William Courtney Rodgers (1965 – December 21, 2005), also known as Bill Rodgers and Avalon, was an

environmental activist The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement) is a social movement that aims to protect the natural world from harmful environmental practices in order to create sustainable living. In its recognition of humanity a ...

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

activist and a co-proprietor of the Catalyst Infoshop in

Prescott, Arizona Prescott ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona Territory, r ...

, US. He was one of six environmental activists arrested December 7, 2005 as part of the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

's Operation Backfire. His charge was one count of

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

for a June 1998 fire set by the

Earth Liberation Front The Earth Liberation Front (ELF), also known as "Elves" or "The Elves", is the collective name for Wiktionary:autonomy, autonomous individuals or covert cells who, according to the ELF Press Office, use "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to ...

(ELF) at the National Wildlife Research Center in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...

. He was found dead in his jail cell on December 21, 2005. According to police, Rodgers committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

using a plastic bag.

Biography

Before ELF

Rodgers first adopted

deep ecology Deep ecology is an environmental philosophy that promotes the inherent worth of all living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs, and argues that modern human societies should be restructured in accordance with such idea ...

style thinking and engaged in

Earth First! Earth First! is a radical environmentalism, radical Environmental movement, environmental advocacy group that originated in the Southwestern United States. It was founded in 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, Bart Koehler, and Ron K ...

activism at Mt. Graham telescope project protests of the early 1990s in Arizona. He lived out of his Toyota 4×4 as he traveled North America's wild lands and became involved in many Earth First demonstrations of that time. Rogers was one of the few long-term activists to camp out in snow caves in central Idaho's deepest wilderness during the Cove/Mallard timber sale in the winter of 1994–1995. His experiences and exposure in the backcountry must have further radicalized Rodgers beyond the civil disobedience activism of Earth First! (EF). EF style civil disobedience was at the time under consideration as possible terrorism by the US Congress in hearings of select subcommittees. Rodgers was a long-term EF activist, one of the occupation activists of the Cove / Mallard timber sale protests for years, and was one of four protesters who constantly camped out in snow-caves in the winter of January–March 1995 in 12 foot deep snow and sub-zero temps, monitoring the logging traffic on Noble Road. After witnessing the destruction of "America's Amazon Jungle", Rodgers became disenchanted with mere civil-disobedience tactics and grew more radical. He briefly secluded himself in Spring 1995 only to reappear at the Earth First 11 month-long occupation of the Warner Creek timber sale or "Free Cascadia" in Oregon. During these times, Rodgers always spoke of being a witness for the defenseless and was a peaceful presence. While participating in the occupation of Warner Creek Oregon, Rodgers first met Jacob Ferguson aka "Donut", the man who years later turned FBI informant against this cell of Earth Liberation Front activists to avoid prison time for heroin possession. Ironically, Rodgers openly debated with other radical environmentalists against the effectiveness of targeted property destruction operations, during the mid-1990s.

ELF and later

Between 1996 and 2001 the ELF cell Rodgers was involved in is alleged to have started fifteen fires across the West. Rodgers wrote an article for the Earth First Journal about how drug abuse was sapping the will & strength of the environmental movement as activists got depressed and sought solace from the emotional pain by smoking marijuana or drinking heavily. After an action involving burning SUVs in March 2001, the Police become suspicious of ELF cell member Ferguson. Rodgers, worried of getting caught and tired of infighting, moved to Prescott, Arizona. In 2004, Rodgers co-founded the Catalyst Infoshop with Katie Rose Nelson.

Arrest and death

Rodgers was arrested in an FBI raid on December 7, 2005, at the Catalyst Infoshop. The FBI were working on information provided by Ferguson, an informer from the same ELF cell as Rodgers. Rodgers wrote a

suicide note A suicide note or death note is a message written by a person who intends to die by suicide. A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depend on ethnic ...

which he mailed to a number of his friends:

Government claims

The FBI has claimed that Rodgers was a criminal "mastermind" and the anonymous author of ''Setting Fire with Electrical Timers, an Earth Liberation Front Guide'', which explained in detail how to create an

incendiary device Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires. They may destroy structures or sensitive equipment using fire, and sometimes operate as anti-personnel weapon, anti-personnel ...

known as a "cat's cradle". Authorities said that once the guide was published they no longer were able to tell with certainty when the ELF cell connected to Rodgers was responsible for an arson.

Continuing influence

Rodgers has had a continuing impact on various anarchist and radical environmentalist movements. A number of acts have been dedicated to his memory. Among these have been the removal of 28 beagle puppies from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the Independent University of Madrid and the burning of a partially constructed development in

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada.Anti-Sprawl ELF Action in Memory of William Rodgers
, ''Mostly Water'', 10 February 2006.

References

External links

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Tales of Passion and Conviction
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, William C. 1965 births Earth Liberation Front American animal rights activists American environmentalists 2005 suicides 2005 deaths People from Prescott, Arizona Deaths in police custody in the United States Suicides by asphyxiation