2/23/2006
TWO
ADDITIONAL DEFENDANTS CHARGED IN 2001 ECO-TERRORISM ARSON AT JEFFERSON
POPLAR FARM IN CLATSKANIE, OREGON
PORTLAND, OREGON– United States Attorney Karin J. Immergut announced
today that a federal grand jury in Eugene, Oregon, has returned two
separate 14-count indictments charging NATHAN FRASER BLOCK and JOYANNA
L. ZACHER in the May 21, 2001, arson at Jefferson Poplar Farm in Clatskanie,
Oregon. BLOCK and ZACHER join four other defendants already charged
in connection with the crime
BLOCK, age 24,
and ZACHER, age 28, were arrested today by federal agents in Olympia,
Washington, where both reside. The agents also executed a search warrant
at the residence. BLOCK and ZACHER will appear in federal court in Tacoma,
Washington, where government attorneys will seek their return to Eugene,
Oregon, to face trial.
The indictments
charge 12 counts of arson and one count of attempted arson involving
farm buildings and trucks. Each count of arson and attempted arson carries
a minimum sentence of five years in prison, up to a maximum of 20 years.
The defendants are also charged with using and carrying a destructive
device (one or more incendiary bombs) in relation to a crime of violence,
which carries a minimum prison sentence of 30 years.
Defendants already
charged in the Jefferson Poplar Farm case are Kevin Tubbs, Stanislas
Gregory Meyerhoff, Chelsea Dawn Gerlach, and Daniel Gerard McGowan,
who face trial in Eugene on October 31, 2006. Their indictment alleges
the Jefferson Poplar Farm arson was part of a broad conspiracy from
1996 through 2001 involving numerous other arsons and attempted arsons
in Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Colorado and California, in which elements
of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and Animal Liberation Front (ALF)
were allegedly responsible. Additional defendants already charged in
the conspiracy are Joseph Dibee, Josephine Sunshine Overaker, Rebecca
Rubin, Jonathan Mark Christopher Paul, Sarah Kendall Harvey, Susan Savoie,
and Darren Todd Thurston.
U.S. Attorney Karin
J. Immergut stated that, "We will continue to aggressively investigate
and prosecute those responsible for acts of eco-terrorism in Oregon.
I applaud the hard work and collaborative efforts of all the state,
local and federal law enforcement agencies who have dedicated themselves
to this case."
To view a copy
of the indictment for NATHAN FRASER BLOCK , click
here.
To view a copy
of the indictment for JOYANNA L. ZACHER, click
here.
An indictment is
not evidence of guilt. The defendants named in the indictments are presumed
innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case, along
with the associated cases, were jointly investigated by the FBI, ATF,
Eugene Police Department, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest
Service, Oregon State Police, and Lane County Sheriff's Office.
Prosecuting attorneys
in the case are Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Engdall and Assistant U.S.
Attorney John Ray in Eugene, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen F.
Peifer, in Portland. For further information, contact Diane Peterson,
Public Information Officer, at 503-727-1066.
