William C. Rodgers

Bill Rodgers a.k.a. Avalon (died 2005), co-proprietor of the Catalyst Infoshop in Prescott, Arizona, USA, was one of six environmental activists arrested December 7, 2005 as part of the FBI's Operation Backfire. He was charged with one count of arson for a June, 1998 fire set by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) at the National Wildlife Research Center in Olympia, Washington. He was found dead in his jail cell on December 21, 2005. According to police, Rodgers committed suicide using a plastic bag. [cite web | title = Remembering Bill Rodgers: Long Live Avalon! | publisher=Slingshot | url=http://slingshot.tao.ca/89/bill.php | accessdate = 2006-07-09 ]

Government claims

The FBI has claimed that Rodgers was a criminal "mastermind" and the anonymous author of "Setting Fire with Electrical Timers, an Earth Liberation Front Guide", [ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002752813_ecoindictments21m.html?syndication=rss Prosecutors portray close-knit arson team] , "The Seattle Times", 21st January 2006.] which explained in detail how to create an incendiary device known as a "cat's cradle". Authorities said that once the guide was published they no longer were able to tell with certainty when the ELF cell connected to Rodgers was responsible for an arson.

Death

Rodgers wrote a suicide note [ [http://www.greenanarchy.org/index.php?action=viewwritingdetail&writingId=564 Operation Backfire: The Feds Make a Monstrous Move] , "Green Anarchy" Magazine, 24th June 2006.] which he mailed to a number of his friends:

Many activists blamed two co-operating witnesses for Rodgers' arrest, both of whom are alleged to have been very close friends and members of the same ELF cell as Rodgers and agreed to become informants for the FBI. [ [http://cbs4denver.com/crime/local_story_360095123.html CBS4denver] ]

Continuing influence

Rodgers has had a continuing impact on various anarchist and radical environmentalist movements. A number of acts of civil disobedience have been dedicated to his memory. Among these have been the removal of 28 beagle puppies from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the Independent University of Madrid [ [http://bombsandshields.blogspot.com/2006/01/madrid-spain-animal-liberation-front.html 28 beagles rescued by ALF] , "Bombs and Shields", 12th January 2006.] and the burning of a partially constructed development in Guelph, Ontario, Canada [ [http://mostlywater.org/node/4004 Anti-Sprawl ELF Action in Memory of William Rodgers] , "Mostly Water", 10th February 2006.]

ee also

*Green Scare
*Operation Backfire
*Federal Bureau of Investigation
*Earth Liberation Front
*Animal Liberation Front
*Rod Coronado
*Eco-Terrorism
*Earth First
*Green Anarchism

Memorials

* [http://catalystinfoshop.org/bill/memorial.html Catalyst Infoshop Memorial]
* [http://www.nocompromise.org/issues/29bill.html No Compromise Memorial]
* [http://slingshot.tao.ca/89/bill.php Slingshot Memorial]

References