In May of 2001, a building on the University of Washington’s Seattle campus went up in flames, in the middle of the night. 

It was the work of arsonists. An eco-sabotage group known as the Earth Liberation Front took credit for the attack. For group members, voting and publicly demonstrating wasn't enough to allay their fears of climate catastrophe.

The group had three core principles: public education, economic sabotage and to harm property, not people. 

But members torched the UW building over unfounded claims that professor was making genetically modified trees.

The group committed a string of arsons, from Colorado to Seattle. For several years, the FBI designated the ELF as the most dangerous domestic terror organization in the country. 

The group caused tens of millions of dollars in property destruction in the late 90s and early 2000s, according to the federal government.

Soundside host Libby Denkmann talks with the author of a new book about the development of the  ELF. 

Guest

Matthew Wolfe, author, “Fires In the Night: The Earth Liberation Front, the FBI, and a Secret History of Eco-Sabotage”

Related Links

The Rise and Fall of America’s Environmentalist Underground - The New York Times Magazine
The many lives of Joseph Dibee, codename 'Seattle' - KUOW


Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

In May of 2001, a building on the University of Washington&rsquo;s Seattle campus went up in flames, in the middle of the night.&nbsp; It was the work of arsonists. An eco-sabotage group known as the Earth Liberation Front took credit for the attack. For group members, voting and publicly demonstrating wasn't enough to allay their fears of climate catastrophe.
The group had three core principles: public education, economic sabotage and to harm property, not people.&nbsp; But members torched the UW building over unfounded claims that professor was making genetically modified trees.
The group committed a string of arsons, from Colorado to Seattle. For several years, the FBI designated the ELF as the most dangerous domestic terror organization in the country.&nbsp;
The group caused tens of millions of dollars in property destruction in the late 90s and early 2000s, according to the federal government. Soundside host Libby Denkmann talks with the author of a new book about the development of the&nbsp; ELF.&nbsp;
Guest
Matthew Wolfe, author, &ldquo;<a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/fires-in-the-night-the-earth-liberation-front-the-fbi-and-a-secret-history-of-eco-sabotage-matthew-wolfe/1d7897ea71f2466d">Fires In the Night: The Earth Liberation Front, the FBI, and a Secret History of Eco-Sabotage</a>&rdquo; Related Links <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/26/magazine/earth-liberation-front-joseph-mahmoud-dibee.html?eafs_enabled=false">The Rise and Fall of America&rsquo;s Environmentalist Underground</a> - The New York Times Magazine <a href="https://www.kuow.org/stories/the-many-lives-of-joseph-dibee-codename-seattle">The many lives of Joseph Dibee, codename 'Seattle'</a> - KUOW
 Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to <a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Soundside

Arson by the ELF was the butt of a joke on "The West Wing." The real story is far more complicated. 