Utah Bomber Ellerman Sentenced

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, Sept. 10: Douglas Joshua Ellerman, 20, was sentenced today to seven years in prison plus three years probation for the bombing of the Sandy, Utah, Fur Breeders Feed Co-Op. Ellerman, a member of the Straight Edge movement and confessed follower of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), was repentant at sentencing. "I'd like to apologize to the victims of this crime," he said, his voice cracking. "I can't imagine how I'd deal with that if it happened to my family."

"All my life my family looked up to me as someone who could achieve greatness," he continued. "I haven't shown that."

Referring to an "active and vigorous investigation" ongoing into animal rights terrorism, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Schwendiman said Ellerman's sentence was the stiffest ever handed down in a case involving an animal activist crime.

"We support and defend the rights of people to say and think what they want," he said. "But when they choose to express those beliefs through violence that endangers lives and destroys property, it will be met with swift and sure prosecution."

Ellerman's defense attorney, Ronald Yengich, said that his client now realized violence in the name of ideology is wrong and pleaded "not so much for leniency as to give him a life. ... I think he has learned that matters of conscience must remain matters of conscience in a nonviolent way."

More Defendants

A new indictment, naming five other defendants in the bombing, could result in some spending life in prison without parole. Handed up by a grand jury in Salt Lake City, the 14-count indictment names: Clinton Ellerman, 22, older brother of Douglas; Andrew Bishop, 24, of Ithaca, N.Y.; Alexander Slack, 23, of Sandy, Utah; Adam Peace, 20, of Huntington Beach, California; and Sean Gautschy, 23, of Salt Lake City.

Slack and Gautschy were charged earlier this summer in state court in connection with the release of thousands of mink from two farms in West Jordan, Utah.

All those charged belong to the Straight Edge movement, whose young members follow their own music scene while swearing off drugs, alcohol, tobacco, sex and animal products such as meat and leather. The movement has proliferated in Utah, where it has an estimated 3,000 followers.

A multiagency federal task force looking into domestic terrorism has found some Straight Edgers affiliating with ALF, which has claimed responsibility for dozens of bombings, arson attacks and animal releases across the U.S. in the past decade.

According to the Associated Press, Ellerman cooperated with the task force since turning himself in shortly after the bombing. Had he not done so, he would have faced a minimum mandatory prison term of 35 years.

Violence Not an Option

What makes American society so dynamic and forward-looking is our diversity of cultures and beliefs, and our willingness to accept and even celebrate our differences. Violence against those who do not share our views can never be an option.

We hope Ellerman has seen the error of his ways and will use his time in prison productively. And should he decide to study the fur trade, we hope he will learn about the vital role we play in helping clothe this planet's 6 billion people, with a product that is not only practical and beautiful, but is also natural, sustainable and environment-friendly.

© 1998-2010 Fur Commission USA