Eric McDavid
Eric McDavid (born October 7, 1977 in Foresthill , California) is an American green anarchist and vegan convicted of conspiracy to use firearms and explosives against corporate and government property. He was found guilty on all counts on September 27, 2007 and sentenced in May 2008 to nearly 20 years in prison. While Prosecutor McGregor has identified Scott McDavid as the first person convicted in connection with the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), the trial revealed that McDavid's group had not yet decided whether their planned actions should have taken place on behalf of the ELF . In 2015, he was released early after nine years and 362 days in prison for procedural errors.
Early activism
McDavid participated in many demonstrations and a protest in June 2005 against the Biotechnology Industry Organization's annual exhibition in Philadelphia . In court, an FBI witness stated that McDavid had instructed other activists on how to make Molotov cocktails and had spoken out in favor of violent protests. The source also said he regretted not having been involved in a fight that ended in the death of a police officer. In July 2006 he attended a CrimethInc. Meeting in Bloomington, Indiana .
Sabotage plans
Together with Lauren Weiner and Zachary Jenson, McDavid planned arson and sabotage at Nimbus Dam and the American River fish farm near Sacramento , the United States Forest Service's Institute of Forest Genetics , cell phone transmitters, power plants, and other targets. FBI informant Anna testified that the group described the death of random passers-by as collateral damage , although the target of the attacks was the facilities themselves.
The fourth member was the informant named "Anna," who had been with the FBI since 2004 and had earned $ 65,000 in the year and a half. She had regularly attended various anarchist gatherings and brought the group together. She supported their activities, provided bomb making instructions, money to procure the necessary materials, transportation and a log cabin for undisturbed work. In consultation with the three group members, she also produced audio and video recordings of the activities.
Arrest, convict and challenge
On January 13, 2006, the three were arrested outside of a store in Auburn where they had bought household chemicals that were needed to build a bomb. None of the three had previous convictions. In March, McDavid went on a hunger strike when prison officials refused to give him a vegan diet. At their 2008 trial, Weiner and Jenson confessed, pleaded guilty, and testified against McDavid. McDavid's attorney Mark Reichel argued that McDavid was the victim of entrapment , a seduction into a crime by investigators.
McDavid was convicted of conspiracy to use firearms or explosives to damage company and government property and was sentenced to 235 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release , a conditional suspended sentence. In 2009, McDavid's attorney challenged the conviction for, among other things, incorrectly transcribing a statement. On December 8, 2010, the appellate court refused to deal with the case again and the judgment became final. On November 2, 2011, McDavid was transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island , a lower-security prison in Southern California. McDavid's trial is located in the green scare debate . His release was scheduled for 2023.
On January 8, 2015, a federal judge ordered McDavid's release from prison. The prosecution admitted that they had withheld thousands of pages of FBI evidence from the defense, including supporting false statements by his informant. In order not to stand in the way of his own release, McDavid gave in to a demand for a conspiracy confession . This criminal offense is punishable by up to five years imprisonment.
Songs
- Tom Frampton of the Riot-Folk Collective released the song Benedict on his album As Marion Delgado , which is an early rendition of the night McDavid, Anna, Jensen and Weiner were arrested.
- Laura Jane Grace , lead singer of Against Me! , recorded the song Anna is a Stool Pigeon on her solo album Heart Burns . who deals with the situation of the four group members.
- The riot folk band Nora & Gnoll and the band Spoke Pants of the Flowering Skillet participated in numerous solidarity appearances and released the song "Snitches are Bitches", which is dedicated to solidarity with Eric McDavid.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ About Eric McDavid's Sentencing , Animal Liberation Front Website , May 11, 2008.
- ↑ a b c d Update ( Memento of the original from April 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Support Eric , February 16, 2006.
- ^ Lyonnais, Sheena. Laura Jane Grace: Heart Burns ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Exclaim.ca , March 31, 2009.
- ↑ a b c ECO-TERRORIST CONVICTED: Sacramento federal jury convicts Eric McDavid with conspiracy to commit domestic terrorism . In: Federal Bureau of Investigation . September 27, 2007. Archived from the original on January 10, 2008. Retrieved March 12, 2008.
- ↑ McDavid Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison as a "terrorist" , Green Is The New Red , 9th May, 2008.
- ↑ a b Eco-Terror Suspect Guilty in Bomb Plot ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. News 10, September 27, 2007.
- ↑ a b c d e Eric McDavid - Court Report from 9/11 | Anarchist news dot org ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ A b The Decline of Resistance from the Red Scare to the War on Terror by Peter Gelderloos on Counterpunch, 23 August 2010
- ^ Eco-terrorist given nearly twenty years in prison. ( Memento of May 28, 2010 on the Internet Archive ) FBI, May 8, 2008.
- ^ Federal Bureau of Prisons, Inmate Locator , accessed January 4, 2013
- ↑ Convicted “eco-terrorist” freed amid claims FBI hid evidence . In: The Sacramento Bee . January 8, 2015. Accessed January 8, 2015.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | McDavid, Eric |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American green anarchist and vegan |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 7th October 1977 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Foresthill |