Trial Opens on Anti-Nuclear Plot Charges
PRESCOTT, Ariz. — A prosecutor said Wednesday in opening statements that five people on trial for nuclear sabotage conspiracy thought “destruction was fun,” but the defense said the FBI entrapped members of the radical environmentalist group Earth First!.
Defense attorney Michael Black said federal authorities were bent on entrapping David Foreman, a co-founder of the group. Foreman, 43, of Tucson, is accused of providing money, know-how and literature to his co-defendants in their alleged plot to sabotage nuclear facilities in Arizona, California and Colorado.
Also charged with conspiracy are Mark Davis, Ilse Asplund, Margaret Millett and Marc Baker, all of Prescott. The four also are charged with sawing through power poles, damaging ski lifts and attempting to topple power lines. They were arrested in 1989.
Roslyn Moore-Silver, the lead prosecutor, showed jurors a chart with the words “Eco Terrorism” and “anarchy and revolution” spelled out in big, colorful letters.
“These defendants thought that acts of destruction (were) fun,” she said.
Foreman is author of “Ecodefense: A Field Guide To Monkeywrenching,” a term for sabotage used by some environmentalists.
“The FBI put an end to this terrifying adventure,” she said.
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