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Man related to OK City bombing is free while supposed ELF & ALF members now on the hook
Irony of Ironies:
Michael Fortier, who was in on the plot to kill over 150 people in Oklahoma City and did nothing to stop it, is out of jail in just over 10 years.
Meanwhile, Jeff Free Luers is sentence to 20 years for torching 3 SUVs, that were later repaired and sold, and over a dozen other activists have recently been indicted or arrested across the country for property destruction (http://www.indybay.org/news/2006/01/1796764.php & http://www.indybay.org/archives/archive_by_id.php?id=4066&category_id=13).
How much time do you think these supposed eco-"terrorists" will get? Does our government value property and corporate profits or human life in higher regard? The answer seems rather obvious when the FBI is running around claiming ELF and ALF are the number one terror threats in America today.
Michael Fortier, who was in on the plot to kill over 150 people in Oklahoma City and did nothing to stop it, is out of jail in just over 10 years.
Meanwhile, Jeff Free Luers is sentence to 20 years for torching 3 SUVs, that were later repaired and sold, and over a dozen other activists have recently been indicted or arrested across the country for property destruction (http://www.indybay.org/news/2006/01/1796764.php & http://www.indybay.org/archives/archive_by_id.php?id=4066&category_id=13).
How much time do you think these supposed eco-"terrorists" will get? Does our government value property and corporate profits or human life in higher regard? The answer seems rather obvious when the FBI is running around claiming ELF and ALF are the number one terror threats in America today.
Fortier Said Released From Federal Custody
- By TIM TALLEY, Associated Press Writer
Friday, January 20, 2006
(01-20) 13:21 PST Oklahoma City (AP) --
Michael Fortier, the government's star witness in the Oklahoma City bombing trials, was released from federal prison Friday after serving more than 10 years for failing to warn authorities about the plot.
Fortier, 37, received a 12-year sentence after striking a plea bargain in which he agreed to testify against Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. He got time off for good behavior.
His attorney, Michael McGuire, would not say who met Fortier or where he would live.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has declined to release any information about Fortier, and the secrecy surrounding his release prompted speculation that he was entering the witness protection program. But McGuire would not comment on that.
"He really just wants to be with his wife and children to try to recover some of the lost time that they didn't have," the lawyer said. Fortier, who is originally from Kingman, Ariz., has a wife, Lori, and two children.
Fortier's release received a mixed reaction from prosecutors and the bombing victims' families. The April 19, 1995, bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building killed 168 people and injured more than 500 others.
"He may have outlived his prison sentence, but he will never outlive his responsibility," said Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane, who prosecuted Nichols on state murder charges in 2004.
Jannie Coverdale, who lost two grandsons in the blast, said Fortier should have gotten a life sentence. She said his role in the blast was as significant as that of Nichols.
"Michael Fortier being out of prison? There's no way I can forget that. He helped murder my grandsons," she said.
McVeigh was convicted on federal charges and was executed in 2001. Nichols was found guilty on state and federal charges and is serving life in prison.
Fortier testified that he received stolen weapons that were sold to finance the bombing, shared money from their sale with McVeigh, handled blasting caps and other explosives and had the same anti-government literature that McVeigh gave Nichols. Fortier also accompanied McVeigh on a trip to case the building four months before the bombing.
Aitan Goelman, who served on the bombing prosecution team, said Fortier's release was appropriate.
"He has paid his debt to society," Goelman said. "Knowing about a horrible crime and doing nothing to prevent it is on one side, and on the other side of the scale is the tremendous assistance he provided to the government in order to prosecute the guys who actually did the bombing."
- By TIM TALLEY, Associated Press Writer
Friday, January 20, 2006
(01-20) 13:21 PST Oklahoma City (AP) --
Michael Fortier, the government's star witness in the Oklahoma City bombing trials, was released from federal prison Friday after serving more than 10 years for failing to warn authorities about the plot.
Fortier, 37, received a 12-year sentence after striking a plea bargain in which he agreed to testify against Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. He got time off for good behavior.
His attorney, Michael McGuire, would not say who met Fortier or where he would live.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has declined to release any information about Fortier, and the secrecy surrounding his release prompted speculation that he was entering the witness protection program. But McGuire would not comment on that.
"He really just wants to be with his wife and children to try to recover some of the lost time that they didn't have," the lawyer said. Fortier, who is originally from Kingman, Ariz., has a wife, Lori, and two children.
Fortier's release received a mixed reaction from prosecutors and the bombing victims' families. The April 19, 1995, bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building killed 168 people and injured more than 500 others.
"He may have outlived his prison sentence, but he will never outlive his responsibility," said Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane, who prosecuted Nichols on state murder charges in 2004.
Jannie Coverdale, who lost two grandsons in the blast, said Fortier should have gotten a life sentence. She said his role in the blast was as significant as that of Nichols.
"Michael Fortier being out of prison? There's no way I can forget that. He helped murder my grandsons," she said.
McVeigh was convicted on federal charges and was executed in 2001. Nichols was found guilty on state and federal charges and is serving life in prison.
Fortier testified that he received stolen weapons that were sold to finance the bombing, shared money from their sale with McVeigh, handled blasting caps and other explosives and had the same anti-government literature that McVeigh gave Nichols. Fortier also accompanied McVeigh on a trip to case the building four months before the bombing.
Aitan Goelman, who served on the bombing prosecution team, said Fortier's release was appropriate.
"He has paid his debt to society," Goelman said. "Knowing about a horrible crime and doing nothing to prevent it is on one side, and on the other side of the scale is the tremendous assistance he provided to the government in order to prosecute the guys who actually did the bombing."
For more information:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file...
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I'm really surprised to learn that there was such a large web of people collaborating on many of these vandalism incidents (presuming, of course, that the indictments aren't all fabricated). I really would have thought that 1-2 people independently participated in these various events. But instead they are saying that 5+ were showing up as a party to some of those. No wonder they were infiltratable.
There is really no way of being more careful about who you associate with either, because activist groups would just end up being ineffectual via shunning everyone who is older or younger or isn't wearing the dresscode of the group - and any officer with social skills could probably figure out how to look right.
Also - always speak in purely abstract terms - it seems that specifically discussing any illegal action could be interpreted as conspiracy, so don't do that.
There is really no way of being more careful about who you associate with either, because activist groups would just end up being ineffectual via shunning everyone who is older or younger or isn't wearing the dresscode of the group - and any officer with social skills could probably figure out how to look right.
Also - always speak in purely abstract terms - it seems that specifically discussing any illegal action could be interpreted as conspiracy, so don't do that.
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