Eco-arsonists protest comparison to KKK
Jeff Barnard, Associated Press
Published May 16, 2007 at midnight
EUGENE, Ore. - Defense attorneys expressed outrage Tuesday when federal prosecutors compared 10 Earth Liberation Front arsonists who are awaiting sentencing to Ku Klux Klan arsonists.
"I cannot sit idly by and hear what these defendants did be compared to acts of the Ku Klux Klan burning empty churches," defense attorney Amanda Lee said in federal court.
The six men and four women, branded eco-terrorists, have pleaded guilty to charges related to 20 fires set in five Western states from 1996 to 2001 that caused $40 million of damage.
Targets included the Vail ski resort, wild horse corrals, National Forest ranger stations, meat packing plants, research laboratories, lumber company offices and a tree farm.
The 10 are to be sentenced starting next week.
Federal prosecutors asked Judge Ann Aiken that a so-called terrorism enhancement be added to their sentences.
"This is a classic case of terrorism, despite their protests of lofty humane goals," Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Peifer said. "It was pure luck no one was killed or injured by their actions. If that is (humane), then the Ku Klux Klan did not commit terrorism."
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