Eco-Arsonist Gets 6 Years in Prison

(Tacoma, Washington) Last week, a 32-year-old mother and radical greenie, Briana Waters, was sentenced to six years in prison for her part in the 2001 University of Washington arson committed by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF).

Waters, a violin teacher, is one of five activists alleged to have participated in the UW arson, which prosecutors say caused more than $6 million in damage while destroying rare plants, books and years of research.

She was convicted of two counts of arson, but not of other charges, including the use of a destructive device in a crime of violence, which carried a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence.

In discussing the case with jurors after the verdict, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Bartlett said some jurors had said their not-guilty vote on the other charges reflected their sympathy for Waters.

Waters was the first of 18 suspects indicted on charges of involvement in the Earth Liberation Front, a militant Northwest underground group that between 1996 and 2001 claimed it carried out more than a dozen acts of arson and sabotage against targets deemed a threat to the environment or animals.

Damage was estimated in the tens of millions of dollars. Targets included a slaughterhouse, timber-company headquarters and a ski lodge at Vail, Colo.

A sympathetic figure with considerable public support, Waters narrowly avoided receiving extra time for terrorism.