Darren Thurston
Posted on 05/29/2007 6:04:38 PM PDT by jazusamo
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
A radical environmentalist from Canada was sentenced Tuesday to 37 months in federal prison, along with a judge’s admonishment that he consider taking a class on America’s system of democracy.
Darren Todd Thurston, 37, was the fourth of 10 Operation Backfire defendants to be sentenced in U.S. District Court in Eugene — and the first to avoid being labeled a “terrorist” under federal terrorism law.
He plead guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of arson in connection with damage done to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse Facility in Litchfield, Calif., on Oct. 15, 2001.
Darren Thurston
Already sentenced:
Stanislas Gregory Meyerhoff - (5-23-07) - 13 years
Kevin Tubbs ----------------- (5-24-07) - 12 years, 7 months
Chelsea Dawn Gerlach ------- (5-25-07) - 9 years
Darren Todd Thurston---------(5-29-07) - 3 years, 1 month
Coming up:
Suzanne Nicole Savoie
Sarah Kendall Tankersley
Joyanna Lynn Zacher
Nathan Fraser Block
Daniel Gerard McGowan
Jonathan Paul
An article in the Eugene Weekly News with pics and some background.
Please send me a FReepmail to get on or off this Canada ping list.
Thanks.
How did he avoid : a “terrorist” under federal terrorism law. ?
I wonder if he whined like a baby in court, as his co-defendants did. It’s all fun and games until you go to federal butt-hurt prison.
I don’t know the particulars of it yet. It seems like he would have been under the terrorism sentencing because it was BLM.
The only other article I’ve found is an AP article that I can’t post because of copyright agreement but that doesn’t spell it out either.
I’m sure a piece will be written tomorrow that’ll explain it.
On a side note, it’s probably a good thing nobody there had the middle name of “Wayne”...
I hope he whined like the others. The judge sentenced him to what the prosecution was asking for, over three years.
I don’t think the order means anything. There are some coming up that’ll get more than three years, I believe.
...or "Ray".
A Canadian court document from 1994 identifies Thurston as a “member and leader of the Animal Liberation Front.” He was convicted of setting fire to trucks belonging to a fish company in 1991 in Edmonton, Alberta, according to news accounts.
Thurston was also convicted of breaking into and trashing a research lab at the University of Alberta in 1992 and freeing 29 cats.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18927873/
Thanks, that’s the other piece I mentioned but the source I had wouldn’t let me post it.
Maybe this explains the shorter term : “ Thurston to plead guilty and cooperate with the investigation rather than become a martyr.”
Still the BLM and the FBI would likely want to tag him as a terrorist.
Interesting story on how the nut was cracked.
I find this whole thing immensely satisfying.
I love it when activists get hit by the Real World truck, and find out that terrorism is terrorism, and noone cares if you “did it for the animals”
When you read their stories and see their pictures, it's all reminiscent of "Lord of the Flies" or the Manson family--pampered, stupid white kids ripe for corruption.
Exactly, and I mean, I can see why they do it, some of the stuff done to animals in these places is unnecessary and, yes, I would say, evil. But crime is crime, and I have no sympathy for those who commit terrorism, whatever the purpose.
“Exactly, and I mean, I can see why they do it, some of the stuff done to animals in these places is unnecessary and, yes, I would say, evil. But crime is crime, and I have no sympathy for those who commit terrorism, whatever the purpose.”
You’ve been DUPED.
These extremists’ “reasons” for setting fires has NOTHING whatsoever with “saving animals” and EVERYTHING to do with power grabbing.
I’ve been going head-to-head with this type of mindset publicly for over 10 years now.
...so MUCH so that it became the topic of a PBS Documentary, “The Fire Next Time”....!!!
These TERRORISTS are merely the storm troopers of the Fascist Left who wish to control your every action. It’s just the starting place to erode your rights and freedoms.
~~~~~~~~~
P.O.V. - The Fire Next Time | PBS
Over a stormy two-year period, ‘The Fire Next Time’ follows a deeply divided group of Flathead Valley, Montana citizens caught in a web of conflicts ...
www.pbs.org/pov/thefirenexttime/
~~~
Residents of the Flathead Valley had the opportunity to screen the film in October 2004. Watch streaming video of residents speaking up about “The Fire Next Time” and their own experiences in the Valley.
Share Your Point of View
Talking Back Tapestry
“I’ve written lots and lots of letters to the newspaper. I’ve probably had between fifty and a hundred letters to the editor published. Now, people don’t like those letters all the time, and some of them even get angry about them. But, if you don’t express your views, and you come to this movie or anywhere else in a public meeting in this town, and don’t have the courage to say what you’re thinking, then please don’t be offended when it’s not heard. That’s your fault.”
http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2005/thefirenexttime/talking_kalispell.html
Arson defendant spared `terrorist' label
By Jeff Wright
The Register-Guard
Published: Wednesday, May 30, 2007
A radical environmentalist from Canada was sentenced Tuesday to more than three years in federal prison after a judge suggested that he consider taking a class on the United States system of democracy.
Darren Todd Thurston, 37, was the fourth of 10 Operation Backfire defendants to be sentenced in U.S. District Court in Eugene - and the first to avoid being labeled a "terrorist" under federal terrorism law.
He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of arson in connection with damage done to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Wild Horse Facility in Litchfield, Calif., on Oct. 15, 2001. His sentence includes paying restitution of $122,497.
In the 11 years leading up to that crime, Thurston enjoyed "virtual stardom" in radical activist circles for his communiques and publications, including two editions of "The Final Nail: Destroying the Fur Industry - A Guided Tour," Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Peifer said. The publication, posted on the Internet, identified the location of fur ranches and provided instructions on how to create incendiary devices, Peifer said.
As recently as 2003, Thurston manufactured an explosive known as HGMD in Portland and then conducted a demonstration test in Redway, Calif., for the benefit of a representative of the Zapatista guerrilla movement in Mexico, Peifer said.
Both Peifer and Thurston's attorney said they viewed the recommended sentence of three years and one month to be fair, taking into account the magnitude of Thurston's actions as well as his acceptance of responsibility and willingness to cooperate. Thurston's sentence is the shortest recommended among the plea bargains negotiated with the 10 defendants.
U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken tipped her hand early in the sentencing hearing when she interrupted Peifer as he argued that Thurston's sentence should not be reduced to any lesser time.
"What I'm going to tell the defendant shortly is that he's lucky I'm not going to go up" and add additional time, Aiken said.
Before sentencing, Thurston said he is now committed to nonviolent strategies for effecting change and protecting life. He said his positive actions have ranged from opposing trophy hunting and grizzly bear poaching to working with terminally ill children and resisting Aryan Nation white supremacy recruitment.
Thurston broke into tears as he apologized to family and friends, especially his mother and grandmother in Canada.
"I asked them not to attend today because I didn't want to submit them to further suffering," he said.
Aiken told Thurston he should tell his mother and grandmother that he's been given a "chance to do over - to do right by people."
She also said Thurston's nationality weighed on her.
"You're a Canadian - why are you here causing troubles for our government?" she asked. "Aren't there issues up there? Take care of your own place first, and don't be coming down here and causing problems in our neck of the woods."
Aiken told Thurston that, as a Canadian, he may be unfamiliar with U.S. history and its three-branch system of checks and balances, which she called "still the best model to preserve society and the individual."
She read an excerpt from biographer Howard Ball's book "A Defiant Life: Thurgood Marshall and the Persistence of Racism in America."
The excerpt spoke of the late U.S. Supreme Court justice's early determination to fight injustice within the law, not outside the law.
Thurston regularly entered the United States illegally from Canada and financed his activities by selling illegal drugs.
Aiken said he is lucky that he'll ultimately be deported to Canada after serving a short sentence - as opposed to defendants she often sees on drug convictions who serve longer terms and then are deported to Mexico, where opportunities to rebuild a new life are more tenuous.
Aiken said she was tempted to rule Thurston's crime an act of terrorism, especially in light of the communique he wrote after the Litchfield arson threatening similar acts against the U.S. government.
But she decided against the designation, which would not have affected the length of Thurston's sentence.
Thurston's lawyer, Daniel Feiner, noted that Thurston specifically asked to take part in trying to release wild horses from the BLM outpost and did not directly participate in the arson. Thurston also participated in hopes of reuniting with Chelsea Gerlach, another defendant with whom he was romantically involved at the time, Feiner said.
Gerlach ultimately did not appear or take part in the crimes at the horse ranch. She was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison for her role in a string of other arsons.
Sentencing of the last six remaining defendants is scheduled for Thursday, Monday and Tuesday.
Thanks for the ping.
How liberal of this judge : Arson defendant spared `terrorist’ label
This COULD have something to do with “cooperation” of Canadian authorities in exchange for MORE information and a two-way street of law enforcement....???
Hard time is hard time.
I wonder WHO he squealed on...????
I haven’t the slightest idea but I’d bet my last buck they got a lot of good info from him, the judge sentenced him to exactly what the prosecution asked for and it seemed like a light sentence to me.
Funniest thing I have read all day. It's also true.
I just had a very funny thought....
These folks make a REALLY big deal out of sticking together, maintaining their solidarity.
NOW they’re gonna have literally YEARS to “discuss” how they came to be in prison all at the same time.....hee hee.
I sure wish I had access to THOSE e-mails.
They are gonna do collectively to EACH OTHER way more damage than the Feds could EVER do on their own.
Talk about POETIC JUSTICE....!!!
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