Incident Summary:

5/30/1989: Two members of the Evan Mecham Eco-Terrorist International Conspiracy group, Mark Leslie Davis and Marc Andre Baker, were arrested as they attempted to cut through a metal support tower which held electric lines delivering electricity to the Harcuvar Substation near Wenden, Arizona in the United States. The two were trying to cut down the power line using a propane torch, similar to their previous incidents of terrorism in 1987 and 1988 at the Flagstaff, Arizona ski lifts and the power lines at the Grand Canyon, Arizona. The power pole was owned by the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Harcuvar Substation owned by the Central Arizona Project (CAP), which was the main source of water supply for Arizona. The perpetrators were arrested as they were at the location, about to carry out the attack, and thus, authorities believe much potential damage to the substation was prevented.

GTD ID:
198905300021

When:
1989-05-30

Country:
United States

Region:
North America

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Arizona

City:
Wenden

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Facility/Infrastructure Attack
Successful Attack? (more) No
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Government (General)
Name of Entity US Department of Energy
Specific Description power pole owned by the US Department of Energy
Nationality of Target United States
Target Type: Utilities
Name of Entity Harcuvar Substation owned by the Central Arizona Project (CAP)
Specific Description power poles providing electricity to the Harcuvar Substation, owned by the Central Arizona Project (CAP), which is the main source of water supply for Arizona
Nationality of Target United States
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage No
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Sabotage Equipment
Weapon Details
propane (acetylene) torch
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?No
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Additional Information The perpetrators were charged with destruction of an energy facility, and they, along with two other members of the group, Margaret "Peggy" Katherine Millett and David Foreman (also arrested), were charged with conspiracy to sabotage a nuclear facility in their plots to sabotage three nuclear facilities in California, Arizona, and Colorado. It remains unclear if this group was an offshoot of Earth First!
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Evan Mecham Eco-Terrorist International Conspiracy (EMETIC) No
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators 2
Number of Captured Perpetrators 2
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 0 Fatalities / 0 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 0
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured 0
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
FBI, "Terrorism in the United States: 1989," Terrorist Research and Analytical Center, Counterterrorism Section, Criminal Investigative Division, 1989.
"Four Environmentalists Arrested on Nuclear Sabotage Charges," The Associated Press, May 31, 1989.