A.L.F. Informant Jacob Ferguson Speaks

Posted by Peter Young | 0 comments

Jacob Ferguson – core member of the A.L.F. / E.L.F. cell responsible for over a dozen large-scale arsons in the 90’s and early 2000’s – breaks his silence on this recent CNN clip. After turning informant, Ferguson wore a wire and approached old friends about previous arsons. This testimony was used to send over 10 people to prison, and sparked others to live underground as fugitives to this day.

Taking a revisionist view of history, Ferguson claims that when his cell was active they considered themselves a “terrorist cell” – a doubtful rewrite of history to pander to the interviewer, audience, and FBI. Ferguson is also strikingly inarticulate, casting into doubt his alleged role by the FBI as a charismatic ringleader charming young environmentalists into carrying out arsons on behalf of the Earth. The clearly not-vegan Ferguson has also gained easily 100+ pounds since earlier photos taken of him (Ferguson once joked to a Rolling Stone reporter that during a raid of a lab, his partners in the action, which he called “the vegans” were too weak to carry out the raid effectively).

When watching the video, you may wonder as I do how one person can betray so many he stood by, and the animals he once stood in defense of. A glimpse into the mind of the most egregious turncoat in the animal liberation movement’s history.

Peter Young

*****

A list of actions attributed to Ferguson and his cell (mostly E.L.F. actions). This list does not include non-arson actions Ferguson confessed to, such as the release of 5,000 mink in Franklin, ID in 1997, and the liberation of 46 dogs from a lab in Orange, CA, in 1999.

• Oct. 28, 1996: arson and vandalism at the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Detroit Ranger Station in Marion County, Ore. Minor damage.

• July 21, 1997: arson at the Cavel West meat-packing company in Redmond, Ore. Damage: more than $1 million.

• Nov. 30, 1997: arson at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Facility in Harney County, Ore. Damage: $474,000.

• June 21, 1998: arson at the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Wildlife Facility in Olympia. Damage: about $1.2 million.

• Oct. 11, 1998: attempted arson and vandalism at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse Holding Facility in Rock Springs, Wyo. Minor damage.

• Oct. 19, 1998: arson at the Vail Ski Facility in Vail, Colo. Damage: $12 million.

• Oct. 30, 1998: arson at the USFS Oakridge Ranger Station in Lane County, Ore. Damage: $5.3 million

• Dec. 27, 1998: arson at the U.S. Forest Industries in Jackson County, Ore. Damage: $500,000.

• May 9, 1999: arson at the Childers Meat Company in Lane County, Ore.. Damage: estimated at $1.2 million.

• Dec. 25, 1999: arson at the Boise Cascade office in Polk County, Ore.. Damage: about $1 million.

• Dec. 30, 1999: toppling of a Bonneville Power Administration high-tension power-line tower near Bend, Ore.

• Sept. 6, 2000: firebombs thrown at the Eugene Police Department West University Public Safety Station. Minor damage.

• Jan. 2, 2001: arson at the Superior Lumber Company in Douglas County, Ore. Damage: $1 million.

• March 30, 2001: arson at Joe Romania Chevrolet Truck Center in Eugene. Damage: $1 million.

• May 21, 2001: arson at the Jefferson Poplar Farms in Columbia County, Ore. Damage: more than $1 million.

• May 21, 2001: arson at the University of Washington Horticultural Center in Seattle. Damage: between $1.5 million and $2 million.

• Oct. 15, 2001: arson at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse Facility in Litchfield, Calif. Damage: about $85,000

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