Incident Summary:
11/30/1997: Five members of the Animal and Earth Liberation Fronts (ALF and ELF), Jacob Ferguson, Kevin Tubbs, Josephine Overaker, William Rodgers, and Rebecca Rubin, freed horses and set arson to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wild Horse Corral near Burns, Oregon in the United States, causing over $190,000 in damages. The perpetrators placed incendiary devices at three locations in the barn and at two other locations, next to and inside a new tractor parked near the barn, then released the 500 horses, and placed different locks on the gates to the access road to block first responders from the scene. There were no casualties in the incident. A dozen horses escaped, but were subsequently recaptured, and none were injured. The BLM Horse Corral was targeted because the perpetrators had read an article about an auction of wild horses in which buyers would adopt the horses and then sell them at a higher price to slaughterhouses, so the group wanted to "help halt the BLM’s illegal and immoral business of rounding up wild horses from public lands and funneling them to slaughter," as they stated in their released communiqué, claiming responsibility for the incident.
Overview
GTD ID:
199711300011
When:
1997-11-30
Country:
United States
Region:
North America
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Oregon
City:
Near Burns
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Facility/Infrastructure Attack |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Government (General) |
Name of Entity |
Bureau of Land Management |
Specific Description |
Bureau of Land Management, Wild Horse Corrals near Burns, OR |
Nationality of Target |
United States |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
Yes |
Extent of Property Damage |
Minor (likely < $1 million) |
Value of Property Damage |
$193,098.00 |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Incendiary |
Gasoline or Alcohol |
Sabotage Equipment |
|
Weapon Details |
incendiaries |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Additional Information |
The incident occurred at about 8:00am with smoke from the arson being detected at about 8:45am. The perpetrators were part of a group calling themselves "The Family," which committed nearly 20 acts of arson and ecotage over a 6 year period. Ferguson became a government informant and witness, landing him a sentence of 2 years probation, Tubbs was sentenced to 12 years and 7 months in prison for his involvement, and Overtaker and Rubin remained fugitive. William Rodgers was initially charged by complaint in this case but committed suicide while in custody awaiting transportation back to Oregon. |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
5 |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
3 |
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
Sources
U.S. Government’s Sentencing Memorandum for CR 06-60069, CR 06-60070, CR 06-60071, CR 06-60078, CR 06-60079, CR 06-60080, CR 06-60120, CR 06-60122, CR 06-60123, CR 06-60124, CR06-60125, and CR 06-60126. U.S. District Court: District of Oregon, Eugene, 2007. |
Legal Affairs Editors, "Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front Members Sentenced in Oregon for Acts of Eco-Terrorism in Five Western States," PR Newswire Association LLC, Public Interest Services, June 5, 2007. |
"Animal-rights groups say responsible for fire," The Daily News, Bowling Green, December 7, 1997. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties