Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Domestic terrorist gets eight years in prison

On the ten-year anniversary of Oklahoma City (many links at MM) here’s another account of domestic terrorism:

A Caltech graduate student convicted of helping to firebomb scores of sport utility vehicles was sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison and ordered to pay $3.5 million in restitution.
Cottrell, 24, was convicted in November of conspiracy to commit arson and seven counts of arson for an August 2003 vandalism spree that damaged and destroyed about 125 SUVs at dealerships and homes in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles.
Cottrell was acquitted of using a destructive device Molotov cocktails in a crime of violence. That was the most serious charge he faced and it carried a sentence of at least 30 years in prison.
At his trial, the prosecution had accused Cottrell of "arrogance" and a "towering superiority" toward people who did not share his environmental views. Cottrell had testified that SUV dealers were evil.
Cottrell’s Earth Liberation Front co-conspirators have fled the country.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Domestic terrorism under the Patriot Act?