Marius Mason (born on January 26, 1962) is an American

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

who in 2009 was sentenced to 22 years in prison after admitting 13 counts 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 ...

and

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 ...

amounting to

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

4 million. Mason, a member of 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 ...

, was prosecuted for a 1999 attack on a building at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, although a small portion extends north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, that caused more than US$1 million in damage, undertaken as a protest against research into

genetically modified crops Genetically modified crops (GM crops) are plants used in agriculture, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering methods. Plant genomes can be engineered by physical methods or by use of '' Agrobacterium'' for the delivery of ...

. A further US$3 million in damage included attacks on homes under construction, and on boats owned by a mink farmer. Supporters claim that Mason's sentence represents a form of

political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...

, as part of the

Green Scare The Green Scare is legal action by the US government against the radical environmental movement, that occurred mostly in the 2000s. It alludes to the Red Scares, periods of fear over communist infiltration of US society. The term was popularize ...

phenomenon, when an overlong sentence is given to an individual who committed politically motivated crimes as a deterrent. Around July 2014, Mason came out as a transgender man.

Background

Mason has worked as a gardener, musician, writer,

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 ...

organizer, and a volunteer for a free herbal-healthcare collective. He is a parent of two children. Mason and his husband at the time, Frank Ambrose, ignited an office that held records related to research on genetically modified, moth-resistant potatoes, funded by the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 1961 and reorganized in 1998 ...

and

biotech Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists in the field are kn ...

company

Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best-known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed ...

. The next day, Mason and Ambrose set fire to commercial logging equipment in

Mesick, Michigan Mesick ( ) is a village in Wexford County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 397 at the 2020 census. The majority of the village is located within Springville Township with a very small portion extending east into Antioch Towns ...

. Both arsons were claimed by the

as actions against

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the genet ...

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

, and other environmentally destructive acts. On December 31, 1999, members of the Land Liberation Front claimed an arson attack on the

farm building located in

, Michigan. US ELF claimed it set the fire specifically to stop the work of those studying genetically modified foods. In 2007, after evidence linking him to the attacks was found, Ambrose began co-operating with police. Over the following year, he recorded 178 conversations with Mason and other activists. Mason and three others were indicted in March 2008. Ambrose divorced Mason on the day the latter was arrested. In February 2009, Mason was sentenced to 22 years in prison for arson, then the record sentence for an American

eco-terrorist Eco-terrorism is an act of violence which is committed in support of environmental causes, against people or property. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines eco-terrorism as "...the use or threatened use of violence of ...

act. In return for his co-operation with prosecutors, Ambrose was sentenced to less than six years for

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 ...

to commit arson, despite court documents connecting him to attacks causing damage costing over $4 million.

Trial

According to

Assistant U.S. Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

Hagen Frank, the 20-year sentence sought by the prosecution would be "the most onerous sentence imposed in a case of this sort". At the trial, the prosecution argued that "A good cause does not justify the worst means. That's not how society works." During the three-hour hearing, Mason said, "I am genuinely sorry to those who were personally frightened by my actions ... I meant to inspire thought and compassion, not fear." After the sentence,

defense lawyer A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various ...

John Minock stated that he would

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...

, commenting, "I'm shocked. It's grossly out of proportion to other cases."

Personal life

Mason transitioned in 2016 while in federal prison, and was reported as the first

trans man A trans man or transgender man is a man who was assigned female at birth. Trans men have a male gender identity, and many trans men undergo medical and social transition to alter their appearance in a way that aligns with their gender identi ...

to do so. He

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

to friends and family two years prior.

References

External links

*
Support Marius Mason
*Reed, Henry
Between Orwell and McCarthy: the crucifixion of Marie Mason
from the

Fifth Estate The Fifth Estate is a socio-cultural reference to groupings of outlier viewpoints in contemporary society, and is most associated with bloggers, journalists publishing in non-mainstream media outlets, and online social networks. The "Fifth" Esta ...

, Spring 2009 *Goldenberg, Suzanne
Serving 22 years: the environmentalist who fell victim to US anti-terror laws
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', March 24, 2009.
Gitmo in the Heartland

Environmentalist Sentenced to 21 Years as a Terrorist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Marius 1962 births Living people American anarchists American people convicted of arson American environmentalists American transgender men Eco-terrorism Place of birth missing (living people) Earth Liberation Front Industrial Workers of the World members 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century anarchists

Background

Trial

Personal life

See also

References

External links