Informants, Bombs and Lessons
By Fred Burton and Scott Stewart
In a case built largely on the use of a planted informant, a federal jury in Sacramento, Calif., on Sept. 27 found environmental activist Eric McDavid guilty of conspiring to damage property by using explosives. McDavid, 29, was accused of planning to use improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to damage the U.S. Forest Service Institute of Forest Genetics, the Nimbus Dam, cellular telephone towers and electric power stations, among other targets. McDavid's two co-conspirators, Zachary Jenson and Lauren Weiner, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and agreed to cooperate with the government in its prosecution of McDavid.
McDavid, Jenson and Weiner were arrested Jan. 13, 2006, after they had scouted a number of potential targets and begun to procure chemicals to manufacture improvised explosive mixtures. Unbeknownst to the trio, the fourth member of the cell, a woman identified only as "Anna" in the court proceedings, was an FBI informant who in 2004 was tasked with infiltrating the extremist fringe of the radical left. Anna met McDavid and the others through their participation in various political demonstrations and learned of their desire to ratchet up their efforts to effect political change. Through Anna's efforts, the group was carefully monitored, and the cabin in Dutch Flat, Calif., where the group met to finalize its plans and construct its explosive devices was wired for sound and video by the government.
Some of the group's plans -- such as bombing the Nimbus Dam -- seem idealistic and far beyond what it could possibly achieve with its rudimentary capabilities and limited resources. Members had also discussed fantastical plans such as attacking a ball bearing factory in an effort to halt the production of automobiles, spilling a tractor-trailer of jam on a highway to interrupt the transportation of goods and storming into a bank and burning all the money instead of robbing it. That said, the testimony of Weiner, Jenson and Anna in this case illustrates a couple of emerging trends in the radical environmental and animal rights movements: the increasing use of violence -- specifically the use of explosives and timed incendiary devices -- and the growing disregard for human life. READ ON...
In a case built largely on the use of a planted informant, a federal jury in Sacramento, Calif., on Sept. 27 found environmental activist Eric McDavid guilty of conspiring to damage property by using explosives. McDavid, 29, was accused of planning to use improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to damage the U.S. Forest Service Institute of Forest Genetics, the Nimbus Dam, cellular telephone towers and electric power stations, among other targets. McDavid's two co-conspirators, Zachary Jenson and Lauren Weiner, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and agreed to cooperate with the government in its prosecution of McDavid.
McDavid, Jenson and Weiner were arrested Jan. 13, 2006, after they had scouted a number of potential targets and begun to procure chemicals to manufacture improvised explosive mixtures. Unbeknownst to the trio, the fourth member of the cell, a woman identified only as "Anna" in the court proceedings, was an FBI informant who in 2004 was tasked with infiltrating the extremist fringe of the radical left. Anna met McDavid and the others through their participation in various political demonstrations and learned of their desire to ratchet up their efforts to effect political change. Through Anna's efforts, the group was carefully monitored, and the cabin in Dutch Flat, Calif., where the group met to finalize its plans and construct its explosive devices was wired for sound and video by the government.
Some of the group's plans -- such as bombing the Nimbus Dam -- seem idealistic and far beyond what it could possibly achieve with its rudimentary capabilities and limited resources. Members had also discussed fantastical plans such as attacking a ball bearing factory in an effort to halt the production of automobiles, spilling a tractor-trailer of jam on a highway to interrupt the transportation of goods and storming into a bank and burning all the money instead of robbing it. That said, the testimony of Weiner, Jenson and Anna in this case illustrates a couple of emerging trends in the radical environmental and animal rights movements: the increasing use of violence -- specifically the use of explosives and timed incendiary devices -- and the growing disregard for human life. READ ON...
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