FBI, building industry offer reward for capturing ecoterrorists
By Seattle Times staff
The Building Industry Association of Washington, the state's homebuilders lobby, yesterday offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Earth Liberation Front (ELF) members suspected of arsons and attempted arsons in Washington state.
The FBI has linked ELF, a loosely knit group that has taken aim at what it regards as "urban sprawl," to four arsons and attempted arsons in Western Washington over the past 18 months. Those include the torching of two homes under construction in Snohomish County in April 2004.
In some cases, ELF claimed responsibility for the crimes, the FBI said.
"ELF's increasingly brazen attacks on urban targets have BIAW and the FBI worried that it is only a matter of time before someone is hurt or killed by ELF terrorists," said BIAW President Lyle Fox. In Washington alone, ELF members have been responsible for nearly $8 million in property damage since 1996, he said.