discuss will provide you with an idea of what you’ll go through. You can defeat the government if you are smart, stubborn and perhaps a bit lucky..." more

from email, 15 September 2008: On September 8, Marie Mason accepted a non-cooperating plea agreement which requires her to plead guilty to three out of four charges leveled against her by the US Attorney's Office relating to E.L.F. activity. We are aware that Marie was facing several consecutive life sentences had she taken her case to trial and been convicted. She was also facing the threat of additional indictments in other districts. Within the wording of Marie’s plea agreement, she stipulates to the involvement of confirmed snitch and government informant, Frank Ambrose, in the actions she plead guilty to. Frank Ambrose has already plead guilty and admitted his involvement in these actions in his own plea agreement.  more

from if, corporate media, 13 September 2008: Radical environmentalist Kevin Tucker took the stage at Mercyhurst College two years ago to sound his call for a world freed from civilization. Today, he is scheduled to take a seat before a different kind of Erie audience -- a federal grand jury. The 28-year-old former Pennsylvania resident said he has been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury that is investigating a series of arsons and other politically motivated acts of sabotage and vandalism in the Erie area in 2002 and 2003. more

from infoshop, 23 April 2008: Perhaps Andrea Todd deserves a little credit. She was, after all, attempting to write an article about someone who lies for a living. Getting true, accurate information from such a source can be difficult at best, impossible at worst. Which, of course, makes the subject matter of the article on page 266 of Elle Magazine's May issue inherently problematic to begin with. more

from email, 20 April 2008: Daniel McGowan is an an environmental and social justice activist from New York City, currently serving a 7 year sentence for 2 actions involving arson in the Pacific Northwest. Daniel was, and still is, a major source of support for Jeff. We wanted to share an article with you that Daniel wrote about Jeff, recently posted on his blog: http://supportdaniel.org/blog/?p=30 Please read and share, and please also offer support to Daniel as he has done for Jeff over the years.  more

from email, 16 April 2008: Sentencing has been re-scheduled for May 1st 2008. When re-scheduling the date, Eric's lawyer attempted to set it for April 24, but was unable to do so because Judge England will be getting married next week. In lieu of wedding gifts, we're asking that folks make a small donation to Eric's commissary fund to help his transition to federal prison. When he moves to a federal facility, his commissary account will move with him.  more

from infoshop, 1 April 2008: We are happy to report that despite a mind numbing amount of red tape and drama from the probation dept. and the associated electronic tether, Marie was released from jail Tuesday. She is under house arrest at a relative's house and only able to go outside with permission 2 hours a week. She also needs special permission to see her lawyer because his office falls outside the western district. There is a tentative trial-date set for May 27, 2008, but we have been informed by her attorney that this date will almost certainly be pushed back as there has not been adequate time to prepare the case. more

from infoshop, 31 March 2008: Federal prosecutors have agreed not to retry convicted University of Washington arsonist Briana Waters on a charge that could have sent her to prison for an automatic 30 years. Waters was convicted this month on two counts of arson stemming from an ecoterror fire that destroyed the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture in 2001. But the jury deadlocked on three other counts, including the big one, using a destructive device during a crime of violence. That carried a mandatory minimum of 30 years in prison. more

from midwestgreenscare, 22 March 2008: Frank Ambrose has apparently agreed to cooperate fairly comprehensively. He plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit arson but has admitted involvement in many other actions over the course of the last decade and agreed to cooperated fully regarding about 15 actions over that time period. He was arraigned only 20 min. after the other 3 people there were arrested, so draw what conclusions you will from that.  more

from email, 18 March 2008: Below is a message from the Friends of Marie Mason. Marie is a long-time environmental, community and labour union activist based in Cincinnati, whose house has been raided by the FBI on charges relating to her environmental activism. She lives with her 16 year-old daughter who was present during the raid. Environmentalist prisoner support groups, and activists with the IWW (the radical union she belongs to), are asking people to send letters of support and money for legal fees, vegan food and socks(!). more

from email, updated 1 April 2008: Unfortunately not an April Fool's day joke: Eric's sentencing really has been moved yet again for what must be the millionth time. Eric's sentencing has been rescheduled for April 10 at 9 am. The government is still asking for the outrageous sentence of 20 years, and this could be a very difficult day for Eric and his loved ones. more

from portland-imc, 13 March 2008: A magistrate judge ordered Briana Waters held until her sentencing date on May 30th 2008. The prosecutors have said that they will be asking for a sentencing "much longer" than the 5 year minimum the arson counts carry, and have said that they will have Stanislas Meyehoff testify that Briana participated in the Susanville horse coral fire in October 2001. more

from portland-imc, 11 March 2008: Briana Waters is currently in jail awaiting the result of her detention hearing on Wednesday 12th March. If that hearing is successful, she will be released on bail pending her sentencing, which is expected on 30 May 2008. more

from portland-imc, 7 March 2008: Tacoma, WA - A federal jury was unable to reach a decision on conspiracy and transportation of a destructive device but convicted Briana Waters, a 32-year-old mother and violin teacher and former resident of Olympia of arson. The two informants who testified against her in the case, who admitted to participating in the arson, face between three and seven years. Ms. Waters, facing up to 10 years, has her sentencing on May 30 2008. more

from crimethinc, 26 February 2008: "The past couple years have seen an unprecedented mobilization by the FBI against environmental activists, collectively known as the Green Scare, just as the severity of the ecological crisis brought about by industrial capitalism finally enters public consciousness. Who are the FBI targeting with this campaign? To what end, and with what results? What lessons can anarchists, environmentalists, and other freedom fighters derive from this phase of repression and resistance as it draws to a close?" more

from various sources, updated 1 March 2008: This is yet another alleged eco-sabotage case where people - in this case Briana Waters - are now on trial facing evidence from former comrades who have grassed everyone and everything, co-operating with the US federal authorities in return for shorter sentences. The jury has now retired to consider its verdict.  more

from ukwatch, 30 January 2008: The screws have been tightened on the animal rights (AR) movement yet again. In this country, and in the US, there has been a serious state attempt to deal with the strength of the animal rights movement by using an extra-legal form of internment. Currently the three most prominent activists from the SHAC - Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty campaign - Greg Avery, Natasha Avery and Heather Nicholson - are all on remand, after high profile arrests back on May 1st 2007. They are charged with ‘conspiracy to blackmail’. Now the same applies to the main spokesman for the SPEAK campaign, Mel Broughton. more

from email, 22 January 2008: In early December 2007 we reposted an article from 'Green Scare' defendant Daniel McGowan challenging one his co-defendants, Darren Thurston, on why he had decided to co-operate with the US government and prosecutors against McGowan and other Operation Backfire defendants. Thurston has now made a response (see link below). This article is a reply to Thurston from the Crimethinc.com web site. more

from SPS by email, 1 March 2008: Unfortunately, Eric's hearings have been moved yet again. Due to circumstances beyond anyone's control (the flu doesn't care about court dates and hearings), the new trial motion hearing has been pushed back to Thursday, March 6 at 9 am. The actual sentencing hearing will more than likely be rescheduled for March 13. more

from SPS via infoshop, 8 January 2008: We just wanted to give you the latest information about Eric's upcoming hearing dates. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, the hearing on the motion for a new trial has been moved to January 24, and sentencing has been moved to February 14th. more

from Sacramento Prisoner Support, via DC imc, 15 December 2007: On Thursday, during an interview with his lawyer and probation officer for his Pre-Sentencing Report, Eric was visited by jail commander Scott Jones. Jones informed Eric that, effective immediately, Eric would begin receiving two veggie burgers every night for dinner (thus far he has only been receiving one). more

from infoshop, 10 December 2007: "I understand my cooperating co-defendant Darren Thurston via his support person/ex girlfriend Megan Adams' blog is once again promising an essay that will somehow justify his cooperation with the US government and prosecutors in the Operation Backfire cases ... It would be more accurate to say that I have been waiting to hear Darren's explanations since March 2006 — when he abandoned the Joint Litigation Agreement (JLA) he had with my fellow non-cooperating defendant, Jonathan Paul and me..." more