Satya Magazine  [Printer-friendly version]
August 1, 2006

NEW YORK ACTIVIST FACES LIFE IN PRISON

[Rachel's introduction: The old anti-communist "red scare" is being
replaced by a new "green scare."]

By friends and family of Daniel McGowan

On December 7th, 2005, Daniel McGowan, a highly respected and long-
time environmental and social justice activist from New York, was
unjustly arrested by federal marshals as part of a nationwide
crackdown on activists. He is being charged in federal court with
multiple counts of arson, property destruction and conspiracy,
relating to two direct actions that occurred in Oregon in 2001. Daniel
maintains his innocence and has pled not guilty to all charges. He is
facing a minimum of life in prison if convicted on all counts.

Daniel's arrest is part of "Operation Backfire," a well- coordinated,
multi-state sweep of environmental activists by the federal
government. Many of the charges, including Daniel's, are for cases
whose statute of limitations were about to expire. Fifteen people have
since been indicted by a grand jury on 65 charges in connection with
17 direct actions that took place between 1996 and 2001 in Oregon,
Washington, California, Colorado and Wyoming. This FBI offensive
appears as just the beginning of a nationwide "green scare."

The Green Scare

The term "green scare" was first introduced in 2002 in the zine Spirit
of Freedom referring to tactics used by the U.S. government to attack
environmental and social justice activists. In the U.S. today,
"terrorism" has replaced "communism" as the catchphrase for all the
evils in the world. Where the red scare once saw leftwingers
stigmatized as "communists," today we have a green scare where
environmentalists and animal rights activists are being targeted as
"eco-terrorists" by the media, business interests and politicians-
including Attorneys General Gonzales and Ashcroft.

Since 2001, there has been a rise in the number of environmentalists
arrested and a dramatic lengthening of the potential sentences they
face. Activists who have never physically harmed or injured anyone now
risk being arrested and charged with crimes carrying life sentences
(or, in some cases, a charge sheet that could result in a 300-plus
year prison sentence).

Similar to the campaign of Senator Joe McCarthy and the House Un-
American Activities Committee (HUAC) of the 1950s, today, legislators,
property rights advocates and industry spokespeople are using threats
and propaganda to crush political resistance. History is repeating
itself and one cannot help but wonder which of our friends and family
will be next.

Anti-Terror Legislation

In the current political climate, it is virtually impossible for the
accused to get a fair trial once the specter of "terrorism" has been
raised. This climate of fear is reinforced by legislative changes that
have considerably broadened the definition of a "terrorist."

Lobbying by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a powerful
right wing advocacy group funded by over 300 corporations, is
successfully pushing for legislation defining terrorism as an act by
"two or more persons organized for the purpose of supporting any
politically motivated activity intended to obstruct or deter any
person from participating in an activity involving animals or natural
resources." It includes such acts as property defacement -- which is
already illegal -- within the scope of terrorism, and holds the
potential to include other forms of legal protest within the same
definition. So far ten states have already passed legislation defining
the destruction of property as terrorism.

Additionally, fake grassroots groups, or "astroturf" groups like the
deceptively-named Stop Eco Violence, the Center for Consumer Freedom
and the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, have organized
letter writing campaigns to Northwest politicians lobbying to push
legislation that would increase penalties for environmentalist direct
action.

At a federal level, Section 802 of the USA PATRIOT (Uniting and
Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) Act defines domestic terrorism as an
act which intends to "intimidate or coerce a civilian population,"
"influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion," or
"affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination
or kidnapping." But, as the American Civil Liberties Union has pointed
out, the breadth of the first two definitions means that "Greenpeace,
Operation Rescue, Vieques Island and WTO protesters, and the [Earth]
Liberation Front have all recently engaged in activities that could
subject them to being investigated as engaging in domestic terrorism."

Although none of the defendants in this case are technically charged
with domestic terrorism, the government has used the term extensively
in the media to discredit the activists involved.

The larger aim of such legislation is to spread fear and distrust in
the activist community with the hope that it will act as a deterrent
and make it hard for us to support our friends and family when they
are targeted.

It is essential that we combat this misrepresentation of our movement
and not allow people who are arrested to fade away and be forgotten.
These legal (and illegal) measures look likely to make an already bad
situation worse. There are now so many pending cases against activists
that it is impossible to mention them all here. We urgently need to
provide arrested activists with moral support so they know that people
are aware of their situation and feel less isolated, and we need to
ensure that fear does not spread as our movement continues to be
targeted under this green scare.

An Activist in Need

For years Daniel McGowan was behind the scenes keeping countless
campaigns afloat. He worked on old growth protection campaigns,
fighting to keep trees over 2,000 years old from becoming toilet
paper. He ran successful Burma divestment campaigns. He did extensive
education and press work about genetically modified organisms. He
provided active support for indigenous people, including the Dineh,
the Ogoni and the Uwa people, all the while supporting political
prisoners all over the world.

During the 2004 Republican National Convention, Daniel decided to
publicly organize demonstrations, fundraisers and benefit shows as
part of the RNCnotwelcome.org protest mobilization. Daniel is an
expressive, caring, thoughtful and compassionate person and his
tireless dedication and support for political prisoners makes it all
the more moving that we are now being called upon to provide the same
support for him.

To find out how you can help Daniel McGowan, visit
www.supportdaniel.org and email friendsofdanielmcg@yahoo.com to
receive regular updates. To learn more about the green scare see
www.greenscare.org. If you would like to write to Daniel, please
send your letter of support to:

Daniel McGowan, P.O. Box 106, New York, NY 10156.