Damage from some type of chemical that was put on the vehicle.
Posted on 09/14/2009 5:51:28 PM PDT by jazusamo
PORTLAND, Ore. - Vandals in Portland targeted some pretty pricey cars over night, throwing acid or paint stripper all over them. No one has claimed responsibility, and there's no telling just how many people were involved.
The damage to as many as 15 cars is expensive. Here's one, a Hummer from the besieged Vic Alfonso Cadillac Dealership in Northeast Portland. You can see a number of spots where the paint is now peeling off the car.
A sociology professor at Portland State University said there are plenty of reasons that could have motivated the vandals to do all of this damage.
"The Humvee has become sort of this symbol of our culture in general," said PSU Sociology Professor Randy Blazak. "It symbolizes conspicuous consumption, environmental degradation, it symbolizes the war."
The Portland Police Bureau has just confirmed that 15 vehicles were damaged in the vandalism. Aside from that, detectives are being pretty tight lipped about the case. However, they did confirm that agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation are helping in the investigation.
Blazak points to the option that this could be the effort of an eco-terrorism group. "The environmental groups don't typically kill anybody," said Blazak, "but they can cause millions of dollars in damages to property so they get the full attention of federal law enforcement for that reason."
The Earth Liberation Front said on its Web site that it is not claiming responsibility, but said that the act is "an evident response to the impact SUVs and Hummers have on the environment."
Police said there is a possibility that this wasn't even eco-terrorism. Anyone could have done this damage.
Damage from some type of chemical that was put on the vehicle.
It’s been my understanding that the Hummer is more eco-friendly, from “cradle to grave,” then the Prius (nickle in the battery, multiple cross-oceanic transport in construction of battery, etc).
Move Alog!
Nothing to see here!
Just ‘Tea Baggers’ protesting ‘Government Motors’!
/sarc
One point on the bright side: We know that Chrysler dealers who supported Republicans got put out of business. So that means this dealer supports Democrats, which means he’ll have less money now to donate to the allies of ELF!
The Earth Liberation Front press office has posted news of this week's vandalism at a Northeast Portland auto dealership, saying the attack appears to be the work of eco-saboteurs.
As many as 15 vehicles -- most of them Hummers -- were damaged in the incident. But so far, the vandals who poured acid on the vehicles at Vic Alfonso Cadillac Hummer have yet to claim responsibility. The dealership is in the 600 block of Northeast 12th Avenue.
Police were alerted to the crime at 6:12 a.m. Monday. Central Precinct detectives are investigating and the FBI is assisting.
Typically in such an attack, underground saboteurs strike out at enterprises they accuse of profiting from despoiling the natural world, such as auto dealerships that sell large sport utility vehicles and trucks that produce more air pollution than smaller cars.
They then send a message to the Earth Liberation Front press office, which publishes the so-called "communiques."
Sometimes, vandals tag the scene of the crime with "ELF" or other graffiti.
"As far as I know, there was no tagging" at Vic Alfonso, said Beth Anne Steele, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Portland, which has stepped in to assist police in their vandalism investigation.
The FBI, which describes the Earth Liberation Front as a leading domestic terrorist group, has spent much of the last decade poring through the wreckage of car dealerships across the United States struck by eco-saboteurs.
In March 2001, a cell of ELF arsonists struck Romania Chevrolet in Eugene, setting a lot full of SUVs ablaze and causing $1 million in damage.
That attack was dwarfed on Aug. 22, 2003, when arsonists struck several auto dealerships in the Los Angeles suburbs. In a single night, they caused $2.5 million in damage.
The next morning on a lot full of smoldering, $50,000 Hummer H2s in West Covina, investigators found spray-painted slogans that included "SUVS SUCK," "FAT LAZY AMERICANS," and -- as elsewhere across the nation -- the ubiquitous "ELF."
Detective Mary Wheat, Portland police spokeswoman, said anyone with information concerning this incident should contact Detective Matt Horton at 503-823-0268.
UPDATE: Post #44 Ping!
Link to post #44
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/elf_website_says_vic_alfonso_v.html
Vandalism ping for those afraid of vandals
As Jeff Dunham's Walter would say, "Way to go, dumba##!" Good job releasing acid and dissolved paints and finishes into the environment. Don't even try to say the ends justifies the means. You're simply mean, angry people with an axe to grind but no real concern for the environment or being responsible citizens of the world. Hypocrites.
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