Three arrested on informant’s evidence before alleged eco-sabotage occurred.
In January, three people in their twenties were arrested in California for allegedly planning to sabotage a power station, cell-phone tower, and a US Forest Service facility.
A press release from U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott states Zachary Jenson, 20, of Monroe, WA, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of conspiracy and agreed to testify against his friend and alleged co-conspirator, Eric McDavid, age 28. Jenson will be sentenced October 3rd, and may be freed on bail Friday.
Lauren Weiner, 23, made the same deal in May. She is now free pending her sentencing hearing August 8.
The FBI accused the three of planning the sabotage in the name of the Earth Liberation Front, an underground network that targets developers, logging companies, and government agencies that destroy wilderness and wildlife habitat.
Associated Press reports:
Three days before their arrests, the three allegedly scouted the Nimbus Dam and nearby fish hatchery on the American River near Sacramento, and the Forest Service’s Institute of Forest Genetics near Placerville.
They didn’t know an undercover FBI informant had infiltrated the group. The FBI secretly rented a cabin for the group in Dutch Flat, outside Auburn, and wired the building for audio and video surveillance.
Jenson and Weiner have named McDavid as the supposed ringleader.
McDavid remains in custody at the Sacramento County jail, where he has resorted to hunger strikes in order to receive vegan meals. His supporters say he has been held in a Total Separation Unit, meaning that he spends almost all his time alone in a solitary cell.
Earth Liberation Prisoners Support Network, an advocacy group “supporting all who do not compromise in defense of Mother Earth,” lists both McDavid and Jenson on its website, but its policy states “we DO NOT support people that provide information to law enforcement or snitch on allies or co-defendants.” Prisoners who testify against others are dropped from the support list.
A paid FBI infiltrator known as “Anna” is responsible for the bulk of the evidence against Jenson, Weiner and McDavid. She provided the funds to rent a house for the group near Auburn, California, which was wired to record the conversations inside.
The FBI admits “Anna” was involved in gathering evidence on 12 other anarchists. Once it was known an infiltrator was at work, activists compared notes and pinpointed a young woman who joined in a number of public protests and organizing gatherings in 2005, including Bio-Democracy in Philadelphia, an anti-OAS gathering in Miami, the Crimethinc convergence in Indiana, and the Feral Visions gathering near Asheville, NC.
“Anna” is now reported to be living in Iowa with another group of environmental activists.
“She was always asking about ALF actions locally,” an anonymous commenter wrote on Infoshop.org last month.
Other anonymous activists have posted photos of “Anna” taken at public demonstrations in 2005.
