THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT
1997-2002
Copyright 2007 by Leslie James Pickering
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First Edition, 2003, Arissa Publications: New York.
Second Edition, 2007, Arissa Media Group: Portland.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2003112770
International Standard Book Number (ISBN): 0-9742884-0-3
Edited by Ariana Huemer.
Cover design by Matthew Haggett.
Printed on 100% recycled, acid-free paper.
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For
Bill Rodgers
A.K.A.
Avalon
CONTENTS
The ELF guidelines are as follows:
1) To cause as much economic damage as possible to a given entity that is profiting off the destruction of the natural environment and life for selfish greed and profit.
2) To educate the public on the atrocities committed against the environment and life.
3) To take all necessary precautions against harming life.
North American Earth Liberation Front Press Office Mission Statement
The North American Earth Liberation Front Press Office (NAELFPO) is a legal, above ground news service dedicated to exposing the political and social motives behind the covert direct actions of the ELF. The NAELFPO receives anonymous communiqus from the ELF and distributes the message to the media and the public throughout North America. The NAELFPO provides a public face ideologically in support of the ELF and similar acts of economic sabotage against those who profit from the destruction of the natural environment. The NAELFPO is contacted by the media and public internationally to provide information on the political and social motives of the ELF actions, and the tactical necessity of covert direct action. Due to the work of the NAELFPO, individuals who are looking to learn more about these issues have a place to turn, and the public who may be ignorant to the actions and motives of the ELF are exposed to more frequent and in-depth coverage in the media.
INTRODUCTION
In the summer of 1996 I joined a newly-founded organization in Portland, Oregon called Liberation Collective. The philosophical basis of the organization at that point was that all forms of institutional oppression are born of a single cause: the system. If it were not for the capitalism, racism, sexism, imperialism that the system perpetrates upon world and each one of us, then there would be no clear cuts, no vivisection, no Persian Gulf War, no Nike corporation. Our objective was linking social justice movements to end all oppression, but our methods of achieving this righteous goal, however, were not so successful. For the most part we conducted attention-getting acts of civil disobedience and protests around vivisection and various other single issues and ran information tables that looked like a haphazard collage of every liberal handbill under the sun.
During approximately the same period, a group of unknown individuals was building another organization with a similar philosophy but very different methods. When The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) took its first action in the U.S., I remember the exuberance and the resurgence of hope that raced through me and many others in the movement. I had been very interested in the underground actions of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) for a number of years, actively researched all the information I could find about the organization and even did significant fundraising for the ALF press office and support group. I imagined the potential of an organization using tactics similar to those of the ALF, but whose objectives went beyond the liberation of animals to the liberation of the entire Earth. Now, not only had this organization come into being but it also sent its first communiqu to our Liberation Collective.
Through the Liberation Collective, Craig Rosebraugh in particular handled the release of numerous ELF communiqus, from the first on November 29, 1997 until the official formation of the North American Earth Liberation Front Press Office (NAELFPO) in early 2000.
Internal conflict caused Rosebraugh, myself, and a handful of other members to leave the Liberation Collective early in 2000. Reflecting on our years with the collective, and now free to put our energy elsewhere, Rosebraugh and I concluded that the handling of ELF communiqus was extremely valuable work, and we thus founded the NAELFPO.
From the start, the NAELFPO was forced to deal with FBI raids and grand jury subpoenas, in addition to handling ELF communiqus. At first I put my energy as Press Officer into the production of ELF support literature (such as much of what is reprinted here) and organizing against ELF-related grand juries. Rosebraugh continued handling ELF communiqus more directly and dealing with the local, national and international media as an official Spokesperson. Time passed and these roles broke down, as Rosebraugh grew increasingly frustrated with the media and I reluctantly stepped in front of the cameras. By the time of the second raid on the NAELFPO on April 5, 2001, we more equally shared the duties of Press Officer and Spokesperson.
On September 5, 2001, just days before the infamous 9/11 terrorist attacks, Rosebraugh and I jointly released a stepping down statement. While in reality our reasoning for stepping down was more akin to the politics of my final resignation statement (chapter ) we decided to focus on relevant yet less pressing issues by releasing the following statement:
ELF Press Officers Step Down
Sept. 5, 2001
Portland, OR - Both Craig Rosebraugh and Leslie James Pickering have stepped down from their duties as press officers for the North American Earth Liberation Front. Both have stated that if the Earth Liberation Front is to be a viable movement, public concentrations of support must not be centered on one or two people. The two have maintained that the ELF is one of the greatest demonstrations of the power the people can have if they so desire to take it. They sincerely wish to express their gratitude to all those who have expressed some form of support over the years and to the courageous individuals that have been involved in ELF actions.
