It's Not Over: An Update to the Green Scare

[Guest guest]

[The Indypendent]As the trial of Briana Waters wound down in March, as jurorsdeliberated her innocence or guilt, and as the press largely ignoredher "eco-terrorism" case in lieu of Obama-Clinton-Anybody-But-Bushmania, it seemed, just for a moment, like one chapter of the "War onTerrorism" might near a close....Waters, activists hoped, might be the end of the line in this "GreenScare," this string of legal, legislative and public relations attackslabeling environmentalists "eco-terrorists." (For more information,see sidebar below).Perhaps the political climate would cool. After all, a grand jury hadconvened in Minneapolis months earlier — and it fizzled after twoactivists refused to cooperate. Rod Coronado, a former EarthLiberation Front (ELF) activist, had faced 20 years in prison foranswering a question at a public lecture about how he committed hiscrimes — and jurors deadlocked. Just weeks earlier,

Jeff Luers, whohad been sentenced to 22 years for burning three SUVs in 2000, steppedback into court — and the judge reduced his sentence to 10 years.On top of that, Darius Fulmer, one of the SHAC 7 who participated in awebsite urging Huntingdon Life Sciences to stop animal testing, hadbeen released from prison. And the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, asweeping law that wraps up non-violent civil disobedience asterrorism, had been sitting on the shelf since its passage....The war on "eco-terrorism" is far from finished, the FBI promises. Butthe radical environmental movement hasn't quit, either. "Every time afire breaks out and somebody takes a spray can and writes 'ELF' or'ALF' on there, then everybody gets all excited that 'Oh this movementhas started back up,'" said Bob Holland, a retired arson investigator,in an interview with FOX News."The movement," he said, "never really left."Will Potter

is an award-winning independent journalist who focuses onhow lawmakers and corporations have labeled animal rights andenvironmental activists as "eco-terrorists." He is the creator ofGreenIsTheNewRed.com, where he blogs about the Green Scare and historyrepeating itself.-- full story:http://www.indypendent.org/2008/04/29/its-not-over/