The Rise and Fall of the Earth Liberation Front w/ author Matthew Wolfe

In 1996, the first of a series of arsons burned down the Oakridge Ranger Station in Oregon. More followed, as well as a massive federal investigation of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). Their targets—car dealerships, slaughterhouses, lumber companies, a $12 million Vail ski resort—were chosen to send a message: if the government wouldn’t halt the destruction of the natural world, they would. Despite causing no deaths, the ELF would soon be branded the foremost domestic terrorism threat in America and become the target of one of the FBI’s largest investigations. Ultimately, with the help of an informant in the group, law enforcement was able to make arrests of the group.

Listen in:

In our latest, Scott talks with Matthew Wolfe, author of “Fires in the Night: The Earth Liberation Fron, the FBI and the Secret History of Eco-Sabotage”, and discussed the origins of the ELF, who they were, what motivated them, how they were able to pull off the actions for so long and how they eventually were caught. They also talk about the reassessment happening today of the ELF in the wake of ongoing climate and political crises.

Guest Bio-
Matthew Wolfe’s reporting has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Harper’s, the Atlantic, National Geographic, and the New Republic. He was previously a national fellow at New America. He has a PhD in sociology from New York University, where he is currently a fellow at NYU’s Institute for Public Knowledge.

He is the author of “Fires in the Night: The Earth Liberation Fron, the FBI and the Secret History of Eco-Sabotage.”