(Note: For all the fancy words and posturing, all the 'authorities' are doing is 'investigating.' They fear the terrorists and the reprisals that they know will come if they arrest the ringleaders. Notable are those 'environmentally sympathetic' people driving Hummers that do NOT get targeted. For example, has anyone noticed ELF coming near Arnold Schwarzenegger's Hummer? How about Ted Turner's buffalo burger restaurants being targeted by ALF? Nope -- ever wonder why? Just like the Mafia, some folks 'pay up' the protection money to the Rosebraughs, some don't. Those who don't, get targeted. Sure, it's terrorism ... nothing but.)

August 30, 2003

By Karen Rubin

karen.rubin@sgvn.com  or 626-962-8811, Ext. 2109

Pasadena Star-News

Pasadena, California

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com

To submit a Letter to the Editor:

West Covina, California - They sat in their cars, away from the bright lights that flood Clippinger Chevrolet-Hummer, staking out the movements of the salesmen, security guards and squad cars driving along Garvey Avenue South.

They chose West Covina, Duarte, Arcadia and Monrovia -- rather than the heart of Los Angeles -- because they were safe locales.

They live in the San Gabriel Valley and were raised in middle-class- to upper-middle class homes.

Over time, they became ashamed of their upbringing and saw 'urban sprawl' as 'destroying the Earth' and 'exploiting animals.'

So say two experts who talked about the operations of the Earth Liberation Front, the radical ecoterrorism group that took credit for the August 22 attacks that caused $2.5 million damage to 100 vehicles at four car dealerships across the Valley.

Hardest hit was Clippinger Chevrolet-Hummer in West Covina, where about 40 vehicles, mostly Hummer H2s, were burned or spray-painted with slogans like "ELF' or "Fat, Lazy Americans.'

Fire also caused heavy damage to a warehouse on the property.

Others vandalized were Advantage Ford and Duarte Mitsubishi in Duarte, Rusnak Mercedes-Benz in Arcadia and two cars parked on a street in Monrovia. "

Rod Coronado, an ELF spokesman, says the authorities will see more attacks, now that two years have passed since September 11, 2001.

"We refrained from actions following 9/11,' Coronado said.

"Then our side realized, why refrain from these actions? It's ridiculous not to carry forward, in light of the destruction of the environment and the exploitation of animals.'

Coronado spent 57 months in federal lockup for a 1995 firebombing at a Michigan State University research laboratory.

Steve Best, a philosophy professor and activist at the University of Texas in El Paso, says he is not a member of the ELF -- but does sympathize with their cause.

He debated last week on national radio about the merits of the ecoterrorist movement.

"There are probably three different cells who supported this 'action,' Best said. "They work in small groups and these cells do not know each other. That way they cannot rat each other out. This was an anonymous, coordinated 'action.'

Best says ELF members hit targets that are vulnerable -- and their motivation has nothing to do with the community.

The dealerships [that were] hit Aug. 22 are symbols that the Earth is in crisis, he said.

Meanwhile, ELF attacks across California escalated last week.

On Thursday, two bombs exploded outside the headquarters of Chiron, the nation's third largest biotechnology firm in Emeryville. No one was injured when the bombs blew out two windows, police said.

In San Diego on Friday, federal agents raided the home of an activist in connection with the August 1 fire that caused $50 million in damages to an apartment complex under construction, according to published reports.

"They view this as a war,' said Brian Levin, a criminal justice professor and director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino.

"Their rhetoric is disturbing and they are getting increasingly violent. They believe the public at large does not recognize 'the suffering of animals' ... It's a human society on steroids.'

Ed Ochotorena of the FBI gave a different description of the vandals.

Agents suspect it was the same group of people who moved from one dealership to another. A task force of 50 agents and officers from West Covina, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department are investigating.

Still, activists say there will be more attacks.

"The ELF can't be crushed,' Best said. "It is a powerful new movement and they can't be stopped. ELF behavior is not a protest letter. It's a can of gasoline and a match.'

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/Stories/0,1413,206~22097~1602399,00.html