UW’s Merrill Hall Burns after Earth Liberation Front bombing, May 21, 2001: Source 

Instead of asking politely, in some instances, people have amassed and beat the ever-living shit out of their enemies, to great avail. This will be the first in a string of articles investigating past radical actions that have attempted to bring the University and its capitalist partners to their knees. There’s a lot that current students can learn from these struggles and I hope someone appreciates reading this.

This all started a week ago, I was looking into UW history and scrolling through the UW website. One page, named the Timeline of UW Incidents, had an intriguing entry: May 21, 2001: Firebombing of the Urban Horticulture Center by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). $6 million in damages; 20% of the horticulture library was lost. Some researchers lost their life’s work. I had to look deeper. In the research, I found a zine, from which this article is inspired and heavily quotes, A Shorter History of a Northwest E.L.F. Cell, by a defunct Seattle periodical ‘Tides of Flame.’ I could not recommend this zine more as it outlines the E.L.F. and its members in far more detail than we could ever fit into a Nightly article.

Formation of a PNW Earth Liberation Front Cell

The PNW ELF, an eco-radicalist cell, was formed in the late 90’s in Oregon by a group of people who had grown frustrated with ineffective peaceful protests and incremental change. “All of them had been involved in peaceful protests to stop the deforestation of old growth forests. They had seen these tactics fail endlessly and had seen Forest Service Rangers brutalize and imprison their friends who were attempting to defend the earth” - Tides of Flames Wrote.

In July of 1997, the group took action against one of their early targets, a slaughter house in Oregon, which they torched to the ground. “The Cavel West slaughterhouse bought wild horses that had been captured by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and turned them into meat. The massive fire they lit completely destroyed the plant. It never opened again. For months peaceful protesters had written letters and children had held signs outside saying ‘DON’T KILL HORSIES,’ all to no avail. The ELF managed to destroy a despicable company that murdered the last remaining wild horses in Oregon. The ELF destroyed it in one night and with one action” (Tides of Flames)

The philosophy of the Northwest ELF Cell was heavily influenced by their presence at the Seattle WTO protests, where they had witnessed SPD’s militaristic forces attack the masses who were fighting against globalization and US imperialism.

In addition to the Northwest cell, cells popped up across the US and carried out similar bombings and arsons. In June of 1998, several cells targeted the Washington State Capitol, Olympia, on the same day. The people of the Northwest saw smoke billowing from multiple buildings in the state capitol.

After another bombing in Eugene where the ELF burnt 10 SUVs, one of their members was arrested. This being their first major arrest, the group decided to avenge the arrest by burning 35 more SUV’s. The group wrote a communique after the bombing, “The techno-industrial state thinks it can stop the growing resistance by jailing some of us, but they cannot jail the spirit of those who know another world is possible” (Tides of Flame).

Bombing of the University of Washington’s Merrill Hall

In 2001, the group decided to carry out two simultaneous bombings. One at a poplar lumber farm in Oregon, and the other at the Center for Urban Horticulture’s Meril Hall at the University of Washington. Both targets were identified because of their link to the development of genetically modified tree species which were being developed at UW and grown in Oregon. The bombing in Oregon destroyed the poplar farm and “caused nearly $1,000,000 in damage” (Tides of Flames).  At the same time the ELF “completely destroyed Merrill Hall at UW (and 13 SUVs), resulting in over $3,000,000 worth of damage” and inflicting significant harm on the department that was developing the genetic engineering technology.

In the immediate aftermath of the bombing, UW insisted that they had no involvement with genetic engineering on trees. UW even ran quotes in the Seattle Times claiming that the “arsonists believed, mistakenly, (a professor) was genetically engineering trees”. This shocked the group and led to multiple members leaving.

Only much later did the truth come to light. UW had lied about not conducting genetic experiments on trees. In fact, the university was engaged in genetic engineering experiments on trees at the time. UW’s cover-up had a large and intended impact on the discreditation of the ELF. Despite concerns, research on genetic modification of trees and other wild plant species continues to be conducted at the University of Washington and at other Universities across the Northwest today.

Downfall of the ELF Cell

The far-right shift in political climate after 9-11 put a hamper on future actions as they were already labeled as ‘domestic terrorists’ and had to be more digilant. Due to this, the main cell of the PNW ELF did its last action in 2002, when they once again freed wild horses and burnt the corral to the ground. Their dissolution corresponded with the growth of green capitalism, which took the energy of the previous decade’s environmental movement and funneled it back into capitalism. This also corresponded with a temporary weakening of the anti-imperialist and anti-globalist movement within the US.

As the world changed for the worse, the members of the ELF “grew apart, numbing themselves to the horror unfolding around them, learning to live inside of it and survive as best as possible” (Tides of Flame). At the same time, the FBI began to close in on ELF cells, with several informants implanted within. This eventually led to the dissolution of the main cell, though not all hope was lost for the eco-radical movement. During the sentencing of one of the members for her role in the UW bombing, another ELF cell carried out the burning of a new luxury suburban subdivision that had destroyed a forest in Woodinville, Washington. Attached to the burnt buildings was a bedsheet painted with the words “built green? Nope black! McMansions in rural cluster developments are not green. ELF.”

Lessons to Learn

The ELF’s struggle demonstrates the potency of direct action in a world where official channels lead nowhere. Their story also highlights the limits of organizing within the confines system and within nonprofits. Tides of Flames pointed out that the ELF was “pursued by the FBI, labeled as terrorists, and vilified by large segments of the environmental movement, groups like the Sierra Club publicly denounced the ELF and applauded the government’s efforts.”

Lacking support from the neoliberal wing of the environmental movement, the ELF still successfully destroyed hundreds of millions of dollars in property belonging to institutions, like the University of Washington, that over-exploit and kill our planet.

One critique highlighted by the publishers of the Tides of Flame zine, is that the ELF could have spent more energy connecting the environmental movement with the larger struggle against capitalism in order to avoid the trap of single-issue organizing. In the same vein, more work could have also been done connecting the ELF’s struggle to the larger movement for decolonization and return of land to indigenous people.

ELF cells continued to exist throughout the 2010s and today, with local cells across Mexico combating capitalist and imperialist attacks on the people directly.

The Earth Liberation Front shows us the risk of thinking outside of the constraints of the neoliberal system, but it also shows us a glimpse of the power that we can amass if we choose to do so.

Published 11/10/23