Concern is growing among activists in ecological and direct action movements because of the government's use of informants and snitches in the arrests of six activists on charges of association with the Earth Liberation Front's arsons on the West Coast.
The use of severe sentencing guidelines to compel testimony is a tactic to break communities and trust. Repression doesn't just hurt those personally under the gun, it metastasizes into fear and isolation. Consciousness of this can help fight it.
The New York arrestee Daniel McGowan has denied any connection to the ELF, and his bail hearing attorney noted to WBAI's WakeUp Call that considering the case is over 5 years old, the chance of physical evidence is slight. Here's an update on McGowan's case from an independent reporter who attended his Eugene hearing.
From Indybay: There have been a number of developments in the cases of the "eco-defense" defendants who were arrested earlier this month and who face the holidays in prison cells. Daniel McGowan
was denied bail based on a conversation that was recorded without his
consent. The co-defendant in the charges that he faces is apparently
an informant. Bill Rodgers was found dead
in an apparent suicide in his cell in Arizona, in spite of the strong
support that he had received from his community. A former Animal
Liberation Front prisoner has received a subpoena for a grand jury
hearing. {read]
Statement from Friends of the Catalyst in Arizona about the death of Bill Rodgers.
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