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Builders Offer $100,000 Reward to Nab ELF Saboteurs
In partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, The Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) has announced that it is offering up to $100,000 for the identification of and information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals responsible for criminal acts in the state claimed by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF).
ELF is a radical environmental organization whose members utilize economic sabotage and property destruction to call attention to suburban “sprawl.” In recent years, the radical terrorists of the organization’s militia have started burning down new residential construction.
“While ELF used to spike trees and sabotage logging equipment, they’re now firebombing neighborhoods and burning down apartment complexes,” said Lyle Fox, president of the association. “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.”
While ELF has targeted cities around the country, the West Coast has been particularly hard hit.
In Washington alone, ELF terrorists have embarked upon an arson spree that has caused nearly $8 million in property damage since 1996. Much of the damage has occurred in residential developments.
California has sustained more than $53 million in damage, and Oregon has been hit with more than $3 million in losses. Nationally, ELF has claimed responsibility for acts of sabotage in 14 states that have destroyed nearly $100 million in property.
Capturing ELF terrorists in the Pacific Northwest is one of the FBI’s top priorities. Many law enforcement officials believe that some members of ELF are becoming disillusioned with the group’s increasingly violent and aggressive tactics, but they are not motivated to turn on their comrades.
Builders in Washington are hoping that offering a financial incentive to these disaffected members could provide the motivation that thus far has been lacking.
“BIAW hopes that providing the $100,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of ELF terrorists will assist the FBI in capturing these criminals,” said Fox.
The association is posting reward posters at various locations around the state.
Anyone who has information about possible ELF-related activities is being asked to contact the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force at 206-622-0460, or send an e-mail to seattle@fbi.gov.
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