The time has come to fight back against the rising tide of white supremacy and neo-Nazism.  This normalization of bigotry and fascism must end.

The Ellsworth Avengers were originally founded in 1861 following the death of Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth.  He was the first conspicuous casualty that the Union Army suffered in America's Civil War.  He was killed after President Lincoln had ordered Col. Ellsworth to assemble a platoon if Union soldiers to cut down the Confederate flag from the rooftop of an Alexandria, Virginia inn.  The traitorous flag was defiantly flying across the Potomac River in full view of the  White House.  The owner of the hotel murdered Col. Ellsworth at point blank range.  Following the death of Elmer Ellsworth, President Lincoln ordered that Colonel Ellsworth be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and to be laid in state within the East Wing of the People's House.  This was the birth of the Ellsworth Avengers.  Their mission continues to this day - crush  the "rebel rabble" and Nazi scum.

                      Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth                           Heather Heyer

                   April 11, 1837 - May 24, 1861                             May 29, 1985 - August 12, 2017

Both Col. Ellsworth and Heather Heyer were law clerks.  They breathed their last breaths in Virginia opposing racism and supporting equal rights for all.

The following is a copy the former Earth Liberation Front webpage as it last appeared at earth_liberation_front (dot) com in June 2017:

Forty five years have passed since the so-called "Rose Lodge" protestors in Oregon were sprayed from a helicopter with a toxic herbicide.  The event evoked outrage and launched an early eco-guerrilla action by the original ELF cadre in August, 1977. (news link).

An unintended consequence of  this 1977 ELF bombing served to discredit the Oregon spray victims and their peaceful, civil protest.

Over the ensuing decades, the herbicide spraying has increased with devastating health and environmental effects.  Thirty nine years and the EPA, federal and state legislators still bow down to the chemical lobby, sticking their heads in the sand and calling for more pointless studies.

Meanwhile, we the people continue to be exposed to cancer causing chemicals and witness the collapse of our salmon and steelhead fisheries.  As can be read in an article linking toxic chemicals to low birthweight, written by Justin Workman in the January 15, 2015 issue of the Eugene Weekly, the herbicide spraying continues with total disregard and impunity to humans and the environment.  The lies, greed and genocide continue (Link Here).     

The Louisiana State Bird

KARMA, KARMA, KARMA!

TORA, TORA, TORA!

Following Mother Earth's sneak attack on northern Japan, twenty three innocent dolphins were smashed up against the rocks because they were trapped inside the infamous slaughter COVE in Taiji.  Stop the killing Japan!  Let the dolphins, whales and blue fin tuna live free.  Stop polluting the ocean with radioactive runoff! WAKE UP, JAPAN!  Now is the time to abandon the nuclear nightmare.  Marshal together Japan's formidable intellectual and technical resources and develop a long-term alternative energy plan.  Harness the wind, waves, tides, sun and geothermal options for a future of healthy, unlimited energy

©John Hanna

Plastic trash collected on the Oregon coast. Microplastics are slowly killing marine life worldwide.

The evolution of ELF after "Operation Backfire"

 ELF informants rat out their comrades leading to multiple arrests. . .

   They could have learned by another person's experience:  Forty one years ago, in 1977 (around the time when Chelsea Gerlach was being born), an arrest occurred which showed that arson and the use of explosives is counterproductive to the environmental movement.  John Hanna of Santa Cruz, California, was the first ELF "ecommando" to be arrested for underground guerrilla actions done in defense of the environment.  He ended up facing a federal judge in 1978 where he was convicted of placing fire bombs on seven crop dusters, sent to prison and spent years rebuilding his life.

                                                                                                             From: EPOCH JOURNAL, vol. 2, # 3

  ELF origins:  John Hanna of Santa Cruz, California, founded the original ELF (Environmental Life Force) in 1977 before Earth First! and the Earth Liberation Front were established.  He is recognized as the founding father of the ELF concept, a philosophy that has been adopted by the Earth Liberation Front and continues to this day.  This was the first eco-guerrilla unit to use direct action and the name ELF.  As originally conceived by Hanna, the ELF would have no central leadership or chain of command.  Each cell was intended to be  autonomous and an individual could join or drop out at will.  Anyone could call him or her self a member of ELF but no one can be an ELF leader.

  Today's ELF, Earth Liberation Front, came into being around 1992 and rejoined the battle to protect Earth by using the same tactics employed by the original ELF fifteen years earlier.  The 'new' version of ELF was reinvented by a former member of Earth First! in the UK.  That EF! individual in the UK was a friend of John Hanna.  The two had met when Hanna was in England in the summer of 1962.  Hanna had purchased a new BSA motorcycle from the factory in Birmingham.  The two met when Hanna visited the famous ACE Cafe in northern London.  Their friendship continued by correspondence over the next fifteen years.  When the original ELF disbanded following Hanna's arrest, the ELF acronym was resurrected. Hanna's friend from the ACE Cafe days came up with the name Earth Liberation Front.  The 'new' ELF continued using the same philosophy as practiced by the original ELF.  Earth First! founder, Dave Foreman and original ELF founder, John Hanna were communicating as early as 1985 (this is shown in a letter posted on the Original ELF archives page).  By 2009, actions allegedly perpetrated by members of the 'new' ELF had resulted in numerous arrests with predictable consequences. 

   Reportedly, some ELF co-conspirators "refused to cooperate" with the government.  One of them was Daniel Gerard McGowan.  He received a sentence of seven years in prison.  On June 11, 2007, reporter Amy Goodman interviewed McGowan on Democracy Now! (an independent NPR and Pacifica Radio program).  In part, McGowan had this to say:  "...I definitely have regrets...that I employed arson as a tactic.  I wish I had people in my life at the time to kinda guide me back to a different path".

   Regardless of the frustration we all feel about the enormous perils facing our Mother Earth, engaging the perceived wrong-doers with threats, intimidation and destructive tactics will always fail.  Fighting fire with fire will get you burned.

                                       Prison Planet                            © AZRainman

   This webpage was created for two reasons: one is to counterbalance inflammatory rhetoric puked out by self-appointed, unofficial ELF "spokesmen".  Their truculent, rehashed political tirades offer nothing to an independent, intelligent eco-activist.  Their real agenda is to foment insurrection by duping the gullible into believing the Earth can be saved through violence.  Then, when the elves get busted, these parasites get busy, profiting off the true activists' misfortune.

   These self-aggrandizing, ego-tripping ELF "spokesmen" urge would-be ELF combatants to wage war in defense of the Earth "by any means necessary".  But, at the same time, the fake poseurs sit safely on the sidelines, taking no risks while they pander to the media and bask in the limelight.  These hypocrites are pocketing lots of money off the sale of their specious books about ELF and publishing a delusional and short-lived 'eco-radical' magazine.

  Their actions expose the truth: They are greedy capitalist pigs pretending to be anarchists.  Like diseased cockroaches, they scurry from one lecture to another, charging money to speak while hawking their pusillanimous tracts that aren't worth the paper they're written on.  Save the trees - don't buy trash from these two-faced ego-radicals. 

   It is hard to choose who are the most contemptible: the growing number of snitches from within the ranks of ELF, or these two parasitic and opportunistic provocateurs bleating in front of network camera crews (whom they say should be destroyed).  Both entities have managed to discredit the Earth Liberation Front.  Most odious is Craig Rosebraugh's $650,000 trust-funded hypocrisy; click the following link to read about this former ELF spokesman's hostile, anti-labor stand against employees he ripped off at his failed yuppie bistro: www.iww.org/en/node/878.  This guy gives naked rats a bad name.  Now this greedy lying bastard has moved to L.A. and has set his beady eyes on film making.  He's exploiting yet another hot-button environmental issue by producing a disingenuous film on global warming.  As always, he offers no solutions.  When the media attention and money fades, he'll cut and run just like he did with the ELF.

  But in spite of the snitching and self-serving duplicity that has eviscerated the Earth Liberation Front, the concept and philosophy of ELF can survive and continue to evolve forcefully and effectively . . .

   The other reason this webpage was created, is to suggest a new direction for ELF.  In order to win the hearts and minds of the people ELF hopes to influence and gain support from, a thoughtful, even-handed approach is necessary.  Continuing the underground approach will perpetuate past mistakes.  The life of an eco-guerrilla isn't heroic, romantic or courageous.  It is a lonely and paranoid existence and offers no long-term achievements.  It merely feeds the system with new prisoners.  Before anyone chooses to embark on this perilous journey, first consider the fates of the Original ELF, Weather Underground, New World Liberation Front and the New Dawn Party. 

   One of New Dawn's cadre was Steven Robert Scipes, a former US Marine sergeant.  He and other New Dawn guerrillas calling themselves the Emiliano Zapata Unit, were arrested by federal agents in February, 1976.  At the time, police discovered almost 150 pounds of explosives at their safehouse which they said was part of a larger 1,100 pound cache of stolen dynamite.  The arrests effectively ended the New Dawn Party's ongoing bombing campaign against Safeway stores and other targets in California.  In addition, feds uncovered documents laying out plans to blow up a city's water supply, thought to be Portland, Oregon.  Scipes was arrested on charges of being in possession of unregistered explosives.

  The point of this tale is this:  some thirty-five years later, Steven Scipes, the New Dawn/Zapata Unit's revolutionary guerrilla fighter has now morphed into  Steven R. "Kim" Scipes, PhD, professor of sociology at Purdue University.  Although he has never fully repudiated his radical past, he has clearly made a choice to focus his abundant energy into a more civil and effective form of activism.  He has authored many books and articles and here is a link to a piece titled: It's Time for a Deep Green Vision for the United States - and the World. 

  Now, contemplate how violence has served both former and contemporary radical groups and what is ultimately accomplished in the end?  More to the point, what positive effect on the environment can be claimed since John Hanna's original ELF concept was launched?

   There are a multitude of problems facing our Earth.  To wage a successful campaign, FOCUS on a single issue that means the most to YOU.  STUDY the problem and formulate viable alternatives leading to a solution.  Then put your plan into action.  It does not help to rage against a problem without offering solutions.

                                       Rising ELF Nebula                                                        Artwork Copyright: John Hanna

   Although there has never been an injury or death stemming from an ELF action, it can happen regardless how carefully things are planned in advance.  A critical evaluation of past ELF actions exposes the obvious: arson is a dangerous and unpredictable strategy that can get out of control very easily.  Even if the attack does not injure or kill an innocent person, there are no winners.  Torching sport utility vehicles, ski resorts, research labs and McMansions, releases huge amounts of toxic gasses into the atmosphere - creating far more greenhouse gasses than if they were left alone.  The end result: everything is rebuilt, replaced or repaired.  This DOUBLES the burden on the environment and taxpayers!  An exercise in futility and self-defeat.  Think about it.

   Those who are now serving prison sentences are effectively removed from the battle to save our planet.  We are all losers in that regard, even the Feds.  If anything can be learned from Operation Backfire, it is the necessity to channel our frustrations and concern for earth's welfare into positive direct action.  Build - don't destroy.  Build consensus and public support.  Get an education and build a better world and future.

   In a point/counterpoint-style interview in the Epoch Journal (Vol. 2, Issue 3 Spring 2008), a self-proclaimed ELF "spokesman", Leslie James Pickering and Original ELF founder, John Hanna, laid out their divergent viewpoints:  Pickering mused that by bringing together mainstream and ELF activists, it would make the most effective environmental movement in U.S. history.

   In essence, Hanna responded: For that to ever take place, ELF needs to abandon arson as a tactic and stop filling up the prisons.  Working within the system gets the best results.  Winning one for Mother Earth without lowering yourself to your adversary's level will be your reward and the ranks of ELF will expand (John Hanna Q&A: http://old-elf.tripod.com/questions.html ).

Click on the graphic below to link to the Original ELF website

©J. Hanna

"ELF Resistance Forever . . . LIVE ON ~ NO EVIL"

ATTENTION:  Only convicted ELF activists, such as Grant Barnes, Nathan Block, Marie Mason, Eric McDavid, Daniel McGowan, John Hanna, Eva and Lili Holland, Bryan Lefey,  Jonathan Paul, Briana Waters, Joyanna Zacher and others that have served or are serving their prison sentences honorably (without snitching), can make official comments and speak as a legitimate ELF spokesperson.  Prison validates an ELF spokesperson's credentials; they've earned their stripes.

DANGER:  On the flip side of the coin, there are a couple of websites that use Earth Liberation Front in their domain names: One site wants to peddle Viagra and the other site's drug of choice is violence and arson.  This upstart claims to be an official ELF conduit for press releases and communications.  But the counterfeit site's true goal is to instigate political insurrection and showcase their inflammatory books written for personal gain and fame.  These dilettante opportunists urge others to put their asses in jeopardy while they cower behind their keyboards as their egos and bank accounts swell.

  Ask yourself this: Have any of these fractious interlopers actually participated in ELF actions or done time in prison?  The answer is probably NO.  So, figure that any self-proclaimed "spokesperson" or "Press Officer" who's never been convicted for alleged ELF actions may be a provocateur or some wannabe that's likely to snitch you off to save their rat ass.  Be smart and don't trust them... think for yourself and never, never conspire with anyone!

  So, BEWARE of bogus websites claiming to be "legitimate"  ELF forums which lure unwary eco-activists into submitting ELF communiques for publication.  Ah, ha, ha... that's a good one!  Don't allow yourself to be duped.  The Earth Liberation Front means being self-reliant... it has no central leadership and it doesn't need a website to post ELF communiques!  (Rest assured, the mainstream media or www.indymedia.org will report on any ELF action). 

©John Hanna

Tree planters are true heroes of the movement and their story has been told in an important book titled "EATING DIRT" by Charlotte Gill (published by Greystone Books and the David Suzuki Foundation).  The ELF website highly recommends this well-crafted literary treasure !

 WARNING:   If, as stated, the ELF's mission is to defend and protect the Earth for future generations by means of direct action, then the high moral road must be taken in order to succeed.  Historically, elves have a reputation for being mischievous.  The practice of non-violent civil disobedience can be considered a mischievous act (in the time-honored tradition of Mahatma Gandhi, who ran the British out of India).  But, non-violent direct action should only be considered as a last resort.  Anyone choosing this path must be prepared to face potential life-changing consequences.  Remember Hippocrates' most famous dictum: primum non nocere, which means, first do no harm .

WEBMASTER:  This webpage has been printed on 100% recycled cyber fiber.  Save the internet for future generations - plant a pixel today.  Content, graphics and technical support has been provided by an emancipated ELF jailbird (who served his time and never sang) and retired fellow worker with the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World), Industrial Unit No. 330.  Relevant content, graphics and constructive commentary are welcomed.  Original graphics and photos by John Clark Hanna on this website are protected by U.S. and international copyright laws and may not be copied for any reason without advance written permission.  Contact Webmaster:  railrant(at)yahoo.com.

Click on the graphic below to hear a collection of songs from IWW Fellow Worker Tom Morello

© by IWW worker X341879 (John Hanna)

 "Don't follow leaders, watch your parking meters"

Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues