0:00:02 > 0:00:10This programme contains very strong language
0:00:18 > 0:00:21NEWSREEL: 'In Vail, Colorado, the nation's busiest ski resort
0:00:21 > 0:00:22'was hit today by a fire.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24'Arson is suspected.'
0:00:26 > 0:00:28'You may have heard of the Earth Liberation Front.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32'The Attorney-General says it's a domestic terrorist organisation.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35'The FBI says it is one of the most dangerous groups in the country.'
0:00:35 > 0:00:41'The ELF has claimed responsibility for more than two dozen major acts of eco-terrorism since 1996.'
0:00:41 > 0:00:47'Firebombings include attacks on lumber mills, wild horse corrals and two meat-packing plants.'
0:00:47 > 0:00:50'So far, not one of the cases has ever been solved
0:00:50 > 0:00:52'and authorities acknowledge they know next to nothing
0:00:52 > 0:00:56'about the membership or the leadership of the organisation.'
0:01:14 > 0:01:19On December 7th, 2005, four federal agents entered my wife's office
0:01:19 > 0:01:23and arrested one of her employees, Daniel McGowan.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30He was part of a nationwide round-up that eventually netted 14 members
0:01:30 > 0:01:34of the radical environmental group the Earth Liberation Front.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38In all, their trail of destruction
0:01:38 > 0:01:40resulted in millions of dollars of property damage.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Today's indictment is a significant step
0:01:43 > 0:01:45in bringing these terrorists to justice.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47Weeks after his arrest,
0:01:47 > 0:01:51Daniel's sister put up everything she owned for bail
0:01:51 > 0:01:56and he was placed on house arrest in her apartment, to wait for trial.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14In 2001, I was involved with the Earth Liberation Front...
0:02:16 > 0:02:20..and I was involved in two separate arsons in one year.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23I think, like, people look at my case.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26They think, "What if that motherfucker burnt down my house?"
0:02:26 > 0:02:27I think people think
0:02:27 > 0:02:31it's just a bunch of young crazies, walking around with gas cans.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35They think, "What if I burnt things that pissed me off? That's kinda crazy,"
0:02:35 > 0:02:37you know, which it is kinda crazy.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41but I think people just need to understand that this thing
0:02:41 > 0:02:43is complex and it's not that simple.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52It's hideous to be called a terrorist.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57There was no-one in any of these facilities.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00No-one got hurt, no-one was injured,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03and yet I'm facing life plus 335 years.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09I split my time between talking to my lawyers, erm...
0:03:09 > 0:03:11I do a lot of research on my case,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14you know, all my legal documents -
0:03:14 > 0:03:18DVDs and CDs and videos and photos, audio tapes.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20Hi, this is Daniel McGowan.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25I know that my lawyer sent you the brief that has been filed with the court today...
0:03:25 > 0:03:27As Daniel is preparing for trial,
0:03:27 > 0:03:31the government is putting pressure on him and his co-defendants to take a deal -
0:03:31 > 0:03:34either they plead guilty and testify against each other
0:03:34 > 0:03:36or go to trial and risk life in prison.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41I told my lawyers at our first meeting, "Don't ever bring up cooperation as a tactic.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45"We're never going to cooperate, you don't have that card, don't bring it up."
0:03:45 > 0:03:48All the people in this group have had conversations about this,
0:03:48 > 0:03:53you know, "You get arrested, you don't say a word, just get a lawyer,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56"and, like, we'll join up and we'll see what happens."
0:03:56 > 0:03:59OK, thanks, Andrea. I'll talk to you soon. Bye.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06My family's done a tremendous amount of stuff for me.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11I mean, letting me live here, but we choose to live our lives very differently,
0:04:11 > 0:04:17like, I compost, I had never used a dishwasher in my life until I moved in here.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23I try to not to impose my way of doing things on anyone here,
0:04:23 > 0:04:26but, yeah, we have different ways of doing things.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31No, I don't think I need that because we paint every edge. All right.
0:04:33 > 0:04:34All right. Bye.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39I'd be a liar if I called myself an environmentalist.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42I mean, I care about the environment, I think about the environment,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45erm...I recycle,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49but I don't recycle every single piece of paper like Danny does.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53When he came home from college, he lived with me.
0:04:53 > 0:04:54One day I came home,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57and he took the label off every single canned good I had,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00because he was, like, so obsessed with recycling.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03He was like, "If we recycle, we have to take the labels off the cans."
0:05:03 > 0:05:07I was like, "You took the labels off every can, I don't know what I have in the cans now.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09"I don't know if they're soup. or what kind of soup.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14"I don't know if they're peas or corn," and he was like, "I never thought of that."
0:05:14 > 0:05:17It was like I opened my cupboard and there was just all tin cans.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24I got a call from Jenny, er... totally hysterical, upset,
0:05:24 > 0:05:27saying that some men came in and took Daniel from his job.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31My dad's first reaction was, "Oh, I don't know my son any more,"
0:05:31 > 0:05:34and I think he was just in shock.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37It's funny - growing up, he wasn't the political kid
0:05:37 > 0:05:39that was fighting for anything.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41He was just a regular kid -
0:05:41 > 0:05:43played with his friends, rode his bike.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46It wasn't like he had this whole history...
0:05:46 > 0:05:48But you don't know what's inside someone
0:05:48 > 0:05:51until they get older and they start to think about who they are.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57I was born in 1974 in Brooklyn.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01I moved to Rockaway when I was around three,
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Rockaway Beach in Queens.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07It was, like, mostly working-class people.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15My dad was a carpenter in the New York Police Department.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22I went to high school at a place called Christ the King,
0:06:22 > 0:06:23um...Catholic high school.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29I was a track runner and, you know, I got a scholarship and stuff like that.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33And then when I got to college, I was like, "Oh, I guess I'll major in business
0:06:33 > 0:06:34"because that's practical."
0:06:34 > 0:06:41When I graduated, I got a job at a massive public relations company called Burston Marsteller.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53During this time period, I ran into a woman
0:06:53 > 0:06:56collecting signatures at Union Square.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00She kept telling me about Wetlands, the Wetlands environmental centre,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02and that was where it changed.
0:07:02 > 0:07:03ROCK MUSIC
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Basically, it was a bar that had live shows,
0:07:10 > 0:07:14but the profits would go to running an environmental centre.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18So I went to this meeting and they played these films
0:07:18 > 0:07:19that blew my mind.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18I had never seen with my own eyes what kind of world we lived in.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23I feel like I'm in perpetual mourning and have been
0:08:23 > 0:08:27since the moment that, like, I don't know, I took the blinders off
0:08:27 > 0:08:29and was like, "Holy crap! What the hell are we doing?"
0:08:34 > 0:08:37And I got involved instantly.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40I protested constantly.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45I did letter-writing every weekend at Wetlands.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48I wrote hundreds of letters to different agencies
0:08:48 > 0:08:51and, at the time, they announced
0:08:51 > 0:08:55there was going to be a national gathering in Crandon, Wisconsin,
0:08:55 > 0:08:56so I went.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59You know, I was a shy, city kid.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01I liked nature as a concept,
0:09:01 > 0:09:06but I had never slept outside before my whole life. I was 22.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15It was, like, different from anything I had ever seen.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18We went swimming in a creek, we were going out on logs and jumping off,
0:09:18 > 0:09:21we were skinny-dipping. I mean, all this stuff was new.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Traditionally, at the end, they have a day of action.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30We went to town and had a protest at the mine office.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32I actually ended up being arrested.
0:09:34 > 0:09:39It was really eye-opening to kind of learn about this different world
0:09:39 > 0:09:42and this environmental resistance movement.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02I'm a fourth-generation Oregonian.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Grew up in Eugene.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10My brother works the mill, my uncles own mills.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14It's something that, if you're from the Northwest, it's something you do.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24I think I met Daniel here in Eugene.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26They called him "the disgruntled one",
0:10:26 > 0:10:31just because he had this nasty attitude and he was always bitter
0:10:31 > 0:10:33and he was always pissed off
0:10:33 > 0:10:36and he always challenged people for their stupid ideas
0:10:36 > 0:10:40and so they kind of coined this nickname for him -
0:10:40 > 0:10:42"the disgruntled one".
0:10:44 > 0:10:48I think Daniel arrived out here at about '99, 1999,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51but to really understand why these arsons were set,
0:10:51 > 0:10:53I think you've got to go all the way back
0:10:53 > 0:10:56to a time when Daniel was still living back East.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01You've got to go to about 1995, which was the Warner Creek timber sale.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06The Warner Creek's about 50 miles east of Eugene.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10It's probably one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15And in 1995, the Forest Service decided to open it up for logging.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20People went up there and created a blockade
0:11:20 > 0:11:24on a federal logging road to try and prevent the logging of this place...
0:11:25 > 0:11:30..so we created a documentary called Pickaxe which is the story of Warner Creek.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32'There's more vehicles on the way. Over.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35'One grader followed by one...'
0:11:42 > 0:11:49We don't think you guys have the right to take a protected forest, teeming with life, and log it.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55For a long time, people were fighting the Forest Service through holding signs, letter-writing,
0:11:55 > 0:11:59sort of a hippy-type approach to protest,
0:11:59 > 0:12:03but there was this new type of protest that was becoming popular.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08People would call it sabotage or monkeywrenching.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13They would glue up locks, they would pull up survey stakes,
0:12:13 > 0:12:17they would maybe put sugar in the gas tanks of bulldozers.
0:12:17 > 0:12:18At Warner Creek,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21a simple little blockade turned into an all-out assault
0:12:21 > 0:12:24on the only way in to that forest.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28The protesters dug a series of trenches
0:12:28 > 0:12:31to keep logging trucks from getting to the forest...
0:12:33 > 0:12:35..and then they built the wall.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40It looked like an old fort from the Wild, Wild West
0:12:40 > 0:12:41and it had a drawbridge,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44and it was really a cool blockade.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47We were drawing a line in the sand -
0:12:47 > 0:12:50you can't come in here and destroy this place.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55And, er, they stayed up there for about a year.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09As a federal law enforcement officer, it is my duty to inform you that you're in violation...
0:13:09 > 0:13:14You have five minutes to get out of here. You have actually less than five minutes.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Early one morning, the Forest Service came on
0:13:17 > 0:13:21and arrested the protesters and, er...
0:13:21 > 0:13:23knocked down the wall.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32That created a lot of bitterness toward the Forest Service...
0:13:35 > 0:13:38..and soon after, things began to escalate.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47The first time I met Jacob Ferguson was at Warner Creek.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50He was a cool dude, he didn't say much, he just did a lot of work.
0:13:52 > 0:13:57I think it's really hard to know Jacob Ferguson unless you're on the inside of Jacob's life.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00This is the house I moved into right over here
0:14:00 > 0:14:04and right at that time, Jacob Ferguson was living right over there.
0:14:04 > 0:14:10But Jacob was a pirate... He was definitely, um...an outlaw.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12ROCK MUSIC
0:14:23 > 0:14:26- Yeah! - He tried to play a bad-boy image
0:14:26 > 0:14:29and he did it well because I really think he was one.
0:14:31 > 0:14:32After Warner Creek,
0:14:32 > 0:14:37I really think he thought the Forest Service was getting away with stuff.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43I think most of America feels the US Forest Service's job is to protect the forest,
0:14:43 > 0:14:47but the Forest Service is a part of the Department of Agriculture
0:14:47 > 0:14:52and, er, the Department of Agriculture looks upon these forests as crops.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59The US Forest Service's real job is to provide trees for these timber companies
0:14:59 > 0:15:02so they can cut these trees from natural forests.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06They were cutting down these massive, old-growth trees,
0:15:06 > 0:15:10up to 750, even 1,000 years old, that were just massive.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17But I think Jake was tired of the talk.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23He was tired of just, you know, philosophising.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27"You guys," you know, "are you through talking shit or what? Let's do it."
0:15:50 > 0:15:51This investigation
0:15:51 > 0:15:54was the largest domestic terrorism case
0:15:54 > 0:15:56in the history of the United States.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00The very first ELF action that occurred in the United States
0:16:00 > 0:16:03occurred at two ranger stations in the district of Oregon.
0:16:03 > 0:16:10Mainstream, legitimate environmental activists were absolutely shocked
0:16:10 > 0:16:12and disgusted with the fire
0:16:12 > 0:16:16and they saw the burning of the Oakridge Ranger Station
0:16:16 > 0:16:18as a public relations disaster.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23In the months after the ranger station fires,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26there was a split within the environmental movement.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29In Eugene, which was quickly becoming a hotbed of activism,
0:16:29 > 0:16:33a growing community of younger environmentalists
0:16:33 > 0:16:34cheered on the arsonists,
0:16:34 > 0:16:38but most environmentalists argued that in a democracy,
0:16:38 > 0:16:42public protest was still a better way of making change.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44In the summer of '97,
0:16:44 > 0:16:47just a few months after the ranger station fires,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50an event took place in downtown Eugene
0:16:50 > 0:16:52that, for many, shook up the debate.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55There was this place downtown
0:16:55 > 0:16:58that had 40 old heritage trees, just beautiful,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01and they were going to put in a parking lot for Symantec,
0:17:01 > 0:17:03this big corporation next door
0:17:03 > 0:17:05and they were going to cut down the trees to do it.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Activists began mobilising to save the trees,
0:17:08 > 0:17:12but as they prepared to take the issue to next city council meeting,
0:17:12 > 0:17:16the city suddenly announced that they would cut the trees
0:17:16 > 0:17:18one day before that public hearing.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23On Sunday morning, about 2:30 in the morning,
0:17:23 > 0:17:28about 11 people went up into the trees to prevent them from being cut.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31We just went and did it, hoping that we could
0:17:31 > 0:17:34stave off the cutting for one day, until that public hearing.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38Just for one day, so that the citizens could talk
0:17:38 > 0:17:41to the city council the next day about saving them.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45They came in right away, wearing riot gear and gas masks.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49So, bang, bang, bang, on the door at eight in the morning.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Some kid says, "Get out there, they're pepper-spraying them in the trees.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54"Get your camera, you got to get there.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57"They're pepper-spraying them right now."
0:17:57 > 0:17:58Hang in there, Jim!
0:18:00 > 0:18:06They came up in a fire truck bucket, and they cut my pants leg
0:18:06 > 0:18:09up to groin, so they could spray my leg with pepper spray.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14They cut his pants, and they were pepper-spraying him in the ass,
0:18:14 > 0:18:16and pepper-spraying him in the balls,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19while they were hanging from their limbs 40 feet up.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21People were on the street, looking at this, and going,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24"What the fuck do you think you are doing?"
0:18:24 > 0:18:27So, people were radicalised, they started jumping on the fence,
0:18:27 > 0:18:29going, "Quit that shit!"
0:18:29 > 0:18:32They are tear-gassing the crowd, pepper-spraying the crowd,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35it was just a crazy, frantic scene that day.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37SHOUTING
0:18:41 > 0:18:44And, they used about 12 to 15 cans on Flynn,
0:18:44 > 0:18:51and he stayed up for, I think, about six or seven hours, man.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03And then they flushed me with a bunch of water,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06took me to the hospital, took me to jail.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09So, for the next 35 hours I was soaking in pepper spray.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11My hands were orange for a week.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15And, so, the argument that you need to work within the system
0:19:15 > 0:19:18was pretty well dashed by what the cops did on that day in Eugene.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24And June 1st was really the day
0:19:24 > 0:19:28that pissed off a lot of people in this town.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40I remember reading about it. It was, like,
0:19:40 > 0:19:43this footage that was really intense.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45That kind of stuff, that's part of the story.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48That was part of the backdrop.
0:19:50 > 0:19:51It's crazy, it's crazy.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54I think a lot of moments like that really erode people's belief
0:19:54 > 0:19:57that anything can actually change.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01Next week, it's four months that I'm under house arrest.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06My days here are really tedious.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08It's really hard to focus and do anything.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15Just thinking about my future, and how uncertain it is.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17I get really sad at night, you know.
0:20:17 > 0:20:22I prefer to sleep straight through, but I have the moments every night.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26I have been doing OK, all things considered.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29I feel like, on one level, I just have to be really thankful
0:20:29 > 0:20:33for what I have, which is, like, a good family, really good friends.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37So, I try to keep things in perspective.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44- Hold on one second.- Hi. - Hi, how are you?
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Daniel was living with his girlfriend when he was arrested,
0:20:47 > 0:20:51and she's moved into his sister's apartment to be with him.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54You know, people are all different, and some other people,
0:20:54 > 0:20:57if they were in my position, they might have been totally,
0:20:57 > 0:21:02like, questioning everything. But, it's just not me.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07I think that he feels the dread every single day.
0:21:08 > 0:21:14Definitely removes some of the life from his personality.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20PHONE RINGS
0:21:20 > 0:21:26Hello. Hey, what's up? How are you?
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Wait, wait, wait.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34So, wait, wait. I'm sorry. He's cooperating to the full extent?
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Six of Daniel's co-defendants have appeared in court
0:21:44 > 0:21:45to accept plea deals.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49In exchange for reduced sentences, they've agreed to testify
0:21:49 > 0:21:52in the government's case against the remaining defendants.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55'It hurts that people
0:21:55 > 0:21:59'that I trusted and cared about turned their back on me.'
0:21:59 > 0:22:03To be a cooperating witness, it's something that other people can do,
0:22:03 > 0:22:06I'm just not going to do it, I just have to live with myself,
0:22:06 > 0:22:09I'm not going to be that person and start spewing out crap
0:22:09 > 0:22:12just so I can get myself out of a situation that's not very pleasant.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24I'd want him to do whatever he needs to do to not go to prison,
0:22:24 > 0:22:32but I would never want him to compromise his values or beliefs.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35So, if he has to choose, he'll be facing life in prison.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42I made the choice to be with him.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45And after he was arrested, I made the choice to stay with him.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47I mean, that's what you do
0:22:47 > 0:22:50when you're in a relationship with someone.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Just because something really difficult comes up
0:22:53 > 0:22:56doesn't mean that you just run away.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59So, I think we should get married!
0:23:17 > 0:23:22This kid faces 335 years plus life in prison, and he's getting married!
0:23:25 > 0:23:27I want to kind of grab the positive
0:23:27 > 0:23:31and think that this is going to work out in the end.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33Everything is going to be OK,
0:23:33 > 0:23:37and there is nothing to stress about, but there is.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48- Hello, if it isn't my sister. How are you?- How you?
0:23:48 > 0:23:53- Oh, I'm freaking hot. That's why I'm out here.- Let me see your ring.
0:23:53 > 0:23:58- That's nice. - By nicer, she means "more money"!
0:23:59 > 0:24:02It's made of some recycled-type metal
0:24:02 > 0:24:04that doesn't hurt anything or anybody.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06Mine's made of good old diamonds!
0:24:08 > 0:24:09We'll have a good time.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20It easy to discount the environmental movement as a bunch of wackos,
0:24:20 > 0:24:25and hippies and arsonists, but it's not like that.
0:24:26 > 0:24:31There are businessmen and the moms and dads and scientists,
0:24:31 > 0:24:32and loggers themselves,
0:24:32 > 0:24:37there are people from every walk of life that get involved in this.
0:24:39 > 0:24:45I've spent several years of my life doing logging in the woods.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48I come with a little different perspective
0:24:48 > 0:24:54than a lot of the environmental crowd, or the logging crowd.
0:24:54 > 0:24:55I've got a bit of both in me.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59I'm OK with cutting down trees, I just don't have an issue with it,
0:24:59 > 0:25:01but I'm not OK with cutting them all down.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07The industry tends to call the environmentalists "radical".
0:25:07 > 0:25:12The reality is that 95% of the standing native forests
0:25:12 > 0:25:15in the United States have been cut down.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19It's not radical to try and save the last 5%.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23What's radical is logging 95%. This is radical.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29This is a piece of a big old tree.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32This tree probably sprouted
0:25:32 > 0:25:36just about the time Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38It looks about 500 years old,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40somewhere in there.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43You know, if they could talk, they would probably say
0:25:43 > 0:25:46it's been pretty boring up until 75 years ago,
0:25:46 > 0:25:48when all hell broke loose out here on the ridge
0:25:48 > 0:25:50and they started cutting them down.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53Most of them are gone now, so we won't be seeing any of these
0:25:53 > 0:25:56for at least another 500 years, and that's if we leave them alone.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00These are amazing old trees.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07I moved out West in October of '98.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16I got out to northern California.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20I had never seen trees like that before.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23It had a really profound impact on me.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26I was already quite radicalised,
0:26:26 > 0:26:30but I couldn't believe the fact that people accepted what was going on.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37I have memories of, like, for the first time, seeing log trucks,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40and you know, being, like, "Whoa."
0:26:40 > 0:26:45You saw the mills, or you go into the forest
0:26:45 > 0:26:46and stumble upon a clear-cut.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49Like, it just blew me away.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52Just the arrogance of it.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56You think, "Man, this is butchered."
0:26:56 > 0:27:00You know, it made me think, like, "Why are we being so gentle?
0:27:00 > 0:27:02"Why are we so gentle in our activism
0:27:02 > 0:27:04"when this is what's happening?"
0:27:08 > 0:27:10After the ranger station fires,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Jake Ferguson and members of the fledgling ELF
0:27:13 > 0:27:16set their sights on new targets.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19They came across an Associated Press article
0:27:19 > 0:27:22about the rounding-up of wild horses from government land.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25The horses were being sent to slaughterhouses,
0:27:25 > 0:27:30including the Cavel West plant in nearby Redmond, Oregon.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33There were so many horses being processed at the plant
0:27:33 > 0:27:36that horse blood would sometimes overwhelm
0:27:36 > 0:27:39the town's water treatment facility and shut it down.
0:27:39 > 0:27:40And for ten years,
0:27:40 > 0:27:46people from the area had tried and failed to stop the plant.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50On July 21st, 1997, Jake Ferguson and three others
0:27:50 > 0:27:54slipped into the facility in the middle of the night
0:27:54 > 0:27:56and burned it to the ground.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59The company was never able to rebuild,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02and the arson became a model for the group.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06In one night, they'd accomplished what years of letter-writing
0:28:06 > 0:28:08and picketing had never been able to do.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14They expanded and took on new targets.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17They burned timber company headquarters,
0:28:17 > 0:28:22a Bureau Of Land Management office and a 12 million ski lodge
0:28:22 > 0:28:24at Vail, Colorado,
0:28:24 > 0:28:27to protest at the resort's expansion into National Forest.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31An ELF press office was opened by activist who did not know
0:28:31 > 0:28:33the identities of the ELF members.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36- How did they contact you? - Anonymously.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39What is that, like a package-drop on your doorstep?
0:28:39 > 0:28:43They publicised the fires and explained the group's actions.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46When a building burns down, they HAVE to do a new story about it.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49That's why the Earth Liberation Front burned down the building
0:28:49 > 0:28:51in the first place, to get exposure.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54We were there to help explain why that building burned down,
0:28:54 > 0:28:58what it was doing in the first place that was angering people so much.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00A lot of what the Earth Liberation Front did
0:29:00 > 0:29:03was considered economic sabotage.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06These corporations exist to make money.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08All of a sudden, they are losing money,
0:29:08 > 0:29:11so they have to reassess their activities.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13Another thing that happens is that the building
0:29:13 > 0:29:16that was dumping toxic waste, for example,
0:29:16 > 0:29:19into the river one day, is unable to dump that waste tomorrow.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23The press office encouraged people to start their own ELF cells,
0:29:23 > 0:29:26but mandated that their fires not harm any life.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28Take initiative, form your own cell,
0:29:28 > 0:29:32and do what needs to be done to protect all life on this planet.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34The idea spread,
0:29:34 > 0:29:37and new anonymous cells popped up in other parts of the country.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41NEWSREEL: 'The Earth Liberation Front is turning up the heat again,
0:29:41 > 0:29:44'igniting devastating blazes all across the country.'
0:29:44 > 0:29:46'A biology lab at the University of Minnesota.'
0:29:46 > 0:29:48'Bloomington, Indiana.'
0:29:48 > 0:29:50'New York's Long Island.'
0:29:50 > 0:29:52'Now, some say ELF is in New England.'
0:29:54 > 0:29:55HORNS HONK, WHOOPING
0:29:57 > 0:30:01Back in Eugene, people were celebrating.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04We had no idea that it was people from our neighbourhood,
0:30:04 > 0:30:06and they were friends of ours,
0:30:06 > 0:30:11but we were hearing about what was happening, and we were celebrating.
0:30:13 > 0:30:18I don't think it was just the ELF that started ratcheting things up.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21I think activists all over the Northwest
0:30:21 > 0:30:23were also kicking it up a notch.
0:30:23 > 0:30:28They thought there was a possibility of really making things change.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32You just had to work at it a little harder and be a little more radical.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45I'm not turning it off, you know someone's locked under.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47There's an old woman! She's 80 years old.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06There was a sort of progression of radicalism
0:31:06 > 0:31:07that happened in Eugene,
0:31:07 > 0:31:12and so the police were also amping up their presence,
0:31:12 > 0:31:15because we were amping up our presence.
0:31:17 > 0:31:22Literally, we were having two protests a week. Major protests.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26So, you can imagine what law enforcement went like.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30I was doing undercover work around the Eugene area.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33We were looking for some of these individuals
0:31:33 > 0:31:35that were causing mayhem around Eugene.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40I think it was well-known amongst those in the movement
0:31:40 > 0:31:44that they could probe and push and get us to react,
0:31:44 > 0:31:48in a way that oftentimes didn't look very good.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50Back! Get back!
0:31:50 > 0:31:53HORNS HONK
0:31:53 > 0:31:54Hey!
0:31:57 > 0:32:00SCREAMING AND SHOUTING
0:32:02 > 0:32:06But we were getting rocks and bottles, that kind of thing,
0:32:06 > 0:32:10fire thrown at us, it just hadn't happened before.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14To say that emotions don't play into that
0:32:14 > 0:32:18would be folly - that's not true.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21It is personal, to take a rock.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32And people's views got hardened and more radicalised
0:32:32 > 0:32:35the more the police were doing to them
0:32:35 > 0:32:38or other campaigns that were going on around the Northwest.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41Are you going to release?
0:32:42 > 0:32:44Why are you doing this to us?
0:32:45 > 0:32:46Are you going to release?
0:32:46 > 0:32:48Who's going to release?
0:32:52 > 0:32:55I only did one eye, I am going to do the other eye if you don't release!
0:32:55 > 0:32:57Please don't hurt me!
0:33:04 > 0:33:07Leave her alone! Stop it! Stop it! No!
0:33:07 > 0:33:12When those people were getting attacked and pepper-sprayed in their face while they were locked down,
0:33:12 > 0:33:14I thought, "Protests and civil disobedience -
0:33:14 > 0:33:17"why bother? It's not getting us anywhere,
0:33:17 > 0:33:22"we're getting victimised by their police, you know..."
0:33:22 > 0:33:26I don't know, I think I, like a lot of people I knew at the time,
0:33:26 > 0:33:30experienced a massive loss of faith in that systemic change could happen
0:33:30 > 0:33:35through the system regulating itself or reforming itself.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40Good evening. When the World Trade Summit was planned for Seattle,
0:33:40 > 0:33:44the administration obviously hoped it would be a triumph for Bill Clinton
0:33:44 > 0:33:46in the closing months of his presidency.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50Instead, it's been a nightmare of protest and demonstrations in the street.
0:33:50 > 0:33:55In 1999, tens of thousands of people converged on Seattle
0:33:55 > 0:34:00to protest the WTO and its effect on the environment and labour.
0:34:00 > 0:34:05They blockaded the streets, using non-violent civil disobedience.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08ALL: Peaceful protest! Peaceful protest!
0:34:09 > 0:34:13The police responded with force to clear the streets.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28But while the authorities were focused on the demonstrators,
0:34:28 > 0:34:30another group appeared
0:34:30 > 0:34:33that included current and future members of the ELF.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37I'd met these people in Seattle, and I was introduced to a larger group of individuals.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41Here we are, in our black clothes,
0:34:41 > 0:34:45downtown Seattle was full of corporations that are wreaking devastation and destruction
0:34:45 > 0:34:48on the planet and people were like, "OK, let's do it".
0:34:51 > 0:34:54These businesses, they're not going to bow to people
0:34:54 > 0:34:59dancing in the streets, or dressed as giant sea turtles and so on,
0:34:59 > 0:35:03they care about one thing, capital. Unless you put a dent in their pocket...
0:35:03 > 0:35:05How are you going to do that, put a dent in their pocket?
0:35:05 > 0:35:07Hopefully by causing property damage.
0:35:15 > 0:35:19I never breathed tear gas, pepper spray or felt concussion grenades until that point.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21It was insane, I really felt,
0:35:21 > 0:35:24"This is like a war zone. Holy crap!"
0:35:39 > 0:35:42It felt good to take out my rage on those corporate windows,
0:35:42 > 0:35:46because they had caused so much destruction in my mind.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50It created a huge conversation and dialogue and fight.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54This is not what the protest was about!
0:35:54 > 0:35:56People work hard for their property!
0:35:56 > 0:36:00Vandalism is vandalism, destruction is destruction,
0:36:00 > 0:36:03whether it's of lives or property, it's not acceptable.
0:36:03 > 0:36:08- What do you think of the Boston Tea Party?- I thought it was wonderful.- Thank you.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12Thank you. 50 cents! Read all about it!
0:36:12 > 0:36:16I think people have a very Pollyanna viewpoint of social change.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20No real social change has happened without pressure, without force,
0:36:20 > 0:36:26without, some would say intimidating governments and corporations into changing their behaviour.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35Uh, so we talk about this stuff. Um...
0:36:35 > 0:36:40I took part in the Black Bloc at WTO,
0:36:40 > 0:36:44and the goal of the Black Bloc was to send an anti-capitalist message
0:36:44 > 0:36:47that consumer America is destroying the world and the planet.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52That was the first time we met people
0:36:52 > 0:36:54that ended up being involved in the arsons.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02After the WTO, I decided to move to Eugene,
0:37:02 > 0:37:05to keep in touch with some of these people I met in Seattle.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09And I started becoming a really different person.
0:37:09 > 0:37:14Daniel was very involved in the issues and ideas surrounding Eugene,
0:37:14 > 0:37:17he was very social, he seemed to know everybody
0:37:17 > 0:37:20and everybody seemed to know him, including the cops.
0:37:20 > 0:37:26Daniel was kind of known as a leader around the area,
0:37:26 > 0:37:31you know, he would show up at protests, or gatherings,
0:37:31 > 0:37:34and you could always see that he was somebody people looked up to.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38You know, you see who's serious and who's not. How they act and what they're saying.
0:37:38 > 0:37:43Somewhere along the line it became obvious that I was interested in doing other stuff.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45I met Jake in the neighbourhood,
0:37:45 > 0:37:50there was some allure about him just being quiet and to himself
0:37:50 > 0:37:54and being there really set some things in motion.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08The more radical environmental community have,
0:38:08 > 0:38:13in my opinion, a misconception about this industry and what we do.
0:38:18 > 0:38:23It's more than just a job. I'm a third-generation lumber man.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27My son works in the industry. I want him to carry on
0:38:27 > 0:38:30and when he has kids, I want them to carry on.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36You can't be in the lumber industry without having trees to cut.
0:38:36 > 0:38:37So it's ridiculous for people
0:38:37 > 0:38:41to think we're going to go out there and cut the last tree.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43Does it have an impact? Certainly.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46Nobody likes the looks of a fresh harvest.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48But we really do re-grow these trees.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52We plant six trees for every tree we harvest. That's the law.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54It's just flat-out the law. People don't break law.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57You can't get away with it in Oregon or any place else.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00Being an environmentalist is simply respecting the land
0:39:00 > 0:39:02and the atmosphere around you.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04In that regard, I'm an environmentalist.
0:39:07 > 0:39:12Eugene has a commercial railroad that goes through town.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16It's not uncommon to just see plywood after plywood,
0:39:16 > 0:39:21and company names stamped onto it.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23That's definitely how I heard about Superior Lumber,
0:39:23 > 0:39:27just by seeing their half-mile-long train full of forest go by.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36They're logging just massive trees
0:39:36 > 0:39:39and areas that have previously been pretty inaccessible.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44Sometimes when you see things you love being destroyed,
0:39:44 > 0:39:46you just want to destroy those things.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50So I felt like the action was justified.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00We were quite surprised that we had been targeted.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03I believe I was invited to participate in Superior Lumber
0:40:03 > 0:40:07by Meyerhoff to be a lookout along with Suzanne.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11But I met Jacob and Kevin right before the action - Kevin Tubbs.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15They got together some weeks before, did a surveillance of it.
0:40:16 > 0:40:21It was in an isolated area. There was no viable security there.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27They figured out where they should place the devices.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29They came back and prepared the devices.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36They put them in plastic Tupperware containers,
0:40:36 > 0:40:41made sure the containers were fingerprint-free, DNA-clean.
0:40:41 > 0:40:42They always wore gloves.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44I felt nervous from the get-go.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47I was staying in this house where everything was stored.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50Someone else's house that didn't know about the action.
0:40:50 > 0:40:55On the night of the arson they drove to the staging area.
0:40:55 > 0:41:01They put on their masks, did radio checks. They had a police scanner.
0:41:01 > 0:41:02It's positively nerve-wracking.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05I used to get real sick before actions and throw up.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09and just get like nervous, just "in the zone", you know.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12I mean, when you're doing something tat intense, even as a lookout,
0:41:12 > 0:41:14you're just, like, freaked out
0:41:14 > 0:41:17because you just don't know how anything's going to go.
0:41:17 > 0:41:21I was in the back of the van, I was actually by myself.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24I was just kind of thinking to myself, and I think, um,
0:41:24 > 0:41:26Kevin and Jake were in the front,
0:41:26 > 0:41:29just listening to music. So it was fairly relaxed.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32People weren't talking a lot. But your adrenaline's going.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35Miss Savoie and Mr McGowan were the lookouts.
0:41:35 > 0:41:40They staged north and south of the building.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44I was stationed at a payphone.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46Everybody else was dressed in all black
0:41:46 > 0:41:49because everybody wanted to blend into the night.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53However, I dressed in somewhat darker clothing but I looked fairly normal.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57I just had a scarf I could wrap round my face in case somebody passed.
0:41:57 > 0:41:59And I got dropped off at the side the road.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03I just kind of crawled into this space, this shoulder,
0:42:03 > 0:42:05you know, with a bunch of ivy.
0:42:05 > 0:42:10Mr Meyerhoff and Mr Ferguson placed the five-gallon fuel containers
0:42:10 > 0:42:13and activated the timing devices.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16It was done within, you know, 15 minutes
0:42:16 > 0:42:18and I got picked up and away we went.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20It was somewhere between 2-3am
0:42:20 > 0:42:23when I was home, sound asleep, and I got a phone call.
0:42:23 > 0:42:27Of course, any time you get a phone call at 2am in the morning,
0:42:27 > 0:42:29it's not good news.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46It turned the office into this... fiery oven.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48I mean, I don't know how hot it got in here,
0:42:48 > 0:42:50but we had keyboards that were -
0:42:50 > 0:42:52I mean, you couldn't tell one key from the other.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55They were just melted together.
0:42:59 > 0:43:04I went up to Portland and wrote the communique and sent it in.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07Even then it wasn't real. It was still like this cartoonish thing.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11And it wasn't real until I really saw the newspapers,
0:43:11 > 0:43:13seeing the man from the company, I think, Steve Swanson,
0:43:13 > 0:43:18walking through this charred remains and I was just like, "Holy crap."
0:43:18 > 0:43:24That was a major blow to our mental psyche, at least in the short run.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28It just felt like a big hole in my heart.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31In Eugene, people were jazzed.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34When the big, bad bully gets hit in the stomach and...
0:43:34 > 0:43:38feels a little something, maybe a little fear or whatever,
0:43:38 > 0:43:39that felt good.
0:43:39 > 0:43:44It was exciting. The next day I felt, you know, like,
0:43:44 > 0:43:47"Wow, I've actually done something where...it stopped."
0:43:47 > 0:43:49I didn't have a problem with it.
0:43:49 > 0:43:53I thought it was effective. It was 1 million or something like that.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55You know...
0:43:55 > 0:43:58it's like when you're involved with it and in the thick of it,
0:43:58 > 0:44:00it's hard to look at the consequences,
0:44:00 > 0:44:02the real repercussions of that.
0:44:02 > 0:44:06Like, you know, did this action push them in a better direction?
0:44:06 > 0:44:11Did it scare them? Did it help the movement in any capacity?
0:44:11 > 0:44:15There's lots of questions but I don't think at the time
0:44:15 > 0:44:17I was asking those questions too much.
0:44:23 > 0:44:28Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Totally. All right. Well, um, that's great.
0:44:28 > 0:44:32I guess I'll see you in a little bit. OK, bye.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35Yes!
0:44:35 > 0:44:38Awesome! All right, that's great, I'm off the system.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42I am off house arrest, technically, right now.
0:44:42 > 0:44:46Hey...I'm off!
0:44:46 > 0:44:49Sweet! Seven months and two days.
0:44:49 > 0:44:55With seven months of good behaviour, Daniel's lawyers have convinced the government he's not a flight risk.
0:44:55 > 0:44:59What do you think about that? I think I want to stay in tonight.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02No, I'm joking! Are you kidding me?
0:45:02 > 0:45:04I don't care how tired I am, we're doing something.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20Of course I'm going to get off house arrest on this day,
0:45:20 > 0:45:25like, of all days, like it'll be today, you know.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28It's really sad for me to have all these feelings
0:45:28 > 0:45:33about my home being attacked, like my city being attacked.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36I mean, when I tell people I'm accused of being a terrorist,
0:45:36 > 0:45:39like, whether it is eco or domestic in front of it,
0:45:39 > 0:45:40or if it's just straight terrorist,
0:45:40 > 0:45:43it's ludicrous to me. It's like surreal.
0:45:43 > 0:45:45And most people that know me are like, "What?"
0:45:45 > 0:45:49No-one's accused in my case of flying planes, bombing things,
0:45:49 > 0:45:52trying to hurt people, none of that. No-one's accused of that.
0:45:52 > 0:45:56It's property destruction, that's what it is. Call it what it is.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59- Hey!- I looked naked, right?
0:45:59 > 0:46:02- You did it!- How are you doing?
0:46:02 > 0:46:05Look at my freak-ass ankles! I actually ran a little bit
0:46:05 > 0:46:07cos I wanted to feel like what it was like to run.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10I'm so tired! My feet hurt, my legs hurt.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12I just had a knee pain. It was horrible.
0:46:21 > 0:46:22As time went on,
0:46:22 > 0:46:26the cell members became better and better and better
0:46:26 > 0:46:30at their craft. And their craft was destruction.
0:46:32 > 0:46:37And so they started what was called the Book Club.
0:46:37 > 0:46:43They would train one another on how to build incendiary devices.
0:46:48 > 0:46:50And they would go out and test all these things.
0:46:50 > 0:46:54So they knew how long it would take at this time of night,
0:46:54 > 0:46:59in this kind of weather, how long will it take for this to ignite?
0:46:59 > 0:47:03What type of fuel would work the best?
0:47:03 > 0:47:06They wouldn't buy all the ingredients from the same store.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09Even if the same store had the two or three items that they'd need,
0:47:09 > 0:47:14they would go to a completely different store 30, 40 miles away,
0:47:14 > 0:47:17so it wouldn't ever be tracked.
0:47:17 > 0:47:22It was called the Book Club because they also utilised certain codes.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25At the meeting they were told, "This is the book we're using."
0:47:25 > 0:47:29And then you'd have to use your book that would associate
0:47:29 > 0:47:33what page number, what line number, what word number,
0:47:33 > 0:47:36and that's how you would decode the message to tell you where to go.
0:47:36 > 0:47:41Some of the members then were well versed in computer sciences.
0:47:41 > 0:47:45They brought in PGP encryption and showed other members how to do that.
0:47:45 > 0:47:49There was a lot of having good covers for why you're leaving town,
0:47:49 > 0:47:51why you're not... You know, where you're going,
0:47:51 > 0:47:54having stories that made sense, that were consistent,
0:47:54 > 0:47:58that you told everyone, your job, your family, everything.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01Not dressing like activists, per se.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04We didn't really look like what you think we would look like.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08If you saw people walking in the street you'd never think, "That's the ELF".
0:48:08 > 0:48:10It made sense of why there wasn't any evidence,
0:48:10 > 0:48:13why they weren't caught sooner.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16They were really good at what they did.
0:48:19 > 0:48:25In May, 2001, ELF members launched an attack against two sites at once,
0:48:25 > 0:48:27a first for the organisation.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31The first target was an office at the University of Washington,
0:48:31 > 0:48:34where a scientist was doing genetic research on trees,
0:48:34 > 0:48:36with a grant from the timber industry.
0:48:36 > 0:48:40The second target was the Jefferson Poplar tree farm,
0:48:40 > 0:48:42where the group believed genetically-engineered trees
0:48:42 > 0:48:45were being developed for paper production.
0:48:45 > 0:48:49In the previous arson, Daniel had been a lookout
0:48:49 > 0:48:52but this time he took a much more active role.
0:48:52 > 0:48:56They're in a motel room, they set up a tent inside the motel room,
0:48:56 > 0:49:01they put on painter suits, triple-thick gloves, they made the devices.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04One team went to the University of Washington,
0:49:04 > 0:49:07and the other travelled to Clatskanie, Oregon
0:49:07 > 0:49:09to Jefferson Poplar Farms.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11Clatskanie is a really small town.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14We were just really trying to avoid a traffic stop
0:49:14 > 0:49:17because we were pretty much screwed if we got stopped.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20Way too many people in the car dressed in all black.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23The driver of the vehicle was Miss Savoie.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26Miss Overaker served as a lookout.
0:49:26 > 0:49:31Then the three men, Mr Meyerhoff, Mr McGowan and Mr Block,
0:49:31 > 0:49:35took the fuel loads and the timers to the targets.
0:49:35 > 0:49:39We check that no-one's there, climb around, look around. no-one's in there.
0:49:39 > 0:49:43We'd been there previous, no-one's there, the cleaning lady's there earlier.
0:49:43 > 0:49:47We set up all the devices on the buckets.
0:49:47 > 0:49:51They put little tubs for fuel underneath the vehicles
0:49:51 > 0:49:56they put soaked rags, and they'd run the rags from vehicle to vehicle.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59The towel just goes and goes and goes and goes.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02It's tied together in sheets and it's absolute mess.
0:50:02 > 0:50:06They were careful to take the trucks with the fuel tanks,
0:50:06 > 0:50:09fill the beds of the vehicles with fuel.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12I'm standing there, I'm drenched in gasoline,
0:50:12 > 0:50:19we're about to burn 13 huge SUVs, and I was like, "What am I doing?"
0:50:19 > 0:50:23We take spray paint. Myself and another person go to the shed
0:50:23 > 0:50:26and I write "ELF" on one side in pretty huge letters,
0:50:26 > 0:50:30and the other person writes, "You cannot control what is wild."
0:50:34 > 0:50:38There's the E, L...
0:50:38 > 0:50:40and F.
0:50:40 > 0:50:43Everything was basically fully engulfed when I got here.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47With all the vehicles and the fuel tanks and so forth,
0:50:47 > 0:50:50there was lots of propellent in the area
0:50:50 > 0:50:54to make things burn, and things went up fast and hot.
0:50:54 > 0:50:56SIREN
0:50:56 > 0:51:01- 911, where is our emergency? - Man, we got a big fire...
0:51:04 > 0:51:07Investigators in the Pacific Northwest strongly suspect
0:51:07 > 0:51:13that two nearly simultaneous fires were acts of ecological terror.
0:51:13 > 0:51:18Monday morning, May 24, I got back to Eugene and I was like,
0:51:18 > 0:51:21"Wow, I really need to think about what I just did."
0:51:21 > 0:51:24Just seeing the absolute ruins
0:51:24 > 0:51:27and realising that all people were going to focus on
0:51:27 > 0:51:31was that things were destroyed, and the issues are being lost
0:51:31 > 0:51:35and all they care about is catching the people that did it.
0:51:35 > 0:51:39They were talking about Jefferson Poplar and about the University of Washington.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42Finding out what happened at the University of Washington,
0:51:42 > 0:51:44massive destruction to a library,
0:51:44 > 0:51:47not just the professor's office that was involved in the research,
0:51:47 > 0:51:50but the Center For Urban Horticulture,
0:51:50 > 0:51:53I was like, "This is too much, too fast, too big. What am I doing?"
0:51:53 > 0:51:57Not only had the fire at the University of Washington
0:51:57 > 0:51:58gotten out of control,
0:51:58 > 0:52:01they also discovered the Jefferson Poplar arson
0:52:01 > 0:52:03was based on faulty information.
0:52:03 > 0:52:06It turned out that while the previous owners of the property
0:52:06 > 0:52:09had been involved with genetic engineering,
0:52:09 > 0:52:11the new owners only had hybrid trees,
0:52:11 > 0:52:15developed using methods that have been around for hundreds of years.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18It's hard to really justify it in hindsight.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21Nobody would have targeted that facility
0:52:21 > 0:52:25had we known there was no genetic engineering going on there.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28So it left me with a really bad taste in my mouth,
0:52:28 > 0:52:31kind of like, "Wow, look at this huge, intense action.
0:52:31 > 0:52:35"Look what happened in Washington. Am I really ready for this?
0:52:35 > 0:52:37"Like this is super-serious and super-big."
0:52:37 > 0:52:40We went to the meeting a few weeks afterwards and I was like,
0:52:40 > 0:52:42"This is too much".
0:52:42 > 0:52:44Some members of the group were questioning the actions.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47But others felt they hadn't gone far enough.
0:52:47 > 0:52:51Some of them decided they wanted to target basically
0:52:51 > 0:52:56captains of industry, target people now, not just property.
0:52:56 > 0:53:00The last circle meeting basically cleaved between people
0:53:00 > 0:53:06that seemingly wanted to talk about it, not even plan it, but they were like, "We should talk about it,"
0:53:06 > 0:53:08And the people repulsed by it.
0:53:08 > 0:53:12And really, that ideological divide is what ended it. That was it.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15What people were discussing was my experiences of the arson.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19It made my mind kind of like spin.
0:53:19 > 0:53:23It's things like this that led me to think, "This is futile."
0:53:23 > 0:53:26There's got to be better ways of addressing what's going on
0:53:26 > 0:53:28in the world than just burning things down.
0:53:28 > 0:53:30As the ELF cell was dissolving,
0:53:30 > 0:53:35the larger activist community in Eugene was splintering as well.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37I think people were self-righteous.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39People thought they knew they had the answer,
0:53:39 > 0:53:42weren't willing to listen to other points of view
0:53:42 > 0:53:45because their view was more radical.
0:53:45 > 0:53:47All those things came into play,
0:53:47 > 0:53:51I think, to help narrow the amount of people that were connected
0:53:51 > 0:53:54withni the movement, to the point where it just went poof,
0:53:54 > 0:53:56it doesn't exist any more.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59That's one really sad thing about, you know,
0:53:59 > 0:54:01about a lot of social movements
0:54:01 > 0:54:07but I think ours especially, because we all are so critical of the world
0:54:07 > 0:54:09and the way people live in the world
0:54:09 > 0:54:12and how they interact with the natural world,
0:54:12 > 0:54:15that we sometimes are extremely critical of each other.
0:54:15 > 0:54:20And that is definitely part of our downfall as a movement.
0:54:20 > 0:54:24The scene was really imploding there at the time.
0:54:24 > 0:54:28I took a small trip to New York for my sister's 35th birthday.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32I hung out with my family and I was like, "I really love my family."
0:54:32 > 0:54:36I forgot that I... like I just grew so disconnected from them.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38And I met Jenny.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41And I was like, "All right, I'm going to move back to New York."
0:54:41 > 0:54:46After moving home, Daniel began work at the Rainforest Foundation.
0:54:46 > 0:54:50He organised protests against the Republican convention.
0:54:50 > 0:54:53And finally, he took a job at a domestic violence organisation,
0:54:53 > 0:54:56where he was working when he was arrested.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08The ELF fires in the Northwest had stopped,
0:55:08 > 0:55:11but the government continued to work on the case.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14We had a war room, basically. It was a situation we were in.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18We worked it, worked it, worked it. We had diagrams all over the walls,
0:55:18 > 0:55:22we had our flow charts and we had pictures of our target suspects.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26What's different on TV that's not realistic,
0:55:26 > 0:55:29is that everything is solved in 50 minutes, you know.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31That is not what happens here.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34Three years after Daniel moved back to New York,
0:55:34 > 0:55:36the government had still turned up no viable suspects.
0:55:36 > 0:55:41We came together and decided we would take a cold-case approach
0:55:41 > 0:55:45on one arson to see if we can turn any suspects
0:55:45 > 0:55:47in that particular arson.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50And the arson we chose was one that occurred in the city of Eugene,
0:55:50 > 0:55:53and it was the Joe Romania Truck Center arson,
0:55:53 > 0:55:56one in which 35 SUVs were burned to the ground.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59SIREN WAILS
0:56:04 > 0:56:06The new investigation yielded a number of clues
0:56:06 > 0:56:09which pointed the government to one local activist.
0:56:09 > 0:56:14The night of Romania, Jake Ferguson was accused of stealing a truck,
0:56:14 > 0:56:17which was kind of interesting.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20A truck would be needed for something like what occurred.
0:56:20 > 0:56:25We also knew that Josephine Overaker was arrested in the Olympia area
0:56:25 > 0:56:28just prior to an arson that occurred up there.
0:56:28 > 0:56:31And we knew that her boyfriend was Jacob Ferguson.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34That's when we really turned the heat up.
0:56:34 > 0:56:38With Jake now on their radar, they began following him everywhere,
0:56:38 > 0:56:40asking people about him
0:56:40 > 0:56:44and bringing his friends in for questioning before grand juries.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47You know, you start seeing cars following you,
0:56:47 > 0:56:51cars with guys sitting outside
0:56:51 > 0:56:54where you're staying, you know, and...
0:56:54 > 0:56:59It was really scary to think they were on the right track, you know,
0:56:59 > 0:57:02and that they just kind of like right there behind you.
0:57:02 > 0:57:07And he's also a drug user, and so that adds the paranoia,
0:57:07 > 0:57:09that they know, "They're coming for me."
0:57:09 > 0:57:12And of course in Jake's case some of it was true,
0:57:12 > 0:57:17where, when he did turn around, there were law enforcement following him.
0:57:17 > 0:57:20So lightning was striking all around him.
0:57:20 > 0:57:24And with that in mind, we gave him an out.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27We called him into the US Attorney's office,
0:57:27 > 0:57:29we were in a conference room there.
0:57:29 > 0:57:34And we explained to him quite simply that we knew what his situation was.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37They told him they knew he was a heroin addict,
0:57:37 > 0:57:41and that he'd lied to an investigator, which was a felony.
0:57:41 > 0:57:43And then they bluffed.
0:57:43 > 0:57:45Despite a lack of hard evidence,
0:57:45 > 0:57:48they led him to believe that they could tie him to the ELF arsons.
0:57:48 > 0:57:52We never told Jake Ferguson or his lawyer what we knew or didn't know,
0:57:52 > 0:57:53that's... You never do that.
0:57:53 > 0:57:58Could we have put him away for a long time? At that point, probably not.
0:57:58 > 0:58:01They told him the arsons carried a life sentence
0:58:01 > 0:58:02but if he became an informant,
0:58:02 > 0:58:05they'd let him walk away from his crimes.
0:58:05 > 0:58:09I described to him, tried to paint an image of him
0:58:09 > 0:58:14walking through the forest on a road some sunny summer afternoon,
0:58:14 > 0:58:16hand in hand with his son
0:58:16 > 0:58:20instead of looking at his son through bulletproof glass
0:58:20 > 0:58:22and he thought about it.
0:58:23 > 0:58:26And at that particular point in time then,
0:58:26 > 0:58:32he and his lawyer excused themselves and left, and said, "Well, we'll get back to you in a day or so."
0:58:32 > 0:58:35You know, he grew up with his dad in prison,
0:58:35 > 0:58:37and he saw how bad that life was.
0:58:37 > 0:58:41He didn't want to spend the rest of his life in prison,
0:58:41 > 0:58:45and have his son, you know, never see his dad.
0:58:45 > 0:58:4820 minutes later, we get a call from downstairs,
0:58:48 > 0:58:51and Mr Ferguson and his lawyer wanted to come and talk to us.
0:58:51 > 0:58:53And so they came up, and they said,
0:58:53 > 0:58:56"we would like to consider co-operation."
0:58:56 > 0:58:58"What do we need to do?"
0:58:58 > 0:59:01That was, when we found out he was going to cooperate,
0:59:01 > 0:59:04that was one of the best days I've ever had.
0:59:04 > 0:59:06So hew started listing off
0:59:06 > 0:59:09all the things that he had information about.
0:59:09 > 0:59:13And that basically was every arson in the district of Oregon.
0:59:13 > 0:59:15Arsons in Washington State,
0:59:15 > 0:59:17arsons in Wyoming, arsons in Colorado, California.
0:59:17 > 0:59:23We did not know the scope of what he had knowledge of.
0:59:23 > 0:59:26So that's when the investigation kind of broke open.
0:59:26 > 0:59:32The team immediately grew from 12 or 13 to 40, to 300 agents.
0:59:32 > 0:59:37After debriefing Jake about the 14 fires he'd been involved in,
0:59:37 > 0:59:39the Government had a problem.
0:59:39 > 0:59:43They knew that a heroin addict with a pentagram tattoo on his head
0:59:43 > 0:59:45would not make a persuasive witness in court
0:59:45 > 0:59:48and so they needed corroborating evidence.
0:59:48 > 0:59:50We talked to him and his lawyer,
0:59:50 > 0:59:53and said, "OK, this is what we want you to do,
0:59:53 > 0:59:54"we want you to wear a wire."
0:59:54 > 0:59:57They hid a recording device in the liner of his baseball cap
0:59:57 > 1:00:02and over the course of a year they flew him all over the country,
1:00:02 > 1:00:05where they arranged for him to accidentally bump into his old friends
1:00:05 > 1:00:08and get them to reminisce about the old days.
1:00:08 > 1:00:14He walked into an animal rights conference I was at in Washington Heights, at Holyrood church.
1:00:14 > 1:00:15It was bizarre to see him.
1:00:15 > 1:00:19I mean, he was bloated and kinda fat, and...
1:00:19 > 1:00:23Just looked really different, uh, he was talkative, which was weird,
1:00:23 > 1:00:26cos I always remember him as a really quiet guy,
1:00:26 > 1:00:28but he was talkative.
1:00:34 > 1:00:38I went to go get a coffee with him, and we just talked a bunch, and... Yeah, it was unfortunate.
1:01:00 > 1:01:04I mean, thinking about it, I can't help but be annoyed at myself,
1:01:04 > 1:01:08you know, like, "How did you not know something was really wrong here?"
1:01:30 > 1:01:35Feels rather foolish, you know, to have done that, but...
1:01:35 > 1:01:37I try to get over the shame
1:01:37 > 1:01:39associated with making dumb mistakes.
1:01:39 > 1:01:41'Jake was extremely conflicted.'
1:01:41 > 1:01:44We had to pump him up, it was like before a big fight,
1:01:44 > 1:01:49where we sat there with him for probably half an hour to an hour,
1:01:49 > 1:01:55just to get him, kind of, tuned up and ready to do it.
1:01:55 > 1:01:58It wasn't something I felt good about, you know.
1:02:00 > 1:02:04Getting people to confess by wearing a wire, you know.
1:02:04 > 1:02:06But what can you do, when you've already taken a deal,
1:02:06 > 1:02:11and you've admitted to, you know, all these felonies they've got?
1:02:11 > 1:02:14You know, if you do anything to disagree with the deal,
1:02:14 > 1:02:17the deal is off, and you've just confessed, so, like, you know...
1:02:19 > 1:02:20..life in prison.
1:02:20 > 1:02:24So once we had those recordings in place,
1:02:24 > 1:02:26we decided on a particular takedown date.
1:02:27 > 1:02:31The takedown presented an enormous logistical challenge.
1:02:31 > 1:02:34The Government belived that the suspects had to be arrested
1:02:34 > 1:02:35at exactly the same moment,
1:02:35 > 1:02:39or word would get out and they'd go into hiding.
1:02:39 > 1:02:42So teams of federal agents fanned out across the country.
1:02:42 > 1:02:46I went to New York and we stayed out on Daniel McGowan's house until,
1:02:46 > 1:02:49I think it was 10 or 11,
1:02:49 > 1:02:53making sure that he was going to be there first thing in the morning,
1:02:53 > 1:02:56and then we got, yeah, it was not very good sleep.
1:02:56 > 1:02:57The next morning,
1:02:57 > 1:03:01Detective Harvey and three federal agents followed Daniel to work.
1:03:03 > 1:03:07I look up, and around the corner comes these kinda big dudes.
1:03:07 > 1:03:12I just kept feeling wave after wave of dread and fear, just coming, you know, and I could barely talk,
1:03:12 > 1:03:15and I was like, I could barely talk, I was just like completely...
1:03:15 > 1:03:19I'd lost my voice, I was just... could barely move, you know? It was really horrible.
1:03:19 > 1:03:23And it was like, "You're being extradited to Oregon for ELF charges,
1:03:23 > 1:03:27"and you should consider your plea, and don't ring your family," all this stuff.
1:03:27 > 1:03:29We would have them have an attorney,
1:03:29 > 1:03:32we would present the evidence that we have against them,
1:03:32 > 1:03:36and say, "Here's your opportunity to become a cooperator
1:03:36 > 1:03:39"or remain a defendant, your choice."
1:03:39 > 1:03:42Yeah, when you sit down with them and you show them
1:03:42 > 1:03:44and let them listen to themselves on tape,
1:03:44 > 1:03:47you see them really sink.
1:03:47 > 1:03:49"OK, I'm done."
1:03:49 > 1:03:53It was a very successful approach, because, you know,
1:03:53 > 1:03:55the dominoes begin to fall.
1:03:55 > 1:04:03I was in bed, my, uh...husband was up for work, it was 5am,
1:04:03 > 1:04:09he gets up early for work, and he came into the bedroom
1:04:09 > 1:04:11and told me that the FBI and the Oregon State Police
1:04:11 > 1:04:13were there to talk to me, and right away,
1:04:13 > 1:04:17I pretty much knew what they were there to talk to me about.
1:04:19 > 1:04:22From there, it was just, um...
1:04:22 > 1:04:25You know, the hardest decision I've ever made in my life,
1:04:25 > 1:04:28whether or not I should take a plea bargain and cooperate
1:04:28 > 1:04:31or risk going to prison for the rest of my life,
1:04:31 > 1:04:34and I think that probably will be the hardest decision
1:04:34 > 1:04:36I've ever made in my life.
1:04:36 > 1:04:41And, um, I chose to cooperate and take the plea bargain,
1:04:41 > 1:04:45so that I could someday, once again, you know, be with my loved ones.
1:04:47 > 1:04:51I would have been fully prepared to have gone away
1:04:51 > 1:04:53for five to ten years, you know,
1:04:53 > 1:04:56it was really looking at dying alone in prison,
1:04:56 > 1:04:59knowing that every single loved one would have moved on
1:04:59 > 1:05:02and done something else in their life.
1:05:02 > 1:05:06It felt like a death sentence, you know, more than a life sentence.
1:05:08 > 1:05:11People can judge me for the decisions I've made
1:05:11 > 1:05:14but until you've been in that position, then it's, you know,
1:05:14 > 1:05:17it's really hard to know what you would do.
1:05:17 > 1:05:21I never in my life thought I would be cooperating with the FBI.
1:05:21 > 1:05:24I always thought that I would be able to stay strong
1:05:24 > 1:05:26and stay true to my values and my beliefs,
1:05:26 > 1:05:31and, you know, I guess sometimes you aren't as strong as you think.
1:05:40 > 1:05:42So, um...
1:05:42 > 1:05:46I don't know if you're on, but can we talk off-camera for a sec?
1:05:46 > 1:05:50Daniel's lawyers have negotiated a plea bargain.
1:05:50 > 1:05:51While most of his co-defendants
1:05:51 > 1:05:54have agreed to testify against each other,
1:05:54 > 1:05:57Daniel and three others have held out for different terms.
1:05:57 > 1:06:00They'll have to take responsibility for the arson,
1:06:00 > 1:06:03but will not be forced to give information about others -
1:06:03 > 1:06:05if they accept the deal.
1:06:20 > 1:06:23Wow. You are a big guy, happy birthday.
1:06:24 > 1:06:26Everything has this overshadowing.
1:06:26 > 1:06:30This is the last of holidays, this is the last birthday party,
1:06:30 > 1:06:31the last everything.
1:06:31 > 1:06:35It's funny, he's not a big materialistic person, but he bought her a lot of gifts this year,
1:06:35 > 1:06:39and I said to him, "You don't have to go to all this trouble," and he said, uh,
1:06:39 > 1:06:43"This might be the last time I can, you know, really give her gifts, and be here," so...
1:06:43 > 1:06:45that was kinda sad.
1:06:45 > 1:06:48I don't know. He's got some serious decisions to make.
1:06:48 > 1:06:52And they suck. No matter what you choose, they suck.
1:06:55 > 1:06:57LAUGHTER
1:07:00 > 1:07:04I just feel bad that, uh... This came up in this part of his life.
1:07:06 > 1:07:13Hoping for him to make an agreement, but going to trial, I think...
1:07:13 > 1:07:16I think, with the charges against him...
1:07:16 > 1:07:18that's two life sentences.
1:07:19 > 1:07:24I don't belive in his philosophies, but, uh...
1:07:24 > 1:07:27he's my son and I love him.
1:07:45 > 1:07:49So, cool, thanks everyone for coming...
1:07:52 > 1:07:55INDISTINCT
1:07:55 > 1:07:58Um, I just wanted everyone to come so I can tell you guys
1:07:58 > 1:08:02I made my final decision on, uh, the plea bargain
1:08:02 > 1:08:07the Government offered a few weeks ago, and so, um...
1:08:07 > 1:08:11I'm going to be agreeing to this plea bargain, and court on the 9th.
1:08:13 > 1:08:14So...
1:08:15 > 1:08:19The recommended sentence on the part of the Government is eight years.
1:08:19 > 1:08:24I won't be taken into custody at sentencing. I'm going to qualify for a self-report.
1:08:24 > 1:08:27But it's a major, major important thing to them
1:08:27 > 1:08:31to say that our crime is the federal crime of terrorism.
1:08:32 > 1:08:35Even though Daniel has now accepted a plea bargain,
1:08:35 > 1:08:37a hurdle still remains.
1:08:37 > 1:08:39A federal judge must determine whether the fires qualify
1:08:39 > 1:08:42for something called the Terrorism Enhancement.
1:08:43 > 1:08:47If the judge rules that Daniel's fires were terrorism,
1:08:47 > 1:08:50Daniel could be sent to a new, ultra-restricted prison
1:08:50 > 1:08:53that was set up after 9/11 to house terrorists.
1:08:53 > 1:08:57In the media and in the courtroom, the question is debated.
1:08:57 > 1:09:00Eco-terrorism - terrorist acts by radical groups...
1:09:00 > 1:09:01Eco-terrorists.
1:09:01 > 1:09:02Eco-terrorism.
1:09:02 > 1:09:04Environmental terrorists.
1:09:04 > 1:09:08People need to question, like, this buzz word and how it's being used,
1:09:08 > 1:09:10and how it's, like, just become the new communists,
1:09:10 > 1:09:13it's become the new, you know, it's like the boogeyman,
1:09:13 > 1:09:14it's a boogeyman word,
1:09:14 > 1:09:17it's like, whoever I really disagree with is a terrorist.
1:09:17 > 1:09:21Some people have a problem with, you know, calling this terrorism,
1:09:21 > 1:09:25but when you're basically making a threat when people go home at night
1:09:25 > 1:09:29wondering if they're going to be a target, uh, that's what terrorism is.
1:09:29 > 1:09:35After the fire, for a long time, you really looked over your shoulder.
1:09:35 > 1:09:38We put alarms in our home and things like that,
1:09:38 > 1:09:41that, uh, before, we hadn't thought about.
1:09:41 > 1:09:43You know, being a New Yorker,
1:09:43 > 1:09:46with experiencing such serious terrorism first hand, it's like,
1:09:46 > 1:09:53"How are you going to call someone who sets fire to an empty building a terrorist?"
1:09:53 > 1:09:57It's just inappropriate in every way, and it's an insult.
1:10:01 > 1:10:05The word "terrorism" to me is about killing humans,
1:10:05 > 1:10:07it's about ending innocent life.
1:10:08 > 1:10:13And that is the antithesis of what these people did.
1:10:13 > 1:10:16Concern for life was a very big part
1:10:16 > 1:10:20of the plan and implementation of these actions,
1:10:20 > 1:10:23and is why no-one was ever harmed or injured in them.
1:10:24 > 1:10:301200 incidents are being accredited to the ELF and ALF in this country,
1:10:30 > 1:10:32and not a single injury or death.
1:10:32 > 1:10:36Those statistics don't happen by accident.
1:10:36 > 1:10:41Terrorist acts, under the definition in law, can vary all over the board.
1:10:41 > 1:10:44There's no requirement for purposes of terrorism
1:10:44 > 1:10:47that you physically endanger another person's life.
1:10:47 > 1:10:50I mean, you don't have to be Bonnie and Clyde to be a bank robber,
1:10:50 > 1:10:53and you don't have to be al-Qaeda to be a terrorist.
1:10:53 > 1:10:56I don't think these people are terrorists.
1:10:56 > 1:10:59I think, uh, the people and the agencies
1:10:59 > 1:11:03and the industry that they're fighting are the true terrorists.
1:11:03 > 1:11:06When you've got big timber companies coming into the Northwest,
1:11:06 > 1:11:09clear-cutting old-growth forest,
1:11:09 > 1:11:12big oil companies with their big oil spills
1:11:12 > 1:11:16that cost billions and billions and billions of dollars.
1:11:16 > 1:11:20You don't see the FBI raiding these executives' homes or anything like that,
1:11:20 > 1:11:23they aren't being threatened with life in prison.
1:11:23 > 1:11:27All they really do is just pay a fine, and move on to the next court.
1:11:27 > 1:11:32The old adage that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter is true.
1:11:33 > 1:11:36You know, if you agree with their motives... Wow.
1:11:36 > 1:11:39They're a hero. They're not a terrorist at all.
1:11:39 > 1:11:42If you disagree with their motives, then they're a terrorist.
1:11:42 > 1:11:43That's tough, OK.
1:11:43 > 1:11:46That's why it's a whole lot cleaner to deal with crimes.
1:11:46 > 1:11:48Crime, non-crime, OK?
1:11:48 > 1:11:49I'm good with that.
1:11:49 > 1:11:52I can deal with arson. Arson is a crime.
1:11:52 > 1:11:53Good, I can do that.
1:11:53 > 1:11:54Yeah.
1:11:54 > 1:11:56Is it terrorism? We'll find out.
1:12:06 > 1:12:09You know, I read a book about doing time in federal prison,
1:12:09 > 1:12:11written by a lawyer who did time,
1:12:11 > 1:12:14and I'm very, you know, getting very prepared for the whole idea,
1:12:14 > 1:12:19- but that doesn't necessarily make it any easier, you know?- I know.
1:12:22 > 1:12:26- You're not alone, even though you're in there by yourself.- I know.
1:12:35 > 1:12:37Just, um...sucks.
1:12:37 > 1:12:40Sometimes it's hard not to just look at the whole situation and go, like,
1:12:40 > 1:12:43"What the fuck? "How'd this all happen?" You know?
1:12:48 > 1:12:52'The situation with the environment, it's not getting better, it's getting worse.'
1:12:52 > 1:12:57I'm not suggesting that the path of destruction, of destroying everything, is the right path,
1:12:57 > 1:12:58but I didn't know what to do.
1:12:58 > 1:13:03It's like when you're screaming at the top of your lungs, and, like, no-one hears you.
1:13:03 > 1:13:07Like, what the hell are you supposed to say? You know? What are you supposed to do?
1:13:12 > 1:13:15Going to the courthouse?
1:13:53 > 1:13:57The judge has sentenced Mr McGowan to 84 months in prison.
1:13:57 > 1:13:59That's seven years.
1:13:59 > 1:14:02The court also imposed the Terrorism Enhancement.
1:14:02 > 1:14:05He's been branded as a terrorist in the media,
1:14:05 > 1:14:10he will be listed as a successful Government terror prosecution
1:14:10 > 1:14:12for the rest of his life
1:14:12 > 1:14:14and we are very disappointed.
1:14:14 > 1:14:17We belive it's legally wrong and factually wrong.
1:14:19 > 1:14:22Have a look at the trail here, right here.
1:14:45 > 1:14:47Oh, my God, it fell through there.
1:14:54 > 1:14:58The older I get, um, the more circumspect I become.
1:14:58 > 1:15:02And, uh, I know now that the world is not black and white.
1:15:03 > 1:15:05Um...
1:15:05 > 1:15:06It's not that simple.
1:15:07 > 1:15:11When you... When I first read about these arsons
1:15:11 > 1:15:16and became involved in the investigation of the arsons,
1:15:16 > 1:15:20you see all the damage and the harm they've done
1:15:20 > 1:15:23and the threats they made - they're not very likeable people at all.
1:15:25 > 1:15:28Once you get to know them as a human being, you...
1:15:28 > 1:15:31You start looking at their motivations,
1:15:31 > 1:15:33cos you're curious about it.
1:15:33 > 1:15:36Why did they do such a horrible thing?
1:15:36 > 1:15:39And you look at their background and you look at their childhood,
1:15:39 > 1:15:44and you look at how they have evolved from the days
1:15:44 > 1:15:48when they committed all these crimes,
1:15:48 > 1:15:54and then instead of just being a cold mugshot on a piece of paper,
1:15:54 > 1:15:57they become human beings, and so you begin to understand them,
1:15:57 > 1:15:59and that's not that you're saying
1:15:59 > 1:16:01you approve of their conduct or their behaviour,
1:16:01 > 1:16:06but you gain an understanding, an insight, as to how it came to pass
1:16:06 > 1:16:08that they started doing these things.
1:16:10 > 1:16:14And then you're curious about how their lives will end up.
1:16:14 > 1:16:17But only time will tell.
1:16:18 > 1:16:20My stomach is flipping out!
1:16:22 > 1:16:25- You OK?- No, I got it.- You sure? - I gotta be independent.
1:16:25 > 1:16:27- OK.- You're not going to be there to advise me on stuff.
1:16:43 > 1:16:45I'm in your corner.
1:16:45 > 1:16:47I know. Thanks, Dad.
1:16:50 > 1:16:51Thanks for everything.
1:16:51 > 1:16:53SHE SOBS
1:16:54 > 1:16:56I'll see you later.
1:17:32 > 1:17:34SHE SNIFFS I love you too.
1:17:40 > 1:17:41SHE SOBS
1:18:20 > 1:18:25# Take us down and all apart cherry tree
1:18:27 > 1:18:31# Lay us out on the table... #
1:18:36 > 1:18:39Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd