The Green Scare is legal action by the

US government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, execut ...

against the radical

environmental movement 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 ...

, that occurred mostly in the 2000s. It alludes to the

Red Scare A Red Scare is a form of moral panic provoked by fear of the rise of left-wing ideologies in a society, especially communism and socialism. Historically, red scares have led to mass political persecution, scapegoating, and the ousting of thos ...

s, periods of fear over

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

infiltration of US society. The term was popularized by

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 ...

s. It is first known to have appeared in the wake of the February 12, 2002 congressional hearings titled "The Threat of Eco-Terrorism", which discussed groups including 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) and the

Animal Liberation Front The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is a Far-left politics, far-left international, Leaderless resistance, leaderless, decentralized movement that emerged in Britain in the 1970s, evolving from the Bands of Mercy. It operates without a formal lead ...

(ALF). The spring edition of the

prisoner support Prisoner support encompasses a variety of activities aimed a providing assistance to prisoners, particularly political prisoners. Many programs devoted to this purpose have quite limited resources; for instance, Nottingham Black Prisoner Support, w ...

zine A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

''Spirit of Freedom'' defined the term as "the tactics that the US government and all their tentacles (

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 ...

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

, BATF,

Joint Terrorism Task Force A Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) is an American locally-based multi-agency partnership between various federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies tasked with investigating terrorism and terrorism-related crimes, led by the Federal Burea ...

s, local police, the court system) are using to attack the ELF/ALF and specifically those who publicly support them." The term has been used by activists to describe a sweep of arrests, convictions and

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

indictments of ELF and ALF operatives on charges relating to acts of

property damage Property damage (sometimes called damage to property) is the damage or destruction of real or tangible personal property, caused by negligence, willful destruction, or an act of nature. Destruction of property (sometimes called property de ...

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

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 ...

and use of

destructive device In the United States, a destructive device is a type of firearm or explosive device regulated by the National Firearms Act of 1934, revised by the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 and Gun Control Act of 1968. Examples of des ...

s.Federal Bureau of Investigation - Press Room - Headline Archives - Eco-Terror Indictments

Origin of the phrase

Journalist Will Potter first notably used the term 'Green Scare' in his publication ''Green is the New Red''.

Cases

Since 2000, the

has prosecuted over 20 cases involving

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

s, which '' Los Angeles CityBeat'' claims "redefined not only free speech, but also redefined environmentally motivated property destruction - like torching

Hummer Hummer (stylized in all caps) is an American brand of Pickup truck, pickups launched in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. Although discontinued in 2010, Hummer returned as a model under GMC (automob ...

s or tree-felling equipment." Dean Kuipers, , '' Los Angeles CityBeat'', 3 May 2007, These arrests, indictments and trials, which have collectively been termed the ''Green Scare'' by

s, include:

Individuals

Rod Coronado, a prominent Native American eco-anarchist associated with the

, who was arrested on a felony charge of demonstrating the use of a destructive device. His indictment indirectly related to an August 1, 2003 fire in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

that destroyed an apartment complex causing an estimated $50 million worth of damage. Coronado, a self-described "unofficial ELF spokesman", stood trial in 2007. After two days of deliberations, the jury remained deadlocked so the judge declared a mistrial.Hoffman, Alison
"Mistrial Declared for Environmentalist"
Associated Press, September 19, 2007. Retrieved September 20, 2007. He subsequently entered a guilty plea and accepted a deal for a one-year prison term. Jeff "Free" Luers, a veganarchist from

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, who served a prison sentence of almost ten years for

. His initial sentence was over 22 years, but the

Oregon Court of Appeals The Oregon Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court in the US state of Oregon. Part of the Oregon Judicial Department, it has thirteen judges and is located in Salem. Except for death penalty cases, which are reserved to the O ...

overturned it, and the Lane County Circuit Court determined a new sentence of 10 years in February 2008, after what ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' described as an "international campaign for a more appropriate sentence for a crime in which no one was hurt." In 2000 he set fire to three SUVs at Romania Chevrolet dealership in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

as a protest against excessive consumption and

global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

. He has become a

cause célèbre A ( , ; pl. ''causes célèbres'', pronounced like the singular) is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning, and heated public debate. The term is sometimes used positively for celebrated legal cases for th ...

among some radicals, anti-prison activists, and people associated with the Earth Liberation Front, although Luers has said that he does not consider himself an ELF member. Upon his resentencing, Judge Billings said that he expected Luers would be treated as an "elder statesman" among some activists, and hoped that Luers would use that influence in a productive way. Luers declared that he was looking forward to "promoting activism through legal means." Christopher McIntosh, who was sentenced to eight years in prison for setting fire to a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

restaurant in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

in January, 2003. McIntosh admitted guilt as part of a

plea agreement A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include ...

, in which the prosecution said they would not ask that he spend more than ten years in prison. Supporters criticized the sentence as excessive "for someone who caused $5,000 damage". Prosecutors argued it was important to "protect the public" from some one who expressed no remorse, saying McIntosh was "proud of his crime, and, given the chance, he would do the same thing again."

Peter Daniel Young Peter Daniel Young is an American animal rights activist. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in 1998 on charges related to fur farm raids in Iowa, South Dakota, and Wisconsin in 1997. He was in hiding for seven years, before being arrested i ...

and a friend, Justin Samuel, were indicted by a federal grand jury in September 1998 on four charges of "Extortion by Interfering with Interstate Commerce" and two charges of "Animal Enterprise Terrorism". They released over 8,000 animals from various fur farms in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and disposed of the breeding records at each farm. Samuel was arrested on September 4, 1999 in Belgium and was extradited to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to face trial. He agreed to cooperate with the government in exchange for a reduced sentence of two years. Young was arrested in San Jose,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

on March 21, 2005 on charges of

shoplifting Shoplifting (also known as shop theft, shop fraud, retail theft, or retail fraud) is the theft of goods from a retail establishment during business hours. The terms ''shoplifting'' and ''shoplifter'' are not usually defined in law, and genera ...

from a local

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

and was extradited to Wisconsin to face trial for the fur farm raids. He was sentenced to two years in federal prison; 360 hours of community service at a charity; $254,000 restitution; and one year probation.

Groups

SHAC 7, six

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 ...

activists, who were found guilty of using their website to incite threats,

harassment Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and ...

, vandalism and attacks against the company

Huntingdon Life Sciences Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) was a contract research organisation (CRO) organized in Maryland and headquartered in East Millstone, New Jersey. It was founded in 1951 in Cambridgeshire, England. It had two laboratories in the United Kingdom a ...

and their business partners. Originally seven individuals were charged, leading sympathizers to describe the defendants as the ''SHAC 7'', but the case against one of the defendants was dropped.

Pamelyn Ferdin Pamelyn Ferdin (born February 4, 1959) is an American animal rights activist and former actress. Ferdin's acting career was primarily during the 1960s and 1970s, though she appeared in projects sporadically in the 1980s and later years. She beg ...

, the current president of SHAC USA, told the jury that "for the government to say you can't say this and you can't say that is going down a very scary path of going toward

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

." However, the US Attorney's Office described the convicts as "thugs who went far beyond protected speech and lawful protest to engage in and incite intimidation, harassment and violence." The judge sentenced the individuals to an aggregate of 24 years in prison, and ordered to pay a joint

restitution Restitution and unjust enrichment is the field of law relating to gains-based recovery. In contrast with damages (the law of compensation), restitution is a claim or remedy requiring a defendant to give up benefits wrongfully obtained. Liability ...

of $1,000,001.00. Operation Backfire, a multi-agency criminal investigation into destructive acts in the name of animal rights and environmental causes in the United States, that resulted in the December 7, 2005 arrest of seven people. At least six people were

subpoenaed A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

to testify before grand juries. Three of the individuals subpoenaed ended up on a January 20, 2006, 65 count, 84-page-long indictment. The new indictment charged 11 people with conspiring to commit 18 acts of arson and vandalism over a 5-year period across multiple states. Some of the charges relate to a 1998 arson attack on the

Vail Ski Resort Vail Ski Resort is a ski resort in the Western United States, western United States, located near the town of Vail, Colorado, Vail in Eagle County, Colorado, Eagle County, Colorado. At , it is the third-largest single-mountain ski resort in the U ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and the sabotage of a power line near

Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in central Oregon and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is located to the east of the Cascade Range, on the Deschutes River. The site became known by pioneers as a ford (cros ...

, in 1999. The

considered these crimes to be acts of

domestic terrorism Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims "within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship" as the victims.Gary M. Jackson, ''Predicting Malicious Behavior: Tools and Techniques ...

and the ELF to be the nation's top domestic terror threat.

Response

The ''

Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper b ...

'' reports that the Operation Backfire indictments have elicited concern from activists that authorities have "cracked the super-secrecy of ALF and ELF".

Alternative media Alternative media are media sources that differ from established forms of media, such as mainstream media or mass media, in terms of their content, production, or distribution.Downing, John (2001). ''Radical Media''. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publica ...

organizations have condemned the arrests, some calling them a "

witch-hunt A witch hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. Practicing evil spells or Incantation, incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the ...

", "aimed at disrupting and discrediting political movements".

Activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

s, maintaining the Red Scare

allusion Allusion, or alluding, is a figure of speech that makes a reference to someone or something by name (a person, object, location, etc.) without explaining how it relates to the given context, so that the audience must realize the connection in the ...

, claim the operations are "

fishing expedition A fishing expedition is an informal, pejorative term for a non-specific search for information, especially incriminating information. It is most frequently organized by policing authorities. Media In the United Kingdom, Abu Hamza and Yaser al-Sirr ...

carried out "in the midst of

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...

." The FBI disputed these claims, with former Director

Robert Mueller Robert Swan Mueller III (; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer who served as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2001 to 2013. A graduate of Princeton University and New York University, Mueller served a ...

stating in 2006 that the agency takes action "only when volatile talk crosses the line into violence and criminal activity."Federal Bureau of Investigation - Major Executive Speeches - January 20, 2006

References

External links

Green Is the New RedPortland Indymedia Green Scare Page

Green Scared? Preliminary Lessons of the Green Scare
, '' Rolling Thunder'' - overview from an anarchist perspective
The Green Scare
- Will Potter's article on the Vermont Law Review

* * * {{Animal rights, state=collapsed Animal Liberation Front Earth Liberation Front Animal rights movement Environmentalism Patriot Act 2000s neologisms Scares Anti-anarchism in the United States