News

Several people in Olympia have cooperated with the FBI and answered questions. The community does not know the extent of their testimony. So far, no one has received a subpoena to the grand jury in Seattle, but the grand jury issued new indictments on May 11.

Briana Waters' trial has been postponed indefinitely. She was originally scheduled to go on trial in Seattle on June 5. A former Olympia resident, Briana Waters is so far the only defendant in the recent earth liberation cases who is scheduled for trial in Washington State. Briana is charged with "use of a destructive device" in relation to the May 21, 2001 arson at a UW horticulture laboratory. Learn more about how you can support Briana: SupportBriana.Org

May 19: New indictments: Chelsea Dawn Gerlach, Stanislas Meyerhoff, Josephine "Sunshine" Overaker, and Rebecca Rubin have all been indicted in relation to the 1999 arson at a Vail, CO ski resort that developers planned to expand into lynx habitat. The fire cost more than $12 million in damages.

May 18: Jeff Hogg was jailed in Eugene , OR for refusing to cooperate with the grand jury. Jeff spoke at a rally before entering the courtroom and was joined by Alejandro Queral of the NW Constitutional Rights Center, Lauren Regan of the Civil Liberties Defense Center and Kim Marks on behalf of Forest Ethics. Burke Morris appeared before the grand jury in Denver where he answered a few basic questions and was released from his subpoena. He is expected to release a statement. For more info, contact Civil Liberties Defense Center, 541.687.9180, info(at)cldc.org. Read more at portland.indymedia HERE.

May 15: The FBI is investigating the Olympia community for information regarding the alleged arson at the Center for Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington in 2001 and the alleged arsons in 1998 at two Olympia area US Department of Agriculture facilities serving the federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Animal Damage Control (APHIS-ADC) program. The federal government is investigating these incidents as acts of domestic terrorism, although there were no injuries nor immediate threats to life incurred in any of these events.

The federal government has until this Sunday, May 21st to issue any more indictments regarding the UW arson. The statute of limitations is due to expire in this case, five years after the May 21, 2001 fire. The trial of defendant Briana Waters is scheduled to begin June 5 in Seattle. The grand jury in Seattle may also issue more subpoenas this week in relation to the trial.

May 11 New Indictments in Washington: The grand jury in Seattle has issued new indictments. Justin Solondz was indicted in relation to the 2001 arson at a UW horticulture laboratory, and Briana Waters, who has already been charged in that incident, was charged Thursday with "use of a destructive device". If convicted, Waters and Solondz face a mandatory minimum sentence of 35 years. Solondz is allegedly a fugitive, and Waters is free while awaiting trial, which is scheduled to begin in Seattle on June 5. Two alleged arsonists in the UW incident have not been named by prosecutors. These are probably cooperating witnesses whose testimony has contributed to the indictments.

The Washington grand jury also indicted Josephine Sunshine Overaker and Kevin Tubbs in relation to the 2001 arson at the Olympia APHIS/ADC facility. Both have already been indicted in relation to other incidents of alleged sabotage. Tubbs is in custody awaiting trial for previous charges and has been labelled a cooperating witness by the proscution. Overaker is a fugitive. More info HERE at Portland Indymedia.

Briana Waters now has a support website at http://www.supportbriana.org/. She is being charged separately in the State of Washington and has a trial is scheduled to begin June 5 in Seattle.

April 27: Nathan Block and Joyanna Zacher have been formally charged with involvement in the Romania Chevrolet Truck Center arson. The result of this is they have each had 35 additional arson charges placed against them and a second "use of a destructive device" placed against them. This means that both Nathan and Joyanna both now face 47 arson charges, one attempted arson charge and two "use of a destructive device" charges. If found guilty on all counts they face a mandatory minimum sentence of 65 years imprisonment. To subscribe to the Earth Liberation Prisoners Bulletin: go to UrgentELP.

Latest Indictments - April 6: a federal grand jury in Sacramento handed down four indictments for arson at the BLM's Litchfield Wild Horse Corral near Susanville, California. No new arrests occurred. Indictees include Darren Thurston, Joseph Dibee and Rebecca Rubin who have already been indicted in relation to the large, overarching Oregon case. Also indicted is Justin Solondz, 26, who has not been charged in any of the other Northwest eco-actions. No new arrests were made. Dibee, Rubin and Solondz are all listed by the FBI as fugitives. More at Portland Indymedia.

March 15: a federal grand jury in Seattle has indicted Briana Waters of Berkeley, CA in an arson that destroyed a horticulture center at the University of Washington five years ago. Waters, 30, is the 14th person to be charged in Oregon and Washington in a series of environmental sabotage actions in the Western U.S. in recent years. Waters was charged with arson and using or carrying a destructive device during a violent crime. If convicted, she would face at least 35 years in prison. Briana Waters appeared in court March 16 afternoon and pleaded not guilty. She was released with an electronic monitor. More at Portland Indymedia HERE and HERE.