FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 19, 2008

EARTH LIBERATION FRONT PRESS OFFICE DECRIES F.B.I. MANHUNT FOR ECO-DEFENDERS;

CALLS THE PURSUIT HYPOCRITICAL

See the top 20 Ecoterrorists in the United States at http://www.elfpressoffice.org/ecoterrorists.html

Washington, DC - In response to the F.B.I. announcement today increasing the reward offered for four Eco-Defenders allegedly involved in the $26 million fire that burned Vail Ski Resorts in Colorado in 1998, the North American Earth Liberation Front Press Office (NAELFPO) objected to the manhunt calling it "hypocritical."

"During the last ten years, the federal government has wasted countless resources on its 'Operation Backfire' campaign aimed at demonizing those who are protecting the planet," stated Lisa Nesbitt - one of the four new regional press officers with the NAELFPO. "Instead of tracking and prosecuting nonviolent eco-defenders, why isn't the federal government locking up the real ecoterrorists, the CEOs of corporations who are inflicting violence and destruction on the environment every day?"

The Earth Liberation Front, or ELF, is an international, underground movement consisting of autonomous groups of people who engage in direct actions to protect the planet. Formed in 1992 in Brighton, England as an offshoot of the Earth First! organization, the ELF has been active in the United States since 1996. Since that time the group has conducted dozens of actions across the country and North America resulting in over $150 million in damages. Notorious ELF actions have included the $26 million arson attack at Colorado's Vail Ski Resort in 1998 and the $50 million arson attack on a five-story condominium project in San Diego, CA in 2003.

Since the year 2001, the ELF has been considered the top domestic terror threat by the F.B.I.

"If the federal government desires to stop ecoterrorism, it should begin by denying the $25 billion bailout package currently begged for by three of the top ecoterrorists in the United States - the three big automakers who ignored all concerns over global warming by relentlessly pumping out gas guzzling SUVs," Nesbitt continued.

First established in 2000 as the public face of the Earth Liberation Front direct action movement, the NAELFPO returned on October 31, 2008 opening its doors to four new regional offices and press officers in the United States: Lisa Nesbitt (Northeastern Bureau); Tomas Peterson (Northwestern Bureau); Kristina Sanchez (Southwestern Bureau); and Jason Crawford (Midwest Bureau).

NAELFPO can be found on the web at http://www.elfpressoffice.org

Contact:

North American Earth Liberation Front Press Office (NAELFPO)

Tel: (202) 521-1482

Email: info[at]elfpressoffice.org

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