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| Founded | 1992; 34 years ago (1992) |
|---|---|
| Focus | Environmentalism andEcotage |
| Location |
|
| Origins | United Kingdom |
| Method | Direct action andsabotage |
TheEarth Liberation Front (ELF), also known as "Elves" or "The Elves",[1] is the collective name forautonomous individuals orcovert cells who, according to the ELF Press Office, use "economic sabotage andguerrilla warfare to stop theexploitation anddestruction of the environment".
The ELF was founded inBrighton in theUnited Kingdom in 1992,[2] and spread to the rest ofEurope by 1994. The ELF acronym derived from the original ELF guerrilla group, theEnvironmental Life Force, that was founded in 1977 inSanta Cruz, California by activist John Clark Hanna. The Earth Liberation Front is now an international organization with actions reported in 17 countries[3][4] and is widely regarded as descending fromAnimal Liberation Front because of the relationship and cooperation between the two movements.[5] Using the sameleaderless resistance model, as well as similar guidelines to theALF,[2] sympathizers say that it is aneco-defense group dedicated to taking theprofit motive out of environmental destruction by causing economic damage to businesses through the use ofproperty damage.[6]
The name came to public prominence when they were featured on the television show60 Minutes in 2005.[7] The group was further highlighted in the 2011Academy Award–nominated documentaryIf a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front.[8]
ELF "monkeywrenching" is carried out against facilities and companies involved inlogging,genetic engineering,GMO crops,deforestation,sport utility vehicle (SUV) sales,urban sprawl,rural cluster and developments with larger homes,energy production and distribution, and a wide variety of other activities, all charged by the ELF with exploiting the Earth, its environment and inhabitants.[9][10]
The Earth Liberation Front has no formal leadership,hierarchy, membership or official spokesperson and is entirelydecentralized; instead consisting ofindividuals orcells who choose the term as a banner to use. Individuals are commonly known to work inaffinity groups, known as cells, and are usually self-funded.[9][10]
Techniques involvedestruction of property, by either using tools to disable or through arson to destroy what activists believe is being used to injure animals, people or theenvironment. These actions are sometimes calledecotage and there are marked differences between their actions in theUnited States and the United Kingdom.
With many different reasons why ELF activists carry out economic sabotage, acommunique to the press claiming the responsibility for arson against urban sprawl in December 2000, described the reason a cell took an action. The ELF claimed that burning down the house wasnon-violent because it was searched for any living creatures first; an issue which is much debated within theenvironmental movement.[11]
Some of the most common and notable attacks are against the development of multimillion-dollar houses, a frequent target in the ELF campaign. In a communique to the press from the group's "above-ground spokesperson",Craig Rosebraugh, that was later published inThe Environmental Magazine, the group said in November 2000:[12]
Urban sprawl has undoubtedly served to alter nearly 90 percent of Long Island's habitats, either by physically removing them, paving them, or polluting them with toxic man-made materials, making them either undesirable or unsustainable for most species.
The North American Earth Liberation Front Press Office (NAELFPO orELFPO) was relaunched in October 2008, receiving anonymous communiques from activists, for distributing to the press and public, to discuss the motives, ideologies and history behind such actions.[13]
Craig Rosebraugh served as an unofficial spokesperson for the ELF Press Office in North America from 1997 to early September 2001.[14] Doubts have been raised about whether Rosebraugh or other unofficial spokespeople have ties to the cells involved,[15] although the press office claim they do not know the identities of ELF members.[13]
Prisoner support networks support ELF prisoners, such asSpirit of Freedom (ELPSN), an English website listing all Earth Liberation prisoners, as well as a variety of otherprisoners of conscience. There are also ELF support networks inBelgium,Italy,North America, andPoland, which collectively coordinate the support of prisoners, as well as websites for specific prisoners, such as for;Rod Coronado,Jeff "Free" Luers,Daniel McGowan, Briana Waters,Marius Mason andTre Arrow.[16] The networks distribute literature written by those in prison to their supporters and sometimes raise funds for those who require financial aid in their legal cases.[17]
Earth liberationists, are a diverse group of individuals with a variety of differentpolitical ideologies and theories. These include;animal liberationists,anti-capitalists,green anarchists,deep ecologists,eco-feminists, andanti-globalisationists.[18]
Elves argue thatdirect action is required to aid theearth liberation movement, also referred to as eco-resistance movement, and a part of theradical environmental movement. The ELF claim that it would be similar to how the ALF has projected forward theanimal liberation movement. There was also the intention that, in the same wayanimal liberationists "help out" with legal campaigns, earth liberationists would aid above-ground environmental organizations, notably Earth First!, by acts of ecotage.[19]
The Earth Liberation Front was founded in 1992 inBrighton, England by members of theEarth First! (EF!) environmental movement at the first-ever national meeting. At the time, EF! had become very popular, so people's concerns were based on maintaining this popularity and by doing so not associating with overt law-breaking. There was no universal agreement over this, but it was accepted amongst the movement that British EF! would instead continue to advocate and focus oncivil disobedience andmass demonstrations.[2] If people wanted to participate in acts of ecotage, the new name "Earth Liberation Front" would be used, with its name and guidelines derived from theAnimal Liberation Front (ALF), another movement that usesdirect action to liberate animals or sabotage companies using them. It was understood that the simplicity of the guidelines was a crucial factor to engage as many people as possible to the new cause, with the intention that the ELF would quickly become as popular as the ALF.[20]
The very first ELF action is unknown, or undocumented, but one of the first and most notable actions was on April Fool's Earth Night 1992, a night organized by activists to carry out ecotage and also one of the first of them. The Elves, as they were also known, targetedFisons, a peat company accused of destroying thepeat bogs causing £50,000–70,000 worth of damage. Pumps, trucks and other machinery belonging to the company were destroyed after legal campaigners,Friends of the Earth, spent two years advocating aboycott of the company.Green Anarchist magazine publicized the communique with the demands from the ELF:[21]
All our peat bogs must be preserved in their entirety, for the sake of the plants, the animals and our national heritage. Cynically donating small amounts will do no good. The water table will drop, and the bogs will dry out and die unless it is preserved fully. Fisons must leave all of it alone – now!
The ELF quickly spread across to Europe by 1994, with actions first occurring in the Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Scandinavia, Italy, Ireland, Poland, Spain, France and Finland, and the name starting to be used across the globe.[4][22] The Earth Liberation Front is widely regarded as theAnimal Liberation Front's younger sibling, because of the relationship and cooperation between the two movements.[5] It is believed that cells rapidly established themselves in new countries because of the global outreach ofEarth First! and the connection between the two groups.[23] British Elves were also making contact with like-minded activists, informing them about the ELF and its tactics, with missionaries targeting specifically France, Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Within two years,McDonald's had been vandalized in Germany and Poland,Amsterdam Airport Schiphol had been sabotaged, and high-emission vehicles had been destroyed. Hunting towers were torn down in the Netherlands and Germany, which was presumably inspired by similar actions against hunting by the ALF.[24]
The first time it was known that anearth liberation action had happened in North America, was in 1995, in Canada, by a group calling itself theEarth Liberation Army (ELA).[25] They were considered by the European Elves at the time to be "transatlantic cousins". On 19 June 1995, the ELA burned down a wildlife museum and damaged a hunting lodge inBritish Columbia.[26]
OnColumbus Day 1996, activists spraypainted "504 years of genocide" and "ELF" on the walls of a public relations office, as well as a McDonald's restaurant inOregon, the actions were the very first by the ELF in the United States. The same restaurant then had its locks glued and spraypainted again, but this time in support of theBritish McLibel Two, two activists who had distributed anti-McDonald's leaflets. The next day, it was reported that another two McDonald's restaurants, again inOregon, had their locks glued by ELF activists.[27][28] The only other reported action of the year was onChristmas Day, when a fur farm was raided inMichigan and 150mink released into the wild by theGreat Lakes ELF.[29]
The Fox, a Chicago-area Fox River environmental activist, began ELF-style operations in the early 1970s and continued into the 1980s, while the peak number of ELF actions occurred in the early 1990s.
ELF activities declined in the United States after 2003, and by 2012 there were next to none.[30]
In late November 2008, a group calling itself Eco-Anarquista Por El Ataque Directo (Eco-anarchist cell supporting direct attack) claimed responsibility for several recent actions, including half a dozen Molotov cocktails thrown at tren férreo (metro rail) inMexico City, incendiary sabotage againstTelmex,[31] and aMolotov cocktail thrown at aBanamex ATM. The group claimed that these attacks were a form of protest against the construction of a new rail line (line 12), inMexico City (D.F.) andMexico State. The construction had causeddeforestation and theeviction of many families.[32]
Soon after this initial group of actions, the Frente de Liberación de la Tierra (Earth Liberation Front) claimed responsibility for a number of actions including the sabotage of a construction machine on December 30, 2008,[33] arson at theUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)[34] and the March 22nd, 2009 burning of construction equipment inGuadalajara,Jalisco.[35]
Over the first months of 2012, several car arson cases inBuenos Aires were claimed by the "Frente de Liberacion de la Tierra", stating that "... we propose to destroy property from thebourgeoise class fromPalermo toVilla Devoto who are sure that everything will stay the same, but some individuals are tired of this and pretend to continue with this initiative to expand the daily riots..."[36]
The ELF gained state attention in the state ofOregon in 1996 when they burned down the Oakridge Ranger Station.The ELF gained national attention for a series of actions which earned them the label ofeco-terrorists.[37] In 1998, the ELF set fire to aski resort inVail, Colorado, on October 19, costing $12 million.[38] In a communique to the press, the ELF said:[39]
Vail, Inc. is already the largest ski operation in North America and now wants to expand even further. The 12 miles (19 km) of roads and 885 acres (3.58 km2) of clearcuts will ruin the last, bestlynx habitat in the state. Putting profits ahead of Colorado'swildlife will not be tolerated.
Actions also included sabotagingpower lines, the burning of anSUV dealership, and the burning down of a logging headquarters causing $1 million in damages. The Elves wrote to the local paper "Let this be a lesson to all greedymultinational corporations who don't respect their ecosystems,"[38] with most actions taking place inOregon. The defendants in the case were later charged in theFBI's "Operation Backfire", which included 17 acts of property destruction.[40]
The ELF then set fire toMichigan State University onNew Year's Eve, using agasoline bomb to cause $1.1 million in damages, because of a program to provideGMO plants to African farmers. ELF spokesmen claimedMonsanto had been a major contributor to funding the program; however, the only funding from Monsanto Corp. was a one-time sum of $2,000 to send five African students to a conference onbiotechnology.[41] The next day, commerciallogging equipment was set on fire, with "ELF" and "Go Log in Hell" spraypainted on a truck. In March 2008, four activists were charged for both the arsons.[42][43]
On November 27, in Colorado, the ELF burned the Legend Ridge mansion and sent a message to theBoulder Weekly saying "Viva la revolution!" Damages were estimated at $2.5 million.[44]
In March, a total of thirtySUVs were torched, belonging to Joe Romania's dealership, in Oregon, with damages estimated at $1 million. The action was claimed in support ofJeff "Free" Luers, who targeted the very same dealership and was in court for the charges at the time.[45] He was then sentenced to twenty-two years in jail, later revised to ten.
On May 21, a fire destroyedlaboratories, offices, andarchives at the Center for Urban Horticulture,University of Washington, causing a total of $7 million in damages.[46] The arson destroyed 20 years of research and plant and book collections. The ELF claimed responsibility based upon the incorrect belief that the university was involved ingenetic engineering ofpoplar trees.[47] No genetic engineering was being conducted. In the wake of the attack, an FBI spokeswoman inPortland, Oregon said "I don't think there's any doubt the ELF isupping the ante".[48]
On November 7, ELF member Ian Wallace plantedincendiary devices outside of two buildings on the campus ofMichigan Technological University inHoughton, Michigan during the early morning hours. The devices failed, and on March 21, 2009, Wallace was sentenced to three years in prison for the incident by Judge Robert Holmes Bell, who said Wallace "didn't intend to hurt anybody, (but) this is a serious offense."[49]Said Wallace after his conviction, "I have been consumed by shame for what I have done," and "My greatest blessing is that no one got hurt."[50]
On January 1, inGirard, Pennsylvania, jugs of gasoline were set under three vehicles at Bob Ferrando Ford Lincoln Mercury and set ablaze. Twopickup trucks, one Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) and a car were destroyed causing $90,000 in damages. Steve Dartnell of Fairview claimed responsibility for the attack.
On August 1, a 206-unitcondominium inSan Diego was destroyed, with a banner left at the scene saying "If you build it, we will burn it", signed "The E.L.F.s are mad".[51] The damages totaled $20 million[51] after flames reached an estimated 200 feet (61 m) in the air, as over a hundred firefighters attempted to put out the fire. The destruction was the movement's most financially damaging action against a target, with a localpreservation group calling the action pointless, noting that "You can go and burn something down, but it's just going to get built again."[51] Exactly three weeks later, 125SUVs andHummers were torched inLos Angeles costing a total of $3.5 million, with "I lovepollution" spray-painted at the scene,[52] and a month later, homes being built in San Diego were targeted again, this time costing an estimated $450,000 in damages.[53]
The FBI's most recent report stated that there had been over 1,200 "criminal incidents",[23] within January 2006. A nearly completed 9,600-square-foot (890 m2) house, worth $3 million, was burnt to the ground inWashington. It was reported that a bed-sheet was draped across the front gate, with a message reading "Built Green? Nope black.McMansions and RCDs r not green," a reference torural cluster developments.[54]
On the morning of March 3, explosive devices set fire to four multimillion-dollar homes from the 2007Seattle Street of Dreams inEcho Lake, Washington, causing $7 million in damage.[55] Authorities described the act as "domestic terrorism" after finding "ELF" spray-painted in red letters, mocking claims that the homes were environmentally friendly: "Built Green? Nope black! McMansions in RCDs r not green. ELF."[56]
On March 23, the ELF claimed the burning of anexcavator inGuadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. In one of many anonymous communiques, the ELF reported toBite Back; "Maybe we have not collapsed the system of domination with these actions, but it begins with actions like these."[57]
On September 4, ELF claimed responsibility for using a stolen excavator to overturn twoAMradio towers belonging to the stationKRKO nearSeattle, Washington; they claimed thatradio waves are dangerous.[58]
ATexas man was arrested after construction workers found a disabled construction vehicle graffitied with the words "ANOTHER TRACTOR DECOMMISSIONED BY THE E.L.F."[59]
In 1994, Dutch authorities and police made claims that British ELF activists were traveling abroad to causesabotage, which was disputed by ELF. Later that year the first Earth Liberation Prisoner (ELP) was caught and later charged. Known as Paul S., he was arrested and accused of carrying out an 18-month campaign ofvandalism in theNetherlands againstroad construction sites. The Dutch government attempted to declare him insane, because of his inability to provide a political reason for his actions, other than his care for the environment. This was unsuccessful and the prisoner was sentenced to three years for damaging property.[3]
Due to the increased popularity of theenvironmental movement, as well as theanimal liberation movement and estimates that five ALF actions occurred per day, police carried out a series of raids againstanimal rights and environmental activists. In total, there were 55 homes raided against suspected ALF and ELF activists, including an individual in Italy. The police had not managed to charge anyone with any illegal activities, until on January 16, 1996, when six men were charged for a five-year ALF/ELF campaign. They were sentenced a year later each to three years for conspiracy to incite violence in the name of animal and earth liberation.[60]
The termGreen Scare, alluding to theRed Scares, periods of fear over communist infiltration of U.S. society, is a term popularized by environmental activists to refer to legal action by the U.S. government against theradical environmentalist movement.
It is first known to have appeared in 2002 in the wake of the February 12congressional hearings titled "The Threat of Eco-Terrorism" which discussed groups including the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and theAnimal Liberation Front (ALF).[61] In late 2005 and early 2006, as part ofOperation Backfire, USgrand juries indicted a total of 18 activists on a range of charges related to "violent acts in the name of animal rights and environmental causes".[62] According to the FBI, many of these acts were carried out on behalf of the ELF[38] and was considered as one of the largest arrests of environmental activists in American history.[63]
The operation resulted in the arrest ofChelsea Dawn Gerlach,William C. Rodgers, andDaniel McGowan.[64]
In 2008, the FBI increased thereward for handing over four suspects to $50,000. The four, two Americans and two Canadians, are believed to have fled the U.S. throughMexico and are possibly hiding inSyria,Russia,China orIndia. The announcement of an increased manhunt came on the tenth anniversary of the bombing in Vail.[65]
A 2011NPR report claimed some of the people associated with this group were imprisoned in a highly restrictiveCommunication management unit.[66]
The name"Animal & Earth Liberation Front" or"Earth & Animal Liberation Front" (ALF and ELF, respectively) is commonly used when undertaking ananimal liberation action, that is inclusively an environmental issue. Or alternatively an ELF action that includes in some way liberating or rescuing animals; for example actions to protect the forests.[2][5] Both names are also used by radical activists when engaging in direct action to liberate animalsand defend the earth by using property destruction. This is done within the guidelines of the Animal/Earth Liberation Front; to claim the action by both groups.[29][67]
Noel Molland, a former ELF activist, writes inSteven Best'sIgniting a Revolution that:[2]
The founders of the ELF wanted radical environmentalists to work on the same basis and have a similar name, hoping that people would instantly understand how the ELF operated and what its goals were.
During the mid-1990s, theWestern Wildlife Unit, an ELF branch in Britain, was responsible for various acts ofanimal rights themed violence. The vandalism included spiking trees as well as targeting anglers. However, it wasn't until sometime later, in the United States, that a joint claim of responsibility was made.
Molland also writes that the first ALF and ELF co-action was established on March 14, 1997, when the " Animal Liberation Front – Eco-Animal Defense Unit" claimed thespiking of 47 trees in a clearcut area, Oregon. This was only a few months after thefur farm had been raided by the Great Lakes ELF, which also highlighted the overlap in direct action foranimal rights andenvironmentalism.[29] The group intended to state that the farm they had raided was a joint effort between members of the Animal and Earth Liberation Front.
Five days later, the "Bay Area Cell of the Earth and Animal Liberation Front" claimed the firebombing of theUniversity of California, ananimal research laboratory that was still under construction at the time.[45] Also later that year, on November 29, there was another joint ALF & ELF claim, this time releasing 500wild horses and torching theBureau of Land Management in Burns, OR in protest of BLM's intention to round up the wild horses and process them for the sale ofhorsemeat.[69][70]
However, this claim contradicts theSouthern Poverty Law Center, which states that the first incident of cooperation between the two movements was 6 months before these events on October 27, 1996, when the ALF & ELF were both responsible for firebombing aForest Service truck inDetroit, Oregon. Then three days later both groups claimed the arson at the U.S. Forest Service Oakridge Ranger Station, at the cost of $5.3 million.
It was then reported that a week before the Bay Area cellsfur farm raid, on March 11, 1997, four trucks were torched, at the Agricultural Fur Breeders Co-Op. The damage totaled $1 million and the action was again claimed by the ALF & ELF.[45]
As the ELF was becoming well established through its actions, on 21 June 1998, theUnited States Forest Service wildlife research center nearOlympia, Washington was set on fire with "Eco-Defense" and "Earth Liberation" spray-painted on construction machinery, which had received extensive damage inNew Jersey on the 2nd Feb. Both the actions were claimed jointly by the ALF & ELF and were estimated to have caused one of the worst damages yet, estimated at $1.9 million. The same claim was made when 310 animals were taken from a fur farm involved in experimental research based inMadison, Wisconsin, which were stolen on the 3rd of July.[70][71]
Actions claimed by both the ALF and ELF jointly have appeared across the globe, nearly as much as the ELF has, causing more activists from the ALF and other movements to become involved; believing in"No Compromise in Defence of Mother Earth",[71] a popular Earth First! slogan used and populated in the 1980s.[72]
Despite this, in comparison to the ALF, there have been few communiques in recent years that have been released to the media or ELF Press Offices. This is largely due to the style of the ELF, who are much less likely to report their actions, or even leave a message to notify their targets regarding why they have been attacked.[24]
Although ALF and ELF combined actions have continued,[73] one of the latest strings of jointly claimed arsons[74] was publicised in November 2002, when activists sent a communique toBite Back and also the ELF Press Office, claiming responsibility for the arson at Mindek Brothers Fur Farm.[75] In a press release, the groups stated the reason for their action:[76][77]
Working together, cells from A.L.F. & E.L.F. demolished this feed facility due to its role in the systematic torture and killing of thousands of innocent creatures yearly – animals which possess the same complex emotional/physiological traits as loved household pets, yet are denied all reasonable consideration and confined to a miserable "existence" in tiny wire cages hardly large enough to turn around in.
Marshall Curry created a 2011 documentary about the ELF,If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front.[78]
In 2022, The ELF was the subject of the 2022BBCpodcast seriesBurn Wild.[79]
The FBI designated the ELF as "eco-terrorists".[80] RepresentativeScott McInnis, then chairman of theUS House Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health,subpoenaed Craig Rosebraugh in an effort to investigate the ELF's activities. On hearing Rosebraugh's testimony, McInnis suggested it was "luck" no one has been killed by an ELF (or ALF) attack.[81]
Despite the leaderless nature of the movement, the FBI says that activistRod Coronado is "a national leader" of the ELF in the US, while Coronado describes himself as an "unofficial ELF spokesman".[82]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)The recent arrests mark a breakthrough for the FBI in its fight against what it calls "ecoterrorism."
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