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!