A court on Thursday ordered the extradition of suspected eco-terrorist Tre Arrow, one of the FBI's most-wanted fugitives, to face firebombing charges in the United States. Arrow, born Michael Scarpitti, is accused of participating in the 2001 firebombing of logging and cement trucks in Oregon.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A court on Thursday ordered the extradition of suspected eco-terrorist Tre Arrow, one of the FBI's most-wanted fugitives, to face firebombing charges in the United States.
Arrow, born Michael Scarpitti, is accused of participating in the 2001 firebombing of logging and cement trucks in Oregon. The FBI claims he is associated with the Earth Liberation Front, a group that has claimed responsibility for dozens of acts of destruction over the past few years.
British Columbia Supreme Court Judge Kristi Gill ruled that there was enough evidence against Arrow, 30, to have him extradited to face federal charges. His lawyer, Tim Russel, said he would appeal, though the final decision on whether Arrow will be extradited rests with Justice Minister Irwin Cotler.
The former U.S. Green Party candidate for Congress in 2000 -- who says the trees told him to change his name -- last week told the court that he was innocent of the charges and a target of a U.S. government conspiracy.
"I am innocent of the charges the U.S. government is trying to pin on me," Arrow said. "Just as many other activists have experienced, I am being targeted by the U.S. government and the FBI, not because I am guilty but because I have chosen to challenge the status quo."
!ADVERTISEMENT!
Arrow appeared in court Thursday by closed-circuit TV from his jail cell, clad in orange prison garb. Once the ruling was made, he asked the lawyer to pass the information to his supporters so it could be posted on his Web site.
In extradition cases, Canadian prosecutors represent the extraditing state, in this case the United States.
Prosecutor Rosellina Patillo said evidence from the U.S. attorney in Oregon indicated Arrow was among four conspirators involved in the bombings of a gravel company and a logging company between April and June of 2001. The other conspirators have pleaded guilty to the bombings.
They intended to firebomb a U.S. Forest Service office, but abandoned the idea after they found the security system was too tight, Patillo said.
She said the Ross Island Gravel Company was targeted "because it was guilty of stealing soil from the earth." In that attack, three trucks were blown up resulting in US$200,000 (euro160,000) in damage. The second attack, on June 1, 2001, was against a Mount Hood logging company when three vehicles were damaged at a cost of US$50,000 (euro41,800).
Russell contends the evidence against Arrow is hearsay. Gill did not agree.
"She threw it out because, in her analysis, the hearsay evidence is to be treated as original evidence ... from the witnesses," Russell said outside court.
He had asked the court to consider Arrow exempt from extradition under a treaty with the United States that says people charged with crimes of a political nature cannot be removed from Canada.
Again, Gill declined.
Arrow contents he won't get a fair trial in the United States because of the FBI's assertion that his alleged crimes are acts of terrorism. Charges against him include use of fire to commit a felony and destruction of vehicles. Combined, they carry up to 80 years in prison.
Source: Associated Press
