Bail sought for suspected eco-terrorists in US Pacific northwest
Attorneys defending a pair of accused eco-terrorists in the US state of Oregon have asked a federal magistrate to free the duo on bail. Oregon residents Chelsea Gerlach, 28, and Kevin Tubbs, 36, have been in police custody since their arrests earlier this month as suspects in environmental arson and vandalism attacks in the Pacific northwest. Federal prosecutors have labelled the pair terrorists linked to the militant environmental group Earth Liberation Front (ELF). Gerlach’s attorney, Craig Weinerman, argued that hyperbole such as “eco-terror” and “cell” was unfairly inflaming sentiment regarding what he saw as weak arson and vandalism cases. “I am trying to apoliticize this case,” Weinerman told AFP after filing a bail request that will be debated Thursday before US Magistrate Tom Coffin in a federal court in Eugene, Oregon. Full Story