11 People Indicted in Ecoterrorism Plot

[phantom power]

January 20,2006 | WASHINGTON -- Federal prosecutors have indicted 11 people in a series of arsons in the Northwest that have been claimed by the radical groups Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front, Justice Department officials said Friday.

The suspects are believed responsible for 17 incidents, including sabotaging a power plant, in a conspiracy that dates back to 1996, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the indictment was under seal in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Ore. It was expected to be made public later Friday.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller were expected to talk about the indictment Friday at a news conference in Washington.

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A criminal complaint filed in federal court in Eugene accused Paul, a firefighter, of setting firebombs that burned down a horse slaughterhouse in 1997. The ALF claimed responsibility for that fire, which caused an estimated $1 million in damage.

Savoie, who works in a group home for the developmentally disabled, is accused of serving as a lookout for a fire in 2001 that destroyed offices of a lumber mill. The ELF claimed responsibility for that fire.

http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8F8GEI87.html