Page 148 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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122———Ellerman, Josh (1979– )

damaging a building with an explosive, making a pipe
ELF. See EARTH LIBERATION FRONT. bomb, and using a pipe bomb. Although he failed to
appear for a pretrial hearing, he turned himself in on
June 29, 1998.
ELLERMAN, JOSH (1979– ) On September 10, 1998, Ellerman was sentenced
to seven years in prison and ordered to pay $750,000
aka Douglas Joshua Ellerman
in restitution. Concurrently, five other animal rights
activists were also indicted in the bombing. Three
In 1998, 19-year-old Josh Ellerman, a radical animal were later found not guilty, in part because of the
rights activist, received a seven-year prison sentence testimony of Ellerman and that of his older brother,
for his participation in an alleged Animal Liberation Clinton Colby Ellerman. Clinton Ellerman, an animal
Front (ALF) attack—one of the toughest sentences ever rights activist and straight-edger, was serving a sen-
given to an animal rights activists in the United States. tence for releasing more than 3,000 mink from the
His case, along with that of his brother, Clinton Colby Holt Mink Ranch in South Jordan, Utah, in July 1996.
Ellerman, marked the beginning of a crackdown on
See also ANIMAL LIBERATION FRONT; ANIMAL RIGHTS
animal rights activists.
MOVEMENT; RODNEY CORONADO
On the morning of March 11, 1997, members of
ALF detonated at least five pipe bombs at the Fur Further Reading
Breeders Agricultural Co-op in Sandy, Utah, a plant that
provided feed, materials, and live mink to hundreds of Kistler, John M. Animal Rights: A Subject Guide,
fur farms in Utah and Idaho. The ensuing blaze caused Bibliography, and Internet Companion. Westport, CT:
nearly $1 million in damage; no one was injured. Such Greenwood, 2000.
Lutherer, Lorenz Otto, and Margaret Sheffield Simon.
destruction of property was a hallmark of ALF, which
Targeted: The Anatomy of an Animal Rights Attack.
had engaged in similar tactics during its antifur
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992.
Operation Bite Back campaign in the early 1990s.
Scarce, Rik. Eco-warriors: Understanding the Radical
(Utah, which claimed the most fur farms of any state in
Environmental Movement. Chicago: Noble, 1990.
the country, was particularly hard hit by ALF actions.) Smith, Brent. Terrorism in America: Pipe Bombs and Pipe
That same day, a caller to a Salt Lake City radio Dreams. New York: State University of New York
show claimed that the bombing was in support of Press, 1994.
animal rights and ALF and had been committed in
the name of Jeff Watkins, a “political prisoner” on a
hunger strike in a New York jail. With the help of the ELLISON, JAMES (?– )
caller, investigators later linked Ellerman to the crime.
On April 20, 1997, Ellerman turned himself in.
Ellerman initially faced charges that would have James Ellison was a preacher from Texas who in
carried a minimum mandatory sentence of 35 years; 1971 founded Zarephath-Horeb, a peaceful funda-
in exchange for a reduced sentence, Ellerman agreed mentalist Christian group, in the Ozark Mountains
to provide “substantial” cooperation to authorities of Arkansas. He eventually adopted Christian Identity,
investigating ALF and other animal rights groups. The a race-based theology, and changed the name of
information he provided led to several arrests and his group to the Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of
indictments, as well as sustained surveillance of Salt the Lord (CSA). Ellison and antigovernment Christian
Lake City’s straight-edge community (mostly young, survivalist groups such as the Christian Patriots
punk rockers who eschew drugs, alcohol, smoking, Defense League eventually turned the CSA’s 224-acre
casual sex, meat, and leather in favor of a proenviron- compound into a training camp for white supremacists.
ment and animal rights lifestyle). Members of the By 1982, Ellison, who was calling himself King
Coalition Against Fur Trade were said to recruit James of the Ozarks, had about 150 followers. This
straight-edgers to become part of the illegal actions of number decreased dramatically that year when he
the antifur crusade at concerts in Salt Lake City. announced that he would take a second (polygamous)
In January 1998, Ellerman pleaded guilty to three of wife. In the debate over polygamy, Ellison made clear
the 16 counts on which he was indicted: maliciously that he would act against the wishes of the other