Timeline of Earth Liberation Front Actions - 2005

2005

• January 12, 2005, Auburn, California: Five un-ignited incendiary devices are discovered in a commercial building under construction that, upon completion, were to be rented as doctor's offices. A letter claiming responsibility for "the actions taken in Placer County (CA)" is received by several media outlets. The return address on the letter indicates it was from "Emma Goldman." Emma Goldman is a major figure in the history of anarchism.

The rambling, two-page letter, which appears to have been computer generated, generally decries various aspects of modern life, including real-estate development, and promises that "We are setting a new precedent, where there will be at least one or more actions every few weeks.” The letter concludes, "With sincere love, 'Agent Emma Goldman and the Crimethinc Senior Officers of the Earth Liberation Front' " and also references eight websites, including http://www.crimethinc.com." The latter website describes itself as an "ex-workers' collective" and generally expresses an anarchistic philosophy.

• February 7, 2005, Sutter Creek, California: The ELF sets fire to the new Pinewoods apartment complex, about 45 miles (72 km) east of Sacramento. Sutter Creek Chief of Police Robert Duke says "there were seven individual fires and some kind of incendiary device with very, very crude triggering mechanisms." graffiti found near the fire reads: "We will win -- ELF."

• March 6, 2005, Fair Oaks, California: Three vehicles – two full-size pickup trucks and a Ford Expedition – are spray-painted with the initials "ELF," and their rear license plates are painted over. A total of at least seven SUVs are vandalized in the Sacramento area during the week.

• April 13, 2005, Sammamish, Washington: ELF partially burns down one of two buildings it targeted in a King County, Washington development. David Ammon, a developer whose property was burned, had planned on constructing two more homes in the area. Police discover an incendiary device which had failed to ignite in a second house nearby along with a sheet condemning the rape of the Earth, clearing of trees, and claiming responsibility on behalf of ELF. It reads, "Where are all the trees? Burn, rapist, burn. E.L.F" The homes targeted are new ones located in a golf course subdivision.

• May 17, 2005, Fair Oaks, California: Several SUVs and trucks are spray-painted with “ELF” and “polluter”, and many also have their tires slashed. A short distance away, the words “bomb the White House” are found spray-painted on a real estate sign. FBI, Secret Service, and a joint terrorism task force are investigating, and trying to find out if the two attacks are related.

• July 27, 2005 Whatcom County, Washington: Arsonists damage two homes under construction. The first causes $100,000 in damages. The second, a few days later, completely destroys another home being built in the area. ELF has taken credit for other arsons in the area earlier in the year that police are investigating.

• September 11, 2005, West Old Town, Maine: The ELF vandalizes at least a dozen large machines at the West Old Town Landfill, which is one of New England's worst polluters. The winter prior, ownership of the landfill had been transferred from the Georgia-Pacific timber company to state hands, in a behind-closed-doors deal which resulted in the expansion of the site and a sweet deal for Georgia-Pacific and Casella Waste Systems who now run the site. The machines had their ignitions ripped out, or superglue poured into them, tires were slashed, two buildings and many vehicles were spray painted, and the fuel in the equipments' tanks may have been tampered with. Officials say the damage will cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair.

• October 3, 2005, Bozeman, Montana: U.S. - A construction site owned by the Kenyon Noble lumber company is vandalized by the Earth Liberation Front causing about $3000 in damage.

• November 19, 2005, Hagerstown, Maryland: ELF claims responsibility for setting four fires in newly constructed unoccupied homes built by the McLean, Virginia Ryan Homes in the Hager's Crossing subdivision. One building is burned to the ground but the other three sustain less serious damage. The developer estimated the damage at more than $300,000.

Credit for the arson is claimed via an e-mail originating from the e-mail address tree_beard1234@yahoo.com. Treebeard is the name of a giant shepherd, one of a race called the Ents, in J.R.R. Tolkien's cult fantasy novel "The Two Towers." The message reads:

Last night we, the Earth Liberation Front, put the torch to a development of Ryan Homes in Hagerstown, Maryland (off Route 40, behind the Wal-Mart). We did so to strike at the bottom line of this country's most notorious serial land rapist...We warn all developers that the people of the Earth are prepared to defend what remains of the wild and the green...We encourage all who watch with sadness while developers sell out the future of us and our children to join us in resisting them in any and every possible way...The Ents are going to war.

• November 25, 2005, Bothell, Washington: Two pieces of construction equipment are destroyed by fire, causing more than $100,000 in damage.

• November 29, 2005, Bothell, Washington: One piece of construction equipment is destroyed by fire.

• December 14, 2005, Kenmore, Washington: Two pieces of excavation equipment are burned overnight at a housing development, causing around $180,000 in damage. Apparently this is the second fire at this construction site since November. The earlier fire caused $50,000 in damage.

• December 16, 2005, Valley Springs, California: A window is broken and the letters E-L-F were spray-painted on the garage door of a partially constructed home. There is considerable opposition to new development and the required re-zoning in rural Calaveras County, where Valley Springs is located.