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Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement

By TChris, Section Civil Liberties
Posted on Wed Nov 16, 2005 at 07:38:43 AM EST
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by TChris

The FBI thinks environmental activists (and animal rights activists) are the most serious domestic terrorist threat facing the US, so it isn’t surprising that it took 50 FBI agents to raid the home of a 27 year old environmentalist who, it turns out, hadn’t violated any laws. The FBI thought Josh Connole was responsible for vandalizing SUV’s at dealerships in the Los Angeles area. He was arrested and held for four days before (to the FBI’s embarrassment) the real culprit was discovered. (TalkLeft background here.)

An assistant U.S. attorney had advised the FBI that it lacked probable cause to arrest Connole, but Special Agent Edward Ochotorena arrested him anyway. FBI agents were following Connole when they noticed that he was going toward a Pomona police station. Ochotorena arrested Connole for “officer safety” reasons (apparently believing it’s unsafe to allow environmentalists into a police building), but Connole was actually going to the police station to report that he was being followed.

Ochotorena should have realized his error and immediately released Connole, particularly after the AUSA chewed him out for making the bogus arrest.

"I was yelling at (Ochotorena)," [former AUSA] Reid O'Connell testified. "I said ‘You don't have probable cause to arrest him. (I'm) not giving you our authority and you better document it.'"

But Ochotorena kept Connole in custody. Ochotorena thought he had the goods on Connole when he discovered flecks of paint on Connole’s pants. Ochotorena sent the pants to the FBI crime lab to see if the paint matched paint that had been sprayed on SUV's. The lab reported that the flecks were ketchup stains, not paint.

The government has agreed to pay Connole $100,000 for the FBI’s violation of his civil rights. Attorneys for both sides said the FBI would also issue Connole a letter of apology, but the FBI, predictably enough, is balking at admitting its mistake or apologizing for its lawless behavior.

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    Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement | 21 comments (21 topical)
    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#1)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:10 PM EST
    Probable cause is quaint, and soon to be obsolete, along with habeas, the geneva convention, and the Bill of Rights.

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:10 PM EST
    There's more to the story. The FBI placed the commune he lived in under surveillance,
    "discovering the owner of the house and his father "have posted statements on websites opposing the use of fossil fuels," one doc reads. Another says the owner had ties to a local chapter of Food Not Bombs, an "anarcho-vegan food distribution group."
    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#3)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:10 PM EST
    Remember when the head of the FBI apologized to the nation for domestic spying activities such as this? Did the feds clone that old cross-dressing traitor J. Edgar Hoover or something?

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#4)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:10 PM EST
    Kdog's on the mark. Not that probable cause requires much probability or cause. We have aquantances who were removed from a pro-Bush rally and ARRESTED for doing nothing more than WEARING ANTI-BUSH T-SHIRTS!! (Tho I do love thinking about a vegan commune in that smog-choked, inland empire shangri-la of Pomona.)

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#5)
    by Al on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:10 PM EST
    Ah yes, the sinister anarcho-vegan conspiracy. Al-rutabaga. My mother was a member, I'm sure. She was always after me to eat my vegetables. I should turn her in to the FBI.

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#6)
    by scarshapedstar on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:10 PM EST
    Yeah, lemme tell ya, all my vegan environmentalist friends are real scary. Definitely a threat. Was the FBI dropped on its collective head as a baby?

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:11 PM EST
    deleted

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#8)
    by Nowonmai on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:11 PM EST
    All I can imagine is someone with a basket of tomatos, threatening to turn them into ketchup. "I have a blender and I'm not afraid to use it!"

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#9)
    by BigTex on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:11 PM EST
    Was the FBI dropped on its collective head as a baby?
    Well, my uncle stepped on my head when I was 1, and plenty here think that I'm a RW wacko, so you may have a point.
    "I have a blender and I'm not afraid to use it!"
    LOL, that's great! But seriously, the FBI really fouled that one up, but it is good to see them dealing with environmental terrorists. ELF firebombs. To their credit, they do only hit targets where no humans are suposed to be, but it's only a matter of time before their intel is inaccurate and someone is injured or killed. They are certinally the most dangerous active domestic terror group, though their potential danger pales to possible terrorist cells. I'm VP of the Environmental Law Society where I go to school, and one of the most delicate ropes to walk is with some of the more extreme environmentalist. Some don't want to see data contrary to their beliefs. It's one thing to attack the data as flawed, or even to discount it because of the source (a favorate of extreme environmental groups who throw a fit when the same tactic is used against them), but not even wanting to hear data that runs contrary to their belief is entitrely a diffetrent matter. It is outside the realm of reasonable people disagreeing. It isn't going to help the environment. It is the extremist who keep the environment in a bad position. There is a quiet conservative mass ready to take steps to improve the environment, but they are quiet because they do not want to be associated with the extreme environmental movement. Sadly, the Republican Party does not look kindly upon the moderate environmentalists in her own ranks, so it will be finding common ground with liberals that gets the environment improved. If the democrats would quietly work with the conservatives who want to effect change, but not work with the extremists, change would happen. It bears repeating... there is a group of conservative environmentalists out there waiting to work with democrats to get change pushed through... it's just a matter of needing the democrats to act as mediators/ go betweens so that the conservative environmentalists don't have to go through the twin ills of having to work with the extreme environmentalists. Ills are a) having to put up with the extreme group... if they are not willing to hear evidence contrary to their beliefs, meaningful discussion cannot occur and the situation degrades into hostility and not only does nothing get accomplished, but there is less willingness to come to the table next time. b) The political price to be paid for dealing with extreme groups.

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#10)
    by kipling on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:11 PM EST
    1. Oil execs lied when they said they had not met Cheney in the White House to discuss energy policy (maybe they just came for tea?) 2. The FBI hassles and terrifies people who write on the internets about being opposed to using fossil fuels. Ok, hands up who genuinely thinks the FBI "screwed up" here? Just joining the dots...

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#11)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:11 PM EST
    Hey Tex, (the same Tex of goodolddogs right?), I respectfully beg to differ.
    They are certinally the most dangerous active domestic terror group
    What about the klan who still burn churches? Or the folks who sent the anthrax to congress and newspapers? Or the skinhead organizations who kill folks and/or grafitti houses of worship?

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:12 PM EST
    Nice to see someone talking about misconduct by law enforcement. As a criminal defense lawyer, I see improper actions by various police. It's not most of the time by any stretch, but it is still a concern and people should be more aware of it.

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#13)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:12 PM EST
    Well Warren, You'll be right at home here.

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#14)
    by BigTex on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:13 PM EST
    Yup, it's th' same Tex. The skinheads may be worse, but ELF is definatly worse than the KKK. As far as my understandig goes, ELF is organized on a national level, probabally multi-national level. I do not know if the skinheads are organized to the same degree... you make a good point though. If they are organized as such, then I would agree they are worse based on the loss of life. Grafitti can be cleaned, burnt hulks of SUVs and burned down buildings are far more damaging. Though, I am a bit biased. As far as anthrax goes, that was a small number of instances... not as many as the unabomber.

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#15)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:13 PM EST
    Do you see a lot of ELF crimes down your way Tex? Up in NY, they vandalized some houses being built in the pine barrens around 5 years ago to protest suburban sprawl, but other than that not a peep out of them. Are they more active in other states? I just can't see them as a big threat worthy of FBI scrutiny. In fact, maybe it is cointelpro agents infiltrating and doing the violence. It's happened before in our recent history.

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#16)
    by BigTex on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:13 PM EST
    By far, the most violence here is race based, mainly minority on minority, followed by gang violence. ELF is mainly a western US problem where the sentiment is more favorable towards environmental issues. What I do see, though, is preELF environmentalism. A few examples: a) People who go out and berate others for not buying a new less polluting vehicle. Not when you buy a new vehicle choose a more environmentally friendly vehicle, but rather go out and buy a new environmentally frinedly vehicle now. A leave me alone, or walking away isn't always sufficient to stop the harrassment. b) People who refuse to even listen to data that does not support their position. Not discounting the data. Not attacking the data. Outright refusal to listen to the data. c) People who take legal action to stop improvement projects. This is taken to an extreme... there has been a plan to build a bridge to connect Bolivar Pennsula to Galveston Island for years now. This would reduce pollution and have a net positive effect on the environment. Yet this plan is opposed because it would place a bridge in the water, which is violating the water, and violating nature. Each category poses different problems. The a's are close to ELF. They will occasionally get into heated confrentations and are only a step away from flash violence. They are close to ELF. The b's don't do any real harm, but do harm the process. They are the types that can't be worked with, because they don't want a cleaner environment, but want a cleaner environment by their means. The only harm they do is to the environmental movement. The c's are a different kind of problem. They stall projects that are good for humanity and the environment for years, often perminatly because it's not worth the effort to fight them through the system. While their means are strictly legal, I can't help but wonder if they would resort to illegal means if the legal means are unsuccessful. Some percentage of them are time bombs waiting to go off.

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#17)
    by BigTex on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:13 PM EST
    Out west, ELF is known for arson to buildings and vehicles. Think France the past couple of weeks, but on a smaller scale.

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#18)
    by BigTex on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:13 PM EST
    Kdog, here's a web page by an apparant EFL sympathiser. The official ELF web page has been shut down. What follows is a quote showing the damage ELF does. The FBI says ELF has caused more than $100 million in damage since 1996, including an arson at a five-story condominium under construction in San Diego in August 2003 that caused $50 million in damages.

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#19)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:13 PM EST
    Thanks for the info Tex. I was curious because I would imagine 9 out of 10 NY'ers have never heard of ELF, and hence wouldn't consider them a threat.

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#20)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:14 PM EST
    Imagine all those militant dwarfs, mad because their wardrobe consists of green tights and pointy shoes that pinch their toes. I never thought I'd live in the day where Elfs were terrorists. Sad times, these.

    Re: Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement (none / 0) (#21)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:14 PM EST
    Patrick, you have a sense of humor! No snark intended, it's just after all the comments you've exchanged with me and others I never suspected it. Way to go! On a more serious note, I really don't think elf is an organized movement. I think it is a bunch of like minded individuals who carry out similar acts. They occasionally communicate on a one on one basis, but there is no organization or cell structure. Plainly they are too incompetent and unfocused and And Tex?
    $100 million in damage since 1996
    That's less than the US has spent on grafitti removal since then. Skinheads don't just spray, the beat people up and they kill them. skinheads are more organized than anarchists and 'eco terrorists', they are natural followers.

    Wrongful FBI Arrest Leads to $100K Settlement | 21 comments (21 topical)