SEATTLE – The FBI and a building industry group will begin offering $100,000 rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of ecoterrorists.
The main target is the Earth Liberation Front, a group that has claimed responsibility for setting fires at construction sites in housing developments, calling attention to what it sees as the growing problem of suburban sprawl.
“While ELF used to spike trees and sabotage logging equipment, they’re now firebombing neighborhoods and burning down apartment complexes,” said Lyle Fox, president of the Building Industry Association of Washington, in a statement.
The “increasingly brazen” attacks raise the likelihood that someone will be hurt or killed, he said.
ELF is an underground movement with no public leadership, membership or spokesman. E-mails seeking comment drew no immediate response.
The FBI estimates that ecoterrorist groups have committed more than 1,100 crimes in the United States since 1976, causing about $110 million in property damage.
The builders group claims ecoterrorists have caused nearly $8 million in property damage since 1996 in Washington state, much of it in housing developments.
In a statement Tuesday, the Seattle FBI office said it was investigating several arsons and attempted arsons in Washington over the past year and a half that may be tied to ELF.
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