Prison Interview with Convicted Oregon "Eco-Terrorist" Jeff Luers

Photo: Democracy Now! Interview 2009

Prison Interview with Convicted Oregon "Eco-Terrorist" Jeff Luers

When Jeff "free" Luers and Craig "Critter" Marshall drove away from Romania Chevrolet in the early morning hours of June 16, 2001 after igniting the wicks of two one gallon milk jugs filled with Coleman fuel, they could not have known that this action would come to significantly alter their lives.

The Eugene, Oregon anarchist eco-activists had placed the firebombs under a row of SUVs in an attempt to bring attention to the disproportionate air pollution caused by gas guzzling vehicles. Neither were aware that Luers had been tailed throughout the day by three plainclothes police since his release from jail earlier that day on a disorderly conduct charge stemming from activities during the Eugene "Seven Weeks Revolt" anarchist conference. The cops lost track of the two a block from the Chevrolet dealership. Ten minutes later, Springfield officers stopped them for a traffic violation. Both were taken into custody by the undercover agents who had been following them. It was later learned that one of the agents was from an anti-domestic terrorist unit. Luers and Marshall were arrested on Criminal Mischief One, a charge that carries about one year.

Damage caused by the fire was quickly put out with a simple fire extinguisher and totaled $40,000 worth of damage. In addition, all three vehicles were repaired and subsequently sold. No human life was taken or endangered, yet one week later Luers was arraigned on nine different felony counts including arson, attempted arson, and manufacturing and possession of destructive devices or explosives. Similar devices were found at petroleum distributor Tyree Oil in Eugene, and three weeks before his trial began, he was also charged with attempted arson of that facility and faced several more charges. By the time of his trial, he had accumulated 13 charges and was looking at serving 100 years if convicted. While no physical evidence was found to link Luers to Tyree, he was offered a deal for 15 years if he would plead guilty to both Romania and Tyree. He held fast and refused. In the end, he was convicted of 11 felony charges and sentenced to 22 years and 8 months with no possibility of parole. Co-defendant Marshall took a "conspiracy to commit arson" and "possession of destructive devices" plea and was released after serving four and a half years. It must be made clear that no part of this deal involved any admission of guilt or implication of guilt on the part of Craig Marshal or Jeffrey Luers. A later falling out between the two is unrelated to this plea.

In a decision handed down on February 28 of 2008, Luers' appeal for re-sentencing was heard in Eugene's Lane County Circuit Court. The new ruling brings his release date to December 2009. Luers originally filed his appeal in January of 2002. The original sentence handed down to Luers in June of 2001 was stunning in a most draconian sense and was clearly politically motivated.

Since the time of Luers' arrest, the United States has seen an unprecedented dismantling of civil liberties via the excessive reach of the War on Terror. The largest roundup of eco-activists in US history began with the launch of the FBI's "Operation Backfire" on December 7, 2005. At a national press conference in January 2006, then Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller unveiled a 65-count indictment targeting the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) with the claim that a "vast eco-terrorist conspiracy" was the U.S. number one domestic terrorist threat.

The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) was signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 27, 2006. It was pushed through Congress by wealthy biomedical & agri-business industry groups such as the Animal Enterprise Protection Coalition, the American Legislative Exchange Council and the Center for Consumer Freedom, with bipartisan support from legislators Senator Dianne Feinstein and Rep. James Sensenbrenner.

AETA expands the legal definition of "terrorism" to include activity previously protected as free speech under the First Amendment. The Act's broad language brings ambiguity to statutory terms used in the offense and definition sections of the law. Such undefined terms as "interfere with," "profit loss," and "economic damage" might be applied to the results of lawful boycotts and peaceful protests: "interfering with" could conceivably cover undercover investigations of animal laboratories, Internet postings, email campaigns, or demonstrations and boycotts. Because of this ambiguity, the law arguably does not give a reasonable person fair notice of what is legal, as is required of a criminal statute. This is not resolved by the AETA's stated exemptions for "lawful boycotts" and "peaceful protests." Indeed, the elements of those acts may qualify as terrorist acts under the AETA. This brings a chilling effect not only to the work of eco and animal rights activists, but to all dissenters across the board. Luers in fact has never claimed affiliations with either ALF or ELF.

Jeff Luers has become internationally known and supported as a political prisoner, not only because of the length of his original sentence, but also because of his prior activism and the tree-sitting campaign at Fall Creek, Oregon. To some he is a true revolutionary. He also wears the label of terrorist. He has served time in a number of Oregon correctional facilities with the majority of his time spent at the maximum security Oregon State Penitentiary. He has been housed for the past nine months at the Columbia River Correctional Institution in Portland, Oregon. This interview was conducted by this author through a series of letter exchanges during late 2008 and January 2009.



ME-What is the status of your release date? Are you still looking at December 2009?

JL-My current release date is December 16 2009. There is some contention between me and the Department of Corrections about this; the date should be December 15. That is my good time release date. While it is unlikely to change, I could be released as late as June 17, 2010.

ME-What are you most looking forward to upon your release? What are you most apprehensive about?

JL-There are so may things that I am excited about. No more walls is a big one. I think that within my first weeks I'll find myself camped deep in the woods reconnecting with nature.

There doesn't really seem to be too much that I'm apprehensive about. Certainly, prison has changed me, but the core of my being is still the same. My biggest challenge I think, is going to be living indoors and paying rent.

ME-At the time that you began your activism, there were a host of eco issues to be addressed. What put you on the path to tree sitting as opposed to other environmental struggles?

JL-For me, tree sitting was all about the direct action. It was a campaign and struggle that was local that I could have a direct impact on.

The end goals of many struggles are completely beyond our reach. Not that we shouldn't still struggle to reach those goals, but they translate into petitions of redress. We must concede that we are powerless to create change ourselves and end up asking others to do it for us.

Direct action isn't like that. The power to create change or act on a belief system rests completely in our hands. It takes power away from the powerful and puts it in the hands of the powerless.

I got involved in old growth defense because I was physically capable of stopping the logging of that forest. And anyone familiar with the Fall Creek/Red Cloud Thunder campaign knows that we did not politely ask for that forest to be protected. Nor did we protest gently.

ME-What moved you to follow through with the arson at Romania? Did you feel that there was any other alternative at all to raise awareness about global warming? And, what was running through your mind when you set flame to incendiary?

JL-Our world is being physically and geographically altered by the greenhouse gasses that we're putting into the environment. Local and global climates are changing. These events have been happening for decades, but it is only now that this makes news.

Industry giants and corporate hooligans are making millions of dollars destroying the planet I love. They are putting people's lives at risk.

You ask me what moved me to follow through with these actions. I ask, what has not moved others?

There were plenty of other alternatives to raise awareness about global warming. Al Gore did a great job. He's also a former vice president and millionaire. It's harder to ignore him or shut him up though many tried.

Things have not changed much since the time of kings. Poor people are still ignored. Only when the peasants revolt does the king take notice.

Do you really want to know what I was thinking when critter and I lit the incendiary devices? Okay. I was thinking, "Don't set yourself on fire."

ME-You and critter both followed through in carrying out the arson action together and you were immediately arrested together after this action. Because of his plea, he was released after serving a four and a half year sentence in contrast to your original sentence of 22 years plus. What do you have to say to this? (Any comment for sake of clarity to the community regarding your falling out with him?)

JL-Critter and I talked extensively before he agreed to take his deal. He was firmly prepared to go to trial with me had I asked. I wanted critter to take the deal. At the time, they offered him five years. They were offering me fifteen. By taking the deal he in no way had to cooperate. Hell, he wouldn't have even had to acknowledge guilt.

The falling out he and I had is personal and between he and I. We have since made up. I am very much looking forward to seeing my old friend.

ME-How effective was your action at Romania, and is there anything that you regret?

JL-In some ways the Romania action was and is probably one of the most effective direct actions taken in the United States; I know, very modest of me, right? Our action changed the dynamics of clandestine actions for the earth in this country. Afterward, Romania car dealerships all over the world were targeted.

Suddenly, it was no longer just industry being targeted but the culture that is responsible for global warming.

And yeah, I do have some regrets about Romania. After all of the [prison] time that I got for that little fire, I wish I'd done something bigger.

ME-Your original sentence by any fair and rational definition was brutal and extreme, particularly in contrast to punishment meted out to rapists and other violent offenders, many of whom you saw and see released while you sit in a concrete cage. The effect on you has had to, at times, fill you with rage. What have you done to channel this rage?

JL-I've never been angry about my sentence. What am I supposed to feel rage toward? I already know that the system is corrupt and unjust. I already know that property is valued more than life. I know that an act of dissent will receive harsher punishment than crime. I was angry at those things when I took action. So I can't complain that [this punishment] happened to me. In some ways, I'm glad that they gave me 22 years and called me a terrorist. It not only proved that I was right about the things that I was saying, but it also showed that direct action really truly is a threat to business as usual.

The punishment has only served to further my dedication as demonstrated by my continuing struggle from inside these walls.

ME-Operation Backfire hit the environmental movement hard, in the NW particularly. You saw former comrades given lengthy prison sentences based on the testimony of other former comrades who rolled over for the feds. The Animal Enterprise Terrorist Act was signed into law in November of 2006. Clearly, the criminal factory farm corporations and capitalist industry polluters have it made in the shade as the government protects their interests at all costs. First, what do you have to say about these draconian measures and second, do you have any words of encouragement for activists who have fallen to fear and retreated to the shadows?

JL-Fear is the enemy of freedom. We fail to act because we fear the cost of living free. We live in a police state. The U.S. may be the kinder face of fascism, but it is still a fascist state. Yes, we have elected a man who may bring change, but the system that he upholds will still be a capitalist, imperialist monster. If anyone thinks that he isn't going to protect the corporate interests at the extent of the people, they are wrong. We live in one of the few countries in the world where corporations are granted and guaranteed the same rights under our constitution. By design, our government is structured to uphold that rule of law.

I would rather be in prison or dead than blindly submit to a government I know is corrupt and wrong. I would rather dare to live free and fight against injustice than cower in silence and despair. I think many people feel the same way. We just have to be smarter in how we speak out and in how we act.

Oppression is designed to break the free spirit of the people and force them to accept their lot. The whole nature of and desire for freedom is to break free at all costs.

There is a world beyond this one just waiting to be created. The right to clean air, water and food is a birthright. Freedom is ours by right of birth. It cannot be granted by any government. It cannot be bought at any price. It is ours and we must only choose to wear its mantle.

MG-You've kept us update via your Dispatches from prison. In your last one you wrote that you were tired of fighting. This is a right that you certainly have earned. You also wrote that you were not giving up, but are instead looking at different ways of fighting. Can you touch more on this?

JL-I've spent the last twelve years on the front lines. Sadly, nearly nine of those have been in prison. I want to focus on my life and family when I get out.

I've seen our failures at struggling against the symptoms. I'd like to focus on creating the cure. Direct activism and militancy is a mainstay of the struggle for social and environmental justice. Unfortunately, creating alternatives to today's mess has not been. That is where I would really like to work and bring really hands on changes and alternatives to the table.

ME-One of the more chilling Dispatches from you appeared online on Portland Indymedia in September of 2006. In it, you wrote about the more brutal aspects of prison life. In the space of a few weeks a guard had been severely beaten in the yard, fights in chow hall were averaging one a week and a man lay dying for five hours in front of your cell. You wrote, "I can watch a man get stabbed in the neck and keep eating. I can pretend to not see a man lying helpless in his own blood (along with everyone else on the yard). And I can watch a man die and be completely unmoved."

When you learned that the guy you watched die was a child molester, you wrote that you were glad that he was dead. While a few folks who commented seemed to understand what it was that you were trying to convey, one chastised you for feeling glad. She wrote that this was a "sad turn of events for you," and that if anyone should have compassion for another human being, it should be you.

Clearly, prison is a dehumanizing experience. While I understand that it is not your job to clarify your feelings, how would you respond to the woman's comments?

JL-This is the first time that I have seen these comments [I mailed Jeff a print out of the Indy post]. It is obviously a little difficult to respond to something I experienced years ago.

My friend Randy Cross-who took his own life not to long after-killed a man. I watched that man die. I felt nothing as I did. It was simply just another day in prison.

Many people cannot begin to grasp the violent life of a max security prison. The threat of death is in the air everyday. I lived that life without cowering from it. When threatened with violence I responded in kind. When threatened with being stabbed I had my own shank to turn to.

Every one of my friends had a weapon hidden somewhere. Prison is a war zone. We struggle for territory, space, to avoid becoming a victim. Right or wrong, that was my life. I fought, I stood my ground, and I survived.

When I learned the man Randy killed was a child molester who admitted in court that he raped and used a foreign object inside a little girl, a girl who wasn't even yet twelve, I was glad the monster was dead. There are several monsters that I would like to see dead and not all are in prison. Some start unjust wars.

I'm not sorry the guy died. And I don't need to justify or explain that feeling. What I am sorry about is that I can watch that level of violence and be unaffected by it. I'm sorry that society makes monsters that must be killed.

ME-What do you think the world will look like to you when you hear the steel door close behind you for the last time and you walk free? What do you think you will look like to the world? How will you see yourself?

JL-I think the only difference is that the world and I will both be a little older.
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Jeff was released on December 16, 2009 after serving more than eight years following a ruling the sentence was too harsh.

Jeff Hogg & the Liberation of Dissent

Ah, yes. NW Oregon and the "Green Scare."

Jeff Hogg 

Photo: Green is the New Red

Jeff Hogg & the Liberation of Dissent

The IWW union hall in North Portland was filled to capacity at the Liberating Dissent Ant-Green Scare event last night as Grand Jury resister Jeff Hogg shared his six month ordeal as a Green Scare political prisoner.

Until his release from the Josephine County Jail on November 11 of this year, Jeff found himself caught in the snare of the government war on dissent. His speaking presentation occurred as part of an international call to mark the weekend of December 7 as a display of unity and opposition to government repression. It was on December 7, 2005, that the FBI's "Operation Backfire" began with it's broad sweep of harassment, intimidation and persecution of eco and animal rights activists. The ensuing investigation with Grand Jury subpoenas and arrests has come to be known as the Green Scare.

Targeted because of prior eco-activism and activist associations in the Eugene area including work with the Earth First! Journal, Hogg was served with a subpoena in May of this year to testify before the grand jury in regard to a supposed ELF arson that caused property damage. His experience was one of intimidation from the beginning.

"OBVIOUSLY, THE GRAND JURY SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK"

Hogg began his presentation with an overview of the Grand Jury system and it's unlimited and unchecked misuse of investigative power. He began by offering statistics regarding the federal government's misguided crime fighting priorities.

"A couple of years ago the FBI announced that ELF and ALF were the number one terrorist threat in the country. They received funding to go out to harass and intimidate the activist communities. They are not really interested in going out to fight violent crime that terrorizes human beings. Their own statistics state that in 2003 there were 7,400 hate crimes committed that were motivated [to attack] one's race, ethnicity, religion or gender. That year there were also 450 crimes against the environment committed by corporate industries who violated the clean air and water acts and practiced illegal waste dumping. Their [FBI] priorities are somewhat eschewed. They are using the word 'terrorism' to play on our fear."

He went on to explain how the Grand Jury power of subpoena is used to gather information while counting on an individual's lack of knowledge about their constitutional rights. Many who have been subpoenaed have gone on to testify, feeling protected by the fact that as they have no information and therefore have nothing to disclose. What Hogg wants people to know is that Grand Jury subpoenas are used broadly as major fishing expeditions and that even the most seemingly insignificant information can and will be distorted and used against the radical community. With this, the decision is made as to what activity calls for surveillance, illegal wiretapping and where and when best to plant provocateurs. This kind of extra legal activity was widely used to derail the social justice movements of the sixties and seventies, and, this history is repeating itself before us again with Operation Backfire.

"60-100 people have been subpoenaed as part of the Green Scare since 2000. The vast majority were law abiding citizens called in to talk about co-workers, friends and neighbors in violation of the 1st Amendment right to free speech and association. Grand Juries are not entitled to ask for records of group membership, how money in organizations is used, who attends meetings, who your friends are or who you associate with. There was someone who went to a volunteer work party for the EF! Journal. They didn't need to offer that information. They could have gone to their lawyer to learn this."

One is not given the right to remain silent before a Grand Jury. You can still be compelled to testify. The government gets around this by giving you immunity. This means that one is guaranteed that your testimony will not be used against you and you therefore no longer have any legal ground to remain silent. Grand Juries are secretive and controlled by government prosecutors with no judge present. Jurors only look at evidence that the government chooses to present. Grand Juries are manipulated in this way.

"The purpose of the Grand Jury as stated in the Constitution is to protect people from prosecution that runs rampant and to keep the misuse of government power in check," said Hogg. "You have no right to an attorney in the Grand Jury room. Obviously, the Grand Jury system does not work."

SUSPENSION OF CONTSITUTIONAL RIGHTS

It was last May that Hogg was approached by an FBI agent and Eugene police officer as he was leaving his nursing school class.

"They told me that I was not in trouble, that they had questions and wanted me to testify against an arsonist. They implied that if I did not cooperate I might be charged with something. 'We'd hate to see you behind the defendant's desk' they said. I told them that I wasn't going to say anything until I got a lawyer."

In his search for legal representation, Hogg learned that the public defenders in Lane County were already tied up with Green Scare clients. His search led him to Portland attorney Paul Loney. One week after being asked to testify, Hogg was served with a subpoena. He refused to cooperate at the hearing by pleading the 5th.

"They walked me over to the court room. There a judge granted me immunity and said that now I had to testify. I was taken back before the Grand Jury and said I wouldn't testify and that this whole prosecution was in violation of my 1st, 5th and 6th Amendment rights. They walked me back to the court room where I was charged with civil contempt. Then I was taken to a chamber below the court room and was told, 'Well you have a few hours to reconsider your decision.'" He reconsidered nothing and was taken to jail in chains. He served 6 months in the Josephine County Jail in Grants Pass. This meant that his partner CiCi and had a 5 hour round trip to take for visits. His attorney would have an eight hour plus drive to consult with his client.

"This was challenging, especially not knowing how long the Grand Jury would be in session. The Jury is usually impaneled for 18 months, this one only had about 5 months left. They decided to extend it for another 6 months. They told my attorney that they still wanted me to testify. It was really depressing, thinking that I would not get out until March sometime. And then, I was suddenly released a week later."

By this time, Jeff had lost his job and his spot in nursing school. His grandfather also died and he was not able to attend the funeral.

"I want to thank everyone for their support. I don't think I could have gotten through this without it. The support was amazing. People from around the country wrote me letters, I had free legal representation, my friends and supporters did fundraisers, gave firewood, let my partner borrow their car when ours broke down, people came and did yard work—people came together in solidarity. That is something that you should all be proud of. I don't know if I could have done that [jail time] without all of that support. I see it as a statement from the radical community saying 'Fuck you! Your campaign of harassment and intimidation is not dividing this community. ' Thanks for even the smallest role of support. It was important not only for me but for everyone to make that statement, not just to lift my spirit but so that we can all experience that solidarity. Not only to help my partner pay our bills but for everyone's own faith and strength in the face of government repression. So that you know that if you are in my shoes, we have your back. Perhaps it was the lack of faith in support that that contributed to the breaking [of activists] under the threat of life sentences and to become informants. It's really sad, because the support is there."

PRISONER SUPPORT

Before leaving the microphone, Jeff touched on the dire importance of prisoner support. He stated that before he went to jail, he didn't much write to prisoners because he did not feel that he had anything interesting to say.

"Now, I have to say: when you're in jail *anything* is interesting." This brought great laughter from the event attendees. He went on to encourage folks to be creative and write about a hike you took, a work project, something of great beauty that you might have seen.

"Anything is always interesting when you're in a concrete box. So... please, continue to write to prisoners, keep up the solidarity. And, thanks." With this, this slight, soft spoken young man went back to tabling for Portland Books to Prisoners.

I caught up with Jeff a little later to ask if there was anything else that he felt was important to include in this article. He obviously has not had an easy time and with the attack on the right to dissent, he might have more hardship to endure. Did he have anything to say to activists who may feel the need to walk away from movement organizing out of fear of government retaliation?

He paused for a moment and then said, "I would say, just stay strong and have faith in your community. Keep working on building that community. And support our prisoners."