University of Washington firebombing incident
Encyclopedia
The University of Washington firebombing incident was an arson
which took place in the early morning hours of May 21, 2001 when a firebomb
was set off at Merill Hall, a part of the University of Washington's
Center for Urban Horticulture, causing an estimated $1.5 to $4.1 million in damages. As of mid-2011, three of five accused conspirators in the attack had admitted to prosecutors their guilt and agreed to cooperate with further investigations. A fourth committed suicide in federal detention while awaiting trial. Justin Solondz, who the government alleges was the leader of the attack, was in jail in China on an unrelated drug charge and scheduled to face trial when he returns home.
The Earth Liberation Front
claimed responsibility for the fire ten days after it transpired. Activists Lacey Phillabaum, Jennifer Kolar, Bill Rodgers
, Briana Waters and Justin Solondz are alleged by authorities to have been the individuals who specifically perpetrated the arson, and to have further been part of an ELF cell known as "the Family" which engaged in other destructive actions throughout the Pacific Northwest.
The motivation for the arson was rooted in suspicions by the ELF that Professor Bradshaw, a plant geneticist, was engaging in experiments funded by the industry to produce genetically-engineered trees. In their statement, the ELF claimed that "Bradshaw... continues to unleash mutant genes into the environment that is certain to cause irreversible harm to forest ecosystems... As long as universities continue to pursue this reckless 'science,' they run the risk of suffering severe losses. Our message remains clear, we are determined to stop genetic engineering."
Bradshaw states that while he had considered doing genetic research, at the time he was doing experiments on transgenetic tissue samples from poplar trees
, a fast-growth species which he hopes could conceivably be used to reduce the need to log natural forests if raised privately on plantations to produce pulp. Bradshaw was quoted in the University of Washington alumni magazine as saying, "I have never genetically engineered a tree, much less released one into the environment," and further explained that of the eighty samples of poplar he had been working with since 1995, none had ever left the laboratory.
The office of professor Bradshaw contained little in the way of actual research material relating to the poplar trees, and the bulk of what was destroyed in the office fire turned out to be Bradshaw's personal possessions and books. The fire did, however, destroy research materials relating to plant regeneration on Mount St. Helens
after the volcanic eruption, materials relating to the restoration of wetlands and prairies, and a cache of stickweed plants which were intended to be transplanted to the Cascade Mountains to replenish dwindling wild stocks.
With little of his research damaged, Bradshaw affirmed that he would continue his research in the face of the attack. He wrote in a letter to the Los Angeles Times
that, "ELF firebombings are hate crimes against those of us whose missions in life are to increase human knowledge and bring a sense of wonder to the classes we teach."
A new horticultural center was later rebuilt in 2004, costing approximately $7.2 million dollars.
Journal, and the narrator of a documentary film Breaking the Spell
, plead guilty on October 4, 2006, along with Jennifer Kolar, to her role in the arson. Both women made an agreement to assist prosecutors in exchange for reduced sentences.
Phillabaum admitted to being on scene during in the arson, whereas Kolar confessed only to using a knife to cut through the window to Bradshaw's office.
Both women have since been the target of derision by other activists.
in his jail cell in Flagstaff, Arizona by asphyxiating himself with a plastic bag.
, was convicted of involvement in the crime in 2008 and admitted her involvement in a 2011 plea deal. The original conviction was vacated by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on September 15, 2010. The appeals court found that prosecutors in the original trial were improperly allowed to introduce a folder of anarchist literature that Waters was said to have given to another participant in the bombing. Judge A. Wallace Tashima stated that the articles' "repugnant and self-absorbed embrace of destruction is likely to have swayed jurors' emotions."
In June 2011, while awaiting a retrial, Water's entered a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. She admitted to charges of conspiracy and arson in the firebombing incident and to involvement in a separate 2001 arson at the Litchfield Wild Burro and Horse Corrals in Susanville, California. She also agreed to provide testimony against other alleged conspirators if called upon by the government. In exchange, prosecutors said they would recommend that she not serve any more time in prison, given she provides full and complete cooperation with ongoing investigations. Any additional time in prison will ultimately be determined by a federal judge.
At her original trial she was charged with two counts of arson, one count of conspiracy and two charges relating to the use of a destructive device in a crime of violence. She pleaded innocent to all the chargers, Waters was found guilty of the two arson counts by a Tacoma jury on March 6, 2008 and was sentenced at that time to six years in a federal prison and to pay $6 million in restitution by U.S. District Court Judge Franklin D. Burgess
.
In her 2011 plea deal, Water's admitted to "arson, conspiracy to use a destructive device, possessing an unregistered destructive device and the use of an explosive device in a crime of violence." She also admitted to perjury when she declared her innocence while under oath at her 2008 trial. Waters agreed to testify against Justin Solondz, who is expected to be returned home for trial by China in the late summer. The State of California agreed not to press charges in the Litchfield arson contingent on her full cooperation with federal prosecutors.
During Waters' trial, her defense attorneys Robert Bloom and Neil Fox
contested the testimony of Kolar and Phillabaum and sought to have U.S. assistant Attorney Andrew Friedman removed for the case for misconduct in creating a misleading summary. They failed in that attempt.
in 2006, and was eventually arrested in Dali, China
on charges of growing marijuana. He pled guilty to manufacturing drugs in a daylong trial in September 2009, and was sentenced to three years in prison by a local court. It is assumed that he will be deported back to the U.S. to face charges there after his term has been completed.
Federal authorities claim that Solondz assisted in the construction of the incendiary devices used in the bombing and that he was also involved in arsons in Oregon
and California
, totaling $5 million in damages (University of Washington firebombing included).
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
which took place in the early morning hours of May 21, 2001 when a firebomb
Firebomb
Firebomb may refer to:* Firebombing* Incendiary device* Molotov cocktail* A season 2 episode of the television show Alias* "Fire Bomb", a song by Rihanna from her 2009 album Rated R...
was set off at Merill Hall, a part of the University of Washington's
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
Center for Urban Horticulture, causing an estimated $1.5 to $4.1 million in damages. As of mid-2011, three of five accused conspirators in the attack had admitted to prosecutors their guilt and agreed to cooperate with further investigations. A fourth committed suicide in federal detention while awaiting trial. Justin Solondz, who the government alleges was the leader of the attack, was in jail in China on an unrelated drug charge and scheduled to face trial when he returns home.
Arson and investigation
At some point in the early morning hours of May 21, 2001, a device, which consisted of a digital alarm clock wired to a 9-volt battery and a model-rocket igniter was placed in a filing cabinet in the offices of professor Toby Bradshaw. Tubs of gasoline were then placed near the cabinet, and the timer on the firebomb was set. Around 3:00 AM, a university security officer reported seeing "billowing smoke and flames" rising from the horticultural center's roof and the fire department was summoned. It took firefighters two hours to put out the conflagration, after which it was found that the office in which the blaze started was burnt down to the studs and significant damage had been done to the central hall of the building as well as several botany labs.The Earth Liberation Front
Earth Liberation Front
The Earth Liberation Front , also known as "Elves" or "The Elves", is the collective name for autonomous individuals or covert cells who, according to the ELF Press Office, use "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to stop the exploitation and destruction of the environment".The ELF was founded...
claimed responsibility for the fire ten days after it transpired. Activists Lacey Phillabaum, Jennifer Kolar, Bill Rodgers
William C. Rodgers
Bill Rodgers a.k.a. Avalon , co-proprietor of the Catalyst Infoshop in Prescott, Arizona, USA, was one of six environmental activists arrested December 7, 2005 as part of the FBI's Operation Backfire...
, Briana Waters and Justin Solondz are alleged by authorities to have been the individuals who specifically perpetrated the arson, and to have further been part of an ELF cell known as "the Family" which engaged in other destructive actions throughout the Pacific Northwest.
The motivation for the arson was rooted in suspicions by the ELF that Professor Bradshaw, a plant geneticist, was engaging in experiments funded by the industry to produce genetically-engineered trees. In their statement, the ELF claimed that "Bradshaw... continues to unleash mutant genes into the environment that is certain to cause irreversible harm to forest ecosystems... As long as universities continue to pursue this reckless 'science,' they run the risk of suffering severe losses. Our message remains clear, we are determined to stop genetic engineering."
Bradshaw states that while he had considered doing genetic research, at the time he was doing experiments on transgenetic tissue samples from poplar trees
Poplar
Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....
, a fast-growth species which he hopes could conceivably be used to reduce the need to log natural forests if raised privately on plantations to produce pulp. Bradshaw was quoted in the University of Washington alumni magazine as saying, "I have never genetically engineered a tree, much less released one into the environment," and further explained that of the eighty samples of poplar he had been working with since 1995, none had ever left the laboratory.
The office of professor Bradshaw contained little in the way of actual research material relating to the poplar trees, and the bulk of what was destroyed in the office fire turned out to be Bradshaw's personal possessions and books. The fire did, however, destroy research materials relating to plant regeneration on Mount St. Helens
Mount St. Helens
Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is south of Seattle, Washington and northeast of Portland, Oregon. Mount St. Helens takes its English name from the British diplomat Lord St Helens, a...
after the volcanic eruption, materials relating to the restoration of wetlands and prairies, and a cache of stickweed plants which were intended to be transplanted to the Cascade Mountains to replenish dwindling wild stocks.
With little of his research damaged, Bradshaw affirmed that he would continue his research in the face of the attack. He wrote in a letter to the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
that, "ELF firebombings are hate crimes against those of us whose missions in life are to increase human knowledge and bring a sense of wonder to the classes we teach."
A new horticultural center was later rebuilt in 2004, costing approximately $7.2 million dollars.
Operation Backfire
The investigation into the incident was eventually merged into an FBI-led affair known as Operation Backfire which also covered six other investigations into radical environmentalist activity.Lacey Phillabaum and Jennifer Kolar
Lacey Phillabaum, a former editor of Earth First!Earth First!
Earth First! is a radical environmental advocacy group that emerged in the Southwestern United States in 1979. It was co-founded on April 4th, 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, and less directly, Bart Koehler and Ron Kezar....
Journal, and the narrator of a documentary film Breaking the Spell
Breaking the Spell (film)
Breaking the Spell is a 1999 anarchist documentary, directed by Tim Lewis, Tim Ream, and Sir Chuck A. Rock.Using amateur camera footage recorded by protesters at the scene of the 1999 WTO riots, it documents the riot from the perspective of the anarchists, their opinions of fellow protesters, local...
, plead guilty on October 4, 2006, along with Jennifer Kolar, to her role in the arson. Both women made an agreement to assist prosecutors in exchange for reduced sentences.
Phillabaum admitted to being on scene during in the arson, whereas Kolar confessed only to using a knife to cut through the window to Bradshaw's office.
Both women have since been the target of derision by other activists.
Bill Rodgers
Bill Rodgers, considered by the FBI to have been a significant organizer within ELF, was alleged to have helped set the fire bombs inside the horticulture center. He was taken into custody on December 7, 2005 and was subsequently charged with one count of arson, relating to a 1998 fire. He later committed suicideSuicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
in his jail cell in Flagstaff, Arizona by asphyxiating himself with a plastic bag.
Briana Waters
Briana Waters, a violin teacher and the director of the environmental documentary WatchWatch (film)
Watch is a 2001 documentary written, directed and produced by environmental activist Briana Waters, who is currently serving a six year sentence for charges relating to the University of Washington firebombing incident...
, was convicted of involvement in the crime in 2008 and admitted her involvement in a 2011 plea deal. The original conviction was vacated by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on September 15, 2010. The appeals court found that prosecutors in the original trial were improperly allowed to introduce a folder of anarchist literature that Waters was said to have given to another participant in the bombing. Judge A. Wallace Tashima stated that the articles' "repugnant and self-absorbed embrace of destruction is likely to have swayed jurors' emotions."
In June 2011, while awaiting a retrial, Water's entered a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. She admitted to charges of conspiracy and arson in the firebombing incident and to involvement in a separate 2001 arson at the Litchfield Wild Burro and Horse Corrals in Susanville, California. She also agreed to provide testimony against other alleged conspirators if called upon by the government. In exchange, prosecutors said they would recommend that she not serve any more time in prison, given she provides full and complete cooperation with ongoing investigations. Any additional time in prison will ultimately be determined by a federal judge.
At her original trial she was charged with two counts of arson, one count of conspiracy and two charges relating to the use of a destructive device in a crime of violence. She pleaded innocent to all the chargers, Waters was found guilty of the two arson counts by a Tacoma jury on March 6, 2008 and was sentenced at that time to six years in a federal prison and to pay $6 million in restitution by U.S. District Court Judge Franklin D. Burgess
Franklin D. Burgess
Franklin D. "Frank" Burgess was an African American standout college basketball player and, later, a United States federal judge.-Early life:Burgess was born in Eudora, Arkansas...
.
In her 2011 plea deal, Water's admitted to "arson, conspiracy to use a destructive device, possessing an unregistered destructive device and the use of an explosive device in a crime of violence." She also admitted to perjury when she declared her innocence while under oath at her 2008 trial. Waters agreed to testify against Justin Solondz, who is expected to be returned home for trial by China in the late summer. The State of California agreed not to press charges in the Litchfield arson contingent on her full cooperation with federal prosecutors.
During Waters' trial, her defense attorneys Robert Bloom and Neil Fox
Neil Fox
Neil Andrew Howe Fox is an English DJ and TV presenter, known for many years as Dr. Fox before he became "Foxy" in the 2000s. He is now known simply as "Neil Fox". He is not to be mistaken for Conservative MP Liam Fox who is also known as Dr. Fox...
contested the testimony of Kolar and Phillabaum and sought to have U.S. assistant Attorney Andrew Friedman removed for the case for misconduct in creating a misleading summary. They failed in that attempt.
Justin Solondz
Justin Franchi Solondz, who previously dated Briana Waters while attending Evergreen State College at the time of the arson, evaded charges for several years. He was indicted for arson and conspiracy in absentiaIn absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
in 2006, and was eventually arrested in Dali, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
on charges of growing marijuana. He pled guilty to manufacturing drugs in a daylong trial in September 2009, and was sentenced to three years in prison by a local court. It is assumed that he will be deported back to the U.S. to face charges there after his term has been completed.
Federal authorities claim that Solondz assisted in the construction of the incendiary devices used in the bombing and that he was also involved in arsons in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, totaling $5 million in damages (University of Washington firebombing included).