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Extremist groups change tactics and begin targeting individualsBy Doug Rich The good news is that the current threat to our food supply from extremists groups in the U.S. is considered to be low at this time. The bad news is they have changed their tactics and are now targeting individuals instead of university labs and large companies. This comes from a report by Brenda Sinko with the Domestic Terrorism Operations Unit at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Sinko presented a report on threats posed by domestic terrorist groups and animal rights groups during the International Symposium on Agroterrorism. "The FBI has no investigative interest in individuals advocating or conducting lawful first amendment activities," Sinko said, " only those individuals who resort to criminal activities in the furtherance of social or political goals." Two groups in the U.S. that fit this definition are the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). These groups formed in the United Kingdom and then migrated to the U.S. Sinko said the animal rights movement is a little older, having started in the late 1970s. The first ALF claim in this country was in 1979 when they took responsibility for an animal release at a New York University. "The environmental movement is a couple of decades behind, but we do see a lot of crossover in the ideology," Sinko said. They have no formal structure but have more of a cellular network. Each cell operates on its own, most of the time. At times, cells within these groups operate and make claims under different names such as Nighttime Gardner, Genetic Joker, and the Strawberry Liberation Front. The last group destroyed a crop of genetically modified strawberries. ALF and ELF morphed together for several years in this country and made a joint claim in 1993. Sinko said both groups claimed an arson fire at a University in Wisconsin. "We also see a crossover with the anarchist movement which has similar ideology, especially on the environmental side," Sinko said. Sinko said anarchist groups are a little more violent. So far, ALF and ELF crimes have not resulted in injury or death. The crossover of ALF, ELF and the anarchist groups can be seen in the fact that they use similar devices. Traditionally, ALF has targeted fur farms, fur retailers, university research labs and fast food restaurants. Sinko said in the last five years they have added pharmaceutical companies to their list. "The last two years the poultry industry has attracted their interest," Sinko said. ELF has targeted genetically engineered crops and the logging industry. In the last few years, they have turned their attention to new home construction, particularly large luxury homes, and sport utility vehicles. Arson and vandalism are common actions by these groups. Extremist groups have used different tactics over the years. This includes the "snatch and grab" event where they rush into an office, terrorize the employees, damage computers, and steal information about the company. Sinko said these attacks are done quickly before police can respond to the event. ALF has been known for liberating animals back into the wild from research facilities and slaughter facilities. "Sadly, many of these liberated animals die in the wild because they were raised in captivity," Sinko said. "They are not very liberated for very long." In the past, ALF has made an effort to not release infected animals. Sinko said the possibility exists that infected animals could unintentionally be released. "In the last two years the number of arsons have declined, but at the same time, the number of threats to individuals have increased," Sinko said. As university labs and companies responded to attacks on their facilities with beefed up security, the extremist groups changed their tactics and began to focus on secondary targets. These targets included individual researchers, customers of a particular company, suppliers to university labs, or people with financial connections to these entities. The most recent tactic has been to claim that they have tampered with finished food products. In December 2006, an extremist claimed to have tampered with 500 bottles of fruit juices. To date no evidence has been found to support these claims. However, just the claim of tampering has been enough to disrupt sales and to convince companies to change their business practices. In May 2001, extremists targeted a poplar tree farm in Oregon and on the same day they targeted a horticulture center in Washington state. This sort of orchestrated effort is rare. In 2005, 18 people were indicted in connection with these events. In January 2006, the FBI disrupted a cell associated with ELF in California that was talking about targeting a U.S Forest Service facility with an improvised explosive device. Three people were arrested in connection with this event. Sinko said interest in genetically modified crops has dropped off at this time. The FBI expects university laboratories to remain a target and that food tampering claims will continue.
Doug Rich can be reached by phone at 785-749-5304 or by e-mail at richhpj. 5/19/08 Date: 5/15/08
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