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{{short description|American green anarchist (born 1977)}}
'''Eric McDavid''' (born October 7, 1977) is an American [[green anarchism|green anarchist]] who was convicted of conspiring to use fire or explosives to damage corporate and government property. After he spent eight years and 360 days in prison, his conviction was overturned when it became known the FBI had failed to disclose potentially [[exculpatory evidence]] to the defense. While U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott has called McDavid the first person in the U.S. to be prosecuted on [[Earth Liberation Front]] (ELF)-related charges,<ref name="hedlund">[http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=33243 Eco-Terror Suspect Guilty in Bomb Plot], ''[[News 10]]'', September 27th 2007.</ref> the trial revealed that McDavid's group had not decided whether or not to claim the planned actions in the name of the ELF.<ref name=sacbee/> On September 27, 2007, he was convicted on all counts,<ref name=FBI1>{{Cite web
'''Eric McDavid''' (born October 7, 1977) is an American [[green anarchism|green anarchist]] who was convicted of conspiring to use fire or explosives to damage corporate and government property and sentenced to 20 years in prison. While U.S. Attorney [[McGregor W. Scott]] has called McDavid the first person in the U.S. to be prosecuted on [[Earth Liberation Front]] (ELF)-related charges,<ref name="hedlund">[http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=33243 Eco-Terror Suspect Guilty in Bomb Plot] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20070616104223/http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=33243 |date=2007-06-16 }}, ''[[News 10]]'', September 27th 2007.</ref> the trial revealed that McDavid's group had not decided whether or not to claim the planned actions in the name of the ELF.<ref name=sacbee/> On January 8, 2015, after he spent eight years and 360 days in prison, McDavid's conviction was overturned after the prosecution conceded that the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) had withheld thousands of pages of potentially [[exculpatory evidence]].<ref name="SacramentoBee">{{Cite web|date=2015-01-08|title=Convicted "eco-terrorist" freed amid claims FBI hid evidence|url=http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article5641188.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107025707/http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article5641188.html|archive-date=2021-01-07|access-date=2021-11-19|work=The Sacramento Bee}}</ref>
|title=ECO-TERRORIST CONVICTED: Sacramento federal jury convicts Eric McDavid with conspiracy to commit domestic terrorism
|work=Federal Bureau of Investigation
|accessdate=2008-03-12
⚫
|date=2007-09-27
|url=http://sacramento.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/sc092707.htm
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080110054427/http://sacramento.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/sc092707.htm
|archivedate=2008-01-10
|deadurl=yes
|df=
}}</ref> and in May 2008 was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison.<ref>[http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/mcdavid-sentenced/434/ McDavid Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison as a “Terrorist”], ''Green Is The New Red'', May 9th 2008.</ref><ref>[http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=230117&s=&i=&t='Eco-terrorist'_gets_20_years_for_plotting_bombing_campaign 'Eco-terrorist' gets 20 years for plotting bombing campaign 'Eco-terrorist' gets 20 years for plotting bombing campaign], ''[[Turkish Press]]'', May 9th 2008. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105033247/http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=230117&s=&i=&t='Eco-terrorist'_gets_20_years_for_plotting_bombing_campaign |date=November 5, 2012 }}</ref> On January 8, 2015 a federal judge ordered McDavid released from custody after the prosecution conceded that it had withheld thousands of pages of evidence.<ref name=SacramentoBee>{{Cite web
| title = Convicted "eco-terrorist" freed amid claims FBI hid evidence
| work = The Sacramento Bee
| accessdate = 2015-01-08
| date = 2015-01-08
| url = http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article5641188.html
}}</ref>


== Sabotage plans ==
== Sabotage plans ==
{{external media
|video1=[https://fieldofvision.org/eric-anna/ ''Eric and "Anna"''], 14-minute video by ''[[The Intercept]]'' about the undercover operation}}


Together with Zach Jenson, Lauren Weiner, and "Anna" (Zoe Elizabeth Voss, a paid FBI [[informant]])<ref name=Aaronson/> McDavid planned acts of arson and sabotage to the [[Nimbus Dam]], [[United States Forest Service]], and nearby utilities.{{r|CBS Sac: freed}}
Together with Lauren Weiner, Zachary Jenson, and "Anna" (Zoe Elizabeth Voss, a paid FBI [[informant]])<ref name=Aaronson>{{cite web|url=https://theintercept.com/2015/11/19/an-fbi-informant-seduced-eric-mcdavid-into-a-bomb-plot-then-the-government-lied-about-it/|title=Manufacturing Terror|publisher=The Intercept|author=Trevor Aaronson, Katie Galloway|date=2015-11-19}}</ref> he planned acts of arson and sabotage to the [[Nimbus Dam]] and fish hatchery on the [[American River]] near [[Sacramento]], the [[United States Forest Service]] Institute of Forest Genetics,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cbs13.com/local/eco.terrorist.Eric.2.483155.html |title=Man Convicted Of Plotting To Blow Up Nimbus Dam |author=Rafer Weigel |date=2007-09-27 |accessdate=2008-03-12 }}{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> [[Cell site|cell phone tower]]s, [[electric power station]]s, and other targets. During testimony, "Anna" claimed that the group considered the killing of bystanders to be [[collateral damage]],<ref name="court report">[http://anarchistnews.org/?q=node/2041 Eric McDavid – Court Report from 9/11 | Anarchist news dot org<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> although their plots were focused on property damage.


"Anna" had been working with the FBI to infiltrate the group since 2004. She encouraged their activities and provided them with bomb-making information, money to buy the raw materials, transportation and a cabin to work in, and produced consensual audio and video recordings of their activities.<ref name=sacbee>
"Anna" had been working with the FBI to infiltrate the group since 2004. She encouraged their activities and provided them with bomb-making information, money to buy the raw materials, transportation and a cabin to work in, and produced consensual audio and video recordings of their activities.<ref name=sacbee>
{{cite news
{{cite news
|url=http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/399555.html
|url = http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/399555.html
|title=Leader or led by the FBI?
|title = Leader or led by the FBI?
|work=[[The Sacramento Bee]]
|work = [[The Sacramento Bee]]
|publisher=[[The McClatchy Company]]
|publisher = [[The McClatchy Company]]
|accessdate=2008-03-13
|access-date = 2008-03-13
|last=Walsh
|last = Walsh
|first=Denny
|first = Denny
|date=2007-09-26
|date = 2007-09-26
|archive-url = https://archive.today/20070528102012/http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/399555.html
}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}
⚫
|archive-date = 2007-05-28
</ref> According to "Anna", McDavid threatened to kill her if she turned out to be working with law enforcement.<ref name=sacbee/><ref name="court report"/>
|url-status = dead
}}
</ref> "Anna" made use of McDavid's attraction to her: he described her as his "soul twin" and said he had changed his behavior in order to please her.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Loadenthal|first=Michael|title=When Cops 'Go Native': Policing Revolution Through Sexual Infiltration and Panopticonism|journal=Critical Studies on Terrorism|volume=7|issue=1|year=2014|pages=28–9|doi=10.1080/17539153.2013.877670|s2cid=144215824 |url=https://www.academia.edu/5401087}}</ref> According to "Anna", McDavid threatened to kill her if she turned out to be working with law enforcement.<ref name=sacbee/>


Defense attorney Mark Reichel argued that "Anna" acted as an [[agent provocateur]]: encouraging the group to focus on a target, paying for meeting arrangements and supplies, and urging the group to act when they wavered. Reichel stated at the trial, "the crisp $100 bills and a Dutch Flat cabin where the group lived in the days leading up to the trio's arrest—all supplied by "Anna" thanks to her FBI sponsors...That's the creation of a case...Without 'Anna,' you have nothing."<ref>[http://breakallchains.blogspot.com/2007/09/leader-or-led-by-fbi.html]</ref>
Defense attorney Mark Reichel argued that "Anna" acted as an [[agent provocateur]]: encouraging the group to focus on a target, paying for meeting arrangements and supplies, and urging the group to act when they wavered.{{r|sacbee}} Reichel said "Anna" taught McDavid, Jenson and Weiner how to make bombs and supervised their activities.{{sfn|Loadenthal|2014|p=29}} Reichel stated at the trial, "the crisp $100 bills and a [[Dutch Flat, California|Dutch Flat]] cabin where the group lived in the days leading up to the trio's arrest—all supplied by 'Anna' thanks to her FBI sponsors ... That's the creation of a case ... Without 'Anna,' you have nothing."{{r|sacbee}}


== Arrest, conviction, and appeal ==
== Arrest, conviction, and appeal ==
On January 13, 2006, the three were arrested outside a store where they had purchased household chemicals, presumably for bomb-making. None of the three had prior convictions. McDavid spent 2 years pre-trial in solitary confinement. He also formally declared a [[hunger strike]] due to the jail's refusal to provide him with [[vegan]] food. He was given vegan food intermittently.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.supporteric.org/updates.htm |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2009-06-03 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418042122/http://www.supporteric.org:80/updates.htm |archivedate=2009-04-18 |df= }}</ref> At their 2008 trials, Weiner and Jenson both pled guilty and testified against McDavid.<ref name=hedlund/> His defense contended that he was the victim of [[entrapment]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2015/01/09/eco-terrorist-freed/ |agency=[[Associated Press]] |title=Convicted ‘Eco-Terrorist’ Freed Because Of Dispute Over Evidence |work=[[CBS Sacramento]] |accessdate=July 7, 2017 |date=January 9, 2015 }}</ref> but was found guilty of conspiring to use fire or explosives to damage corporate and government property and sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison.<ref name=FBI1/> On May 6, 2009, McDavid's attorney filed an appeal.<ref>{{citation
On January 13, 2006, the three were arrested outside a store where they had purchased household chemicals, presumably for bomb-making. None of the three had prior convictions. McDavid spent two years pre-trial in solitary confinement. He also formally declared a [[hunger strike]] due to the jail's refusal to provide him with [[vegan]] food. He was given vegan food intermittently.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.supporteric.org/updates.htm |title=Support Eric McDavid! |access-date=2009-06-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418042122/http://www.supporteric.org/updates.htm |archive-date=2009-04-18 }}</ref> At their 2008 trials, Weiner and Jenson both pled guilty and testified against McDavid.<ref name=hedlund/> His defense contended that he was the victim of [[entrapment]]. McDavid was convicted in 2007 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.<ref name="CBS Sac: freed">{{cite web|url=http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2015/01/09/eco-terrorist-freed/ |agency=[[Associated Press]] |title=Convicted 'Eco-Terrorist' Freed Because Of Dispute Over Evidence |work=[[CBS Sacramento]] |access-date=July 7, 2017 |date=January 9, 2015 }}</ref>

"Anna" was paid over $65,000 for her role in securing McDavid's conviction.{{sfn|Loadenthal|2014|p=29}} Intelligence acquired from her deployment was used in 12 other prosecutions of anarchists.{{sfn|Loadenthal|2014|p=29}} Within the anarchist, environmental and animal rights movements in the United States, "Anna"'s unmasking contributed to internal divisions and [[wikt:snitch-jacketing|snitch-jacketing]].{{sfn|Loadenthal|2014|p=29}}

On May 6, 2009, McDavid's attorney filed an appeal.<ref>{{citation
| first = M
| first = M
| last = Reichel
| last = Reichel
Line 45: Line 39:
| year = 2009}}</ref><ref>
| year = 2009}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
{{cite web
|title=Appeal Status
|title = Appeal Status
|url=http://www.supporteric.org/updates.htm
|url = http://www.supporteric.org/updates.htm
|accessdate=2009-06-03
|access-date = 2009-06-03
|url-status = dead
|deadurl=yes
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418042122/http://www.supporteric.org:80/updates.htm
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090418042122/http://www.supporteric.org/updates.htm
|archivedate=2009-04-18
|archive-date = 2009-04-18
⚫
}}</ref> The appeal was denied in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-09-21|title=Memorandum|url=http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/memoranda/2010/09/21/08-10250.pdf|access-date=2021-11-19}}</ref>
|df=
⚫
}}</ref> The appeal was denied in 2010.<ref>http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/memoranda/2010/09/21/08-10250.pdf</ref>


==Release==
==Release==
As noted above, on Jan. 8, 2015, McDavid was released from prison after the government admitted it had withheld approximately 2500 pages of documents potentially useful for his defense, which included love letters exchanged between "Anna" and McDavid and proof that she had been exempted from a requested FBI polygraph test by her handler, Special Agent Ricardo Torres. The release was made in exchange for his guilty plea to a lesser charge of general conspiracy.<ref name=Aaronson /><ref>
On January 8, 2015, McDavid was released from prison after the FBI admitted it had withheld approximately 2,500 pages of documents potentially useful for his defense, which included love letters exchanged between "Anna" and McDavid and proof that she had been exempted from a requested FBI polygraph test by her handler, Special Agent Ricardo Torres. The release was made in exchange for his guilty plea to a lesser charge of general conspiracy.<ref name=Aaronson /><ref>
{{cite web
{{cite web
| title = Convicted ‘eco-terrorist’ freed amid claims FBI hid evidence
| title = Convicted 'eco-terrorist' freed amid claims FBI hid evidence
| url = http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article5641188.html
| url = http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article5641188.html
| accessdate = 2015-01-12}}</ref>
| access-date = 2015-01-12}}</ref>


== See also ==
== See also ==

*[[Anarchism]]
*[[Veganarchism]]
*[[Veganarchism]]
*[[Green Scare]]
*[[Green Scare]]
*[[Operation Backfire (FBI)]]
*[[Operation Backfire (FBI)]]
*[[COINTELPRO]]
*[[Camden 28]]
*[[UK undercover policing relationships scandal]]

⚫
== References ==

{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="Aaronson">{{Cite web |last1=Aaronson |first1=Trevor |last2=Galloway |first2=Katie |title=Manufacturing Terror: An FBI Informant Seduced Eric McDavid Into a Bomb Plot. Then the Government Lied About It. |work=[[The Intercept]] |date=2015-11-19 |url=https://theintercept.com/2015/11/19/an-fbi-informant-seduced-eric-mcdavid-into-a-bomb-plot-then-the-government-lied-about-it/ |access-date=2017-07-08 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

}}

== Further reading ==

{{refbegin}}


* {{Cite web |title=Exclusive: 'Eco-Terrorist' Freed 10 Years Early After Feds Withhold Evidence on Informant's Role |work=[[Democracy Now!]] |date=2015-01-14 |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2015/1/14/exclusive_eco_terrorist_freed_10_years |access-date=2017-07-08 |df=mdy-all }}
⚫
==References==
* {{Cite web |last1=Kuipers |first1=Dean |title=Honey Stinger |work=[[Outside (magazine)|Outside]] |date=2012-11-26 |url=https://www.outsideonline.com/1911086/honey-stinger |access-date=2017-07-08 |df=mdy-all }}
{{Reflist}}<ref>{{Cite web
* {{Cite web |last1=Kuipers |first1=Dean|title=EXCLUSIVE: Tough Questions for Feds After They Jailed an Innocent Man for Nine Years |work=Takepart |date=2015-07-30 |url=http://www.takepart.com/feature/2015/07/30/mcdavid-fbi-informants-ecoterrorism |access-date=2018-05-11 |df=mdy-all }}
| url = https://theintercept.com/fieldofvision/eric-anna/
| title = Eric & "Anna" — Field of Vision
| website = Field of Vision
| language = en-US
| access-date = 2016-03-01
}}</ref>


{{refend}}
==External links==
* [http://www.supporteric.org/ supporteric.org]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100525165025/http://www.supporteric.org:80/sacramento_affidavit___crim_complaint.pdf United States of America vs Eric McDavid, Lauren Weiner, and Zachary Jenson] – Criminal Complaint
* [http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/Honey-Stinger.html 2012 Outside Magazine article on the criminal case]


{{Portal bar|Anarchism|California|Environment|Law|United States}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDavid, Eric}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDavid, Eric}}
[[Category:American anarchists]]
[[Category:American anarchists]]
[[Category:Green anarchists]]
[[Category:Green anarchists]]
[[Category:American criminals]]
[[Category:American male criminals]]
[[Category:American environmentalists]]
[[Category:American environmentalists]]
[[Category:Earth Liberation Front]]
[[Category:Earth Liberation Front]]

Latest revision as of 07:23, 27 September 2023

Eric McDavid (born October 7, 1977) is an American green anarchist who was convicted of conspiring to use fire or explosives to damage corporate and government property and sentenced to 20 years in prison. While U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott has called McDavid the first person in the U.S. to be prosecuted on Earth Liberation Front (ELF)-related charges,[1] the trial revealed that McDavid's group had not decided whether or not to claim the planned actions in the name of the ELF.[2] On January 8, 2015, after he spent eight years and 360 days in prison, McDavid's conviction was overturned after the prosecution conceded that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had withheld thousands of pages of potentially exculpatory evidence.[3]

Sabotage plans

[edit]
External videos
video icon Eric and "Anna", 14-minute video by The Intercept about the undercover operation

Together with Zach Jenson, Lauren Weiner, and "Anna" (Zoe Elizabeth Voss, a paid FBI informant)[4] McDavid planned acts of arson and sabotage to the Nimbus Dam, United States Forest Service, and nearby utilities.[5]

"Anna" had been working with the FBI to infiltrate the group since 2004. She encouraged their activities and provided them with bomb-making information, money to buy the raw materials, transportation and a cabin to work in, and produced consensual audio and video recordings of their activities.[2] "Anna" made use of McDavid's attraction to her: he described her as his "soul twin" and said he had changed his behavior in order to please her.[6] According to "Anna", McDavid threatened to kill her if she turned out to be working with law enforcement.[2]

Defense attorney Mark Reichel argued that "Anna" acted as an agent provocateur: encouraging the group to focus on a target, paying for meeting arrangements and supplies, and urging the group to act when they wavered.[2] Reichel said "Anna" taught McDavid, Jenson and Weiner how to make bombs and supervised their activities.[7] Reichel stated at the trial, "the crisp $100 bills and a Dutch Flat cabin where the group lived in the days leading up to the trio's arrest—all supplied by 'Anna' thanks to her FBI sponsors ... That's the creation of a case ... Without 'Anna,' you have nothing."[2]

Arrest, conviction, and appeal

[edit]

On January 13, 2006, the three were arrested outside a store where they had purchased household chemicals, presumably for bomb-making. None of the three had prior convictions. McDavid spent two years pre-trial in solitary confinement. He also formally declared a hunger strike due to the jail's refusal to provide him with vegan food. He was given vegan food intermittently.[8] At their 2008 trials, Weiner and Jenson both pled guilty and testified against McDavid.[1] His defense contended that he was the victim of entrapment. McDavid was convicted in 2007 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.[5]

"Anna" was paid over $65,000 for her role in securing McDavid's conviction.[7] Intelligence acquired from her deployment was used in 12 other prosecutions of anarchists.[7] Within the anarchist, environmental and animal rights movements in the United States, "Anna"'s unmasking contributed to internal divisions and snitch-jacketing.[7]

On May 6, 2009, McDavid's attorney filed an appeal.[9][10] The appeal was denied in 2010.[11]

Release

[edit]

On January 8, 2015, McDavid was released from prison after the FBI admitted it had withheld approximately 2,500 pages of documents potentially useful for his defense, which included love letters exchanged between "Anna" and McDavid and proof that she had been exempted from a requested FBI polygraph test by her handler, Special Agent Ricardo Torres. The release was made in exchange for his guilty plea to a lesser charge of general conspiracy.[4][12]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Eco-Terror Suspect Guilty in Bomb Plot Archived 2007-06-16 at archive.today, News 10, September 27th 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d e Walsh, Denny (2007-09-26). "Leader or led by the FBI?". The Sacramento Bee. The McClatchy Company. Archived from the original on 2007-05-28. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
  3. ^ "Convicted "eco-terrorist" freed amid claims FBI hid evidence". The Sacramento Bee. 2015-01-08. Archived from the original on 2021-01-07. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  4. ^ a b Aaronson, Trevor; Galloway, Katie (November 19, 2015). "Manufacturing Terror: An FBI Informant Seduced Eric McDavid Into a Bomb Plot. Then the Government Lied About It". The Intercept. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Convicted 'Eco-Terrorist' Freed Because Of Dispute Over Evidence". CBS Sacramento. Associated Press. January 9, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  6. ^ Loadenthal, Michael (2014). "When Cops 'Go Native': Policing Revolution Through Sexual Infiltration and Panopticonism". Critical Studies on Terrorism. 7 (1): 28–9. doi:10.1080/17539153.2013.877670. S2CID 144215824.
  7. ^ a b c d Loadenthal 2014, p. 29.
  8. ^ "Support Eric McDavid!". Archived from the original on 2009-04-18. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
  9. ^ Reichel, M (2009), Motion to Appeal United States v. McDavid, pp. 1–114
  10. ^ "Appeal Status". Archived from the original on 2009-04-18. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
  11. ^ "Memorandum" (PDF). 2010-09-21. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  12. ^ "Convicted 'eco-terrorist' freed amid claims FBI hid evidence". Retrieved 2015-01-12.

Further reading

[edit]
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