Joshua

WEST COVINA, Calif. — Fires destroyed dozens of SUVs and a warehouse at an auto dealership Friday, and vehicles there and at three other dealerships were spray-painted with slogans such as "Fat, Lazy Americans."

"With all the evidence ... it's highly likely it's an arson fire," said Rick Genovese, fire marshal for West Covina (search), a Los Angeles suburb.

The radical group Earth Liberation Front (search) issued an unsigned e-mail Friday calling the incidents "ELF actions," and the FBI was investigating the dealership fire as domestic terrorism, Police Chief Frank Wills said.

The underground group has claimed responsibility for a slew of arson attacks against commercial entities that members say damage the environment. It is suspected in a multimillion-dollar arson fire Aug. 1 that destroyed a five-story apartment complex under construction in San Diego, though an ELF e-mail claimed the group had not been in contact with those responsible in that case.

The blazes at the Clippinger Chevrolet (search) dealership broke out about 5 a.m. Friday. Flames destroyed about 20 vehicles, mostly Hummer H2s (search), which are luxury SUVs patterned after the military's workhorse Humvee (search). Another 20 vehicles were badly damaged. A separate blaze caved in a warehouse roof.

There were no reports of injuries, but damage was estimated at $1 million.

SUVs at dealerships in nearby cities of Arcadia, Duarte and Monrovia were also vandalized, though there were no other fires.

Among the slogans written on the sides and hoods of vehicles were "I (heart) Pollution" and "American Wastefullness." "ELF" was written on at least one vehicle.

Brian Akre, spokesman for Hummer-maker General Motors, called Friday's destruction "reprehensible" and "some kind of misguided attempt to make a political statement."

Genovese said whoever set the fire may have been trying to protest vehicles that pollute the air because of their poor fuel economy. But he said their approach was misguided because "hundreds of tons of pollutants" were spilled off during the fire.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,95447,00.html

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Nija

yeah, I saw that on the news. ELF, starts a huge fire to protest the foul treatment of the environment 0_o. So they burn things, which release toxins into the air. Yeah, they thought that one through throughly

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Jihforce

I think this threat might be moving to another location real soon....

zenbooty

"'With all the evidence ... it's highly likely it's an arson fire,' said Rick Genovese, fire marshal for West Covina (search), a Los Angeles suburb. "

Yeah, thank you captain obvious .

The fact that their investigating this as a terrorist act is absolutely friggin' ridiculous. This was not an act to strike fear and terror into the heart of the public. It was nothing more than a grand act of vandalism that took place in the early morning when no one was around. Prosecute the criminals, but Christ, enough of the Orwellian newspeak already .

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sbp

These wackos should be shot on sight.

Cantacuzene

Yeah, because vandalising cars is a crime worthy of capital punishment.

sbp

The ELF will eventually kill someone-its just a matter of time.

This attitude is why this country has so much crime. So plug up that bleeding heart sir.

xsiled2

they burned down a micky d's that was two blocks down the street a year ago, no one was charged.

mind you, that building was privetely owned...

Kebbies

oy, i used to live near that apt complex they burned down in sd. glad i moved out in time.

rasetsu

Since no one saw my post:

Anyone else catch this on the news this morning? A bunch of enviromentalist whack jobs set fire to the parts department of a Hummer dealership in So Cal and then tagged up a bunch of Mercedes, Lincoln, Mercury, and Mitsubishi SUVs at a few other dealerships. They even tagged up a minivan and a few privately owned SUVs. This was the same group that burned down a large condo construction site in San Diego a few weeks ago.

I hate SUVs but the problem doesn't lie with the companies that sell them, but with the people who buy them as status symbols. These idiots created more pollution by setting fire to everything than what those SUVs would have produced. I also wonder if those spray paint cans they used were non-aerosol and what they drove around in to get from dealership to dealership.

My dad has a 92 Pathfinder that he only drives on weekends, has engaged the 4WD maybe twice, and only used it once to haul something really big and heavy. It's a total waste of space.

rasetsu

It's being labeled as an act of terrorism because the punishment will be harsher instead of a slap on the wrist for vandalism. I think it DOES strike fear and terror into the heart of the public. If I had an SUV and lived in the area, I'd think twice about driving it. They torched and tagged up a couple of privately owned SUVs on the streets as well. Again, I personally don't like SUVs but that doesn't justify destroying other people's property.

rasetsu

I think I'd settle for cutting off their fingers.

Ladogaboy

Don't feed the Right-Wing Extremists.

As for myself, I think this is kind of cool. It's about time we had a little more civil disobedience around these parts.

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spigidygak

funny how these 'tards use pollution to fight pollution. . . drugs anyone?

Cantacuzene

What will be more damaging, one fire that burns teh cars or teh total amount of exhaust created by those cars over their lifetime? I don't agree with that logic, but I'm guessing thats how they justify it.

zenbooty

Exactly. They want to mete out a punishment worse than the crimes warrant, so they're going to play Lets Bend the Language to get it done. Revolting behavior that causes further mistrust of our Justice system.Oh Bull. If they were setting cars alight while people were in them, then THAT might be terrorism. But not this. People might be upset, they may even worry about their cars. But terror? Nobody's life was put in danger, save possibly the arsonists. True, but vandalising private property doesn't justify bending our laws to try and imprison people for as long as possible. I think that kind of behavior is much closer to terrorism than what the arsonists did.

zenbooty

Oh, so lets fry-em ahead of time! Now that would be justice, wouldn't it?

zenbooty

Damn, those are some strong words, sbp!

sbp

Yeah folks should allow these nuts to do whatever they want.

[dubya]bring it on![/dubya]

But geez noone would be around to produce the goodies for the socialist wankers.

rasetsu

Give it time. These idiots are bound to kill someone someday. What if a firefighter was injured or killed while fighting the fire last night? What if there was a security guard in the facility at the time?

rasetsu

Ummm...no thanks. You can keep your civil disobedience in Nor Cal.

rasetsu

I might go with the fire because lots of hazardous chemical were burned in that building as well. Hummers aren't generally used as commuter cars so they don't travel long distances anyways. They do more damage to the enviroment by guzzling gas than producing toxic fumes.

cheapie

ter·ror·ism
The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.


is there ANY doubt that the action fits this description. i went to dictionary.com cuz i thought i might agree with you. however, after reading the definition, i'm afraid either you or the dictionary is wrong...

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Cantacuzene

Definition or not, I do not think teh Patriot Act was passed to crack down on environmentle activists.

InfiniteNothing

Or is it?

Dun don dunnnnnn

rasetsu

Enviromental activists, no. Enviromental TERRORISTS who destroy mass quantities of property, maybe.

If these ELF people really wanted to make a difference, how about getting jobs and making some money to fund a tv/radio campaign to enlighten people that SUVs AREN'T safer because they are prone to roll overs, that they don't really NEED them, and they harm the enviroment. A lot of people who purchase Hummers actually go back to the dealers to complain about the poor gas mileage. That's how LITTLE these consumers know about what they are getting into.

Cantacuzene

I think we can both agree that there are now connotations with the word "terrorist" that create misconceptions. Labelling them terrorists puts them in with Osama and the PLO, and I don't think a fair person would do that.

bachviet

Those idiots need to be punished (how about public hand(s) chopping). If they ever do this and I was around, watch out for my shotgun.

Ladogaboy

So, would most of you guys be up in arms if they burned a bunch of Pintos?

watanad

Absolutely. I totally object to these methods, and it has nothing to do with the type of vehicle (btw I don't like SUVs, I hate sharing the road with them, I hate getting tailgated in the rain by a 6000 lb behemoth cause the driver thinks "its ok cause I have 4wd" or something stupid like that). I don't support this kind of criminal activity for causes, esp when it could endanger innocents. Would you still think this is cool if your parents happened to live down the street and they died in a house fire? Civil disobedience? Come on. This goes beyond civil disobedience. Stage a protest, get arrested, but don't vandalize and burn sh*t.