Two men have been charged with setting separate fires at sites where the names of ecoterrorist groups were spray painted. Prosecutors had expected both men to enter guilty pleas Tuesday to destruction of property by fire, but their appearances were continued, U.S. Attorney Paul Warner said. Each faces five to 20 years in prison if convicted. "The threat of domestic terrorism, specifically ecoterrorsm, has been extinguished," FBI agent Chip Burrus said a news conference announcing the charges.
Justus A. Ireland, 23, was charged in a June 14 arson at a suburban lumber company that sustained an estimated $1.5 million in damage. The letters ELF, for Earth Liberation Front, were spraypainted at the scene. Separately, Joshua Demmitt, 18, was charged in a July 8 arson at a Brigham Young University farm building that caused about $30,000 damage. The letters ALF, thought to stand for a sister organization, the Animal Liberation Front, were spraypainted there. Another man has pleaded guilty in the BYU fire and awaits sentencing. |