Posted on 02/24/2005 8:08:40 PM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - A 21-year-old Newcastle man was indicted Thursday on federal arson charges for a series of attempted or successful firebombings linked to an eco-terror group targeting residential and commercial construction sites this winter east of Sacramento.
Ryan D. Lewis faces five counts of arson and three counts of attempted arson in U.S. District Court for incidents dating back to December in the communities of Lincoln, Auburn and Sutter Creek.
Lewis admitted taking part in some of the crimes, according to an FBI affidavit.
The indictments said he attempted to set fire Dec. 27 to two homes under construction in Lincoln, and tried on Jan. 12 to burn a commercial building in Auburn.
He faces arson charges for blazes set Feb. 7 at five apartment buildings in a new Sutter Creek complex, causing about $50,000 damage.
Letters to several newspapers claimed the Earth Liberation Front was responsible for the failed arson attempts in Lincoln and Auburn. Graffiti at the apartment complex claimed the fires were the work of ELF, a group of anonymous individuals opposed to development, particularly in environmentally sensitive areas.
Lewis told investigators he delivered buckets of fuel to the office complex being built in Auburn, but denied knowing who carried out the attack, the FBI said. He said he knew who tried to set the fires in the upscale Lincoln subdivision, but denied taking part.
ELF has caused more than $100 million in damage since 1996, the FBI said.
What's he looking at on these charges? I hope it is life, otherwise it is not enough.
These people are terrorists, and like most terrorists they are neither poor, nor oppressed, nor sincere. They are just pawns of destruction attempting to destroy our way of life.
The more of these people who are caught, the happier I am.
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