Sam Hitt, president of Forest Guardians, said Wednesday that agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms visited his office to discuss the matter after the note arrived in the mail. Lisa Jennings, an official at New Mexico Animal Protection, received a similar note after the group's office was hit with a shotgun blast late last year, Hitt said. The FBI has been working with the Santa Fe Police Department to investigate the pipe bomb since its discovery late last week. Whoever set the bomb left a lighted cigarette in position to burn down and reach the fuse. The cigarette burned out before that happened.
Police say the bomb was powerful enough to kill people if anyone had been nearby when it went off.
Because the note arrived in the mail, Hitt said, it appears the BATF has taken over the lead role in the investigation. The group was known to stockpile weapons and plan bank robberies and bombings. It had many of the same conspiracy arguments as heard today, particularly regarding the role of the United Nations. The state government later withdrew the report on the extremist groups, Hitt said. The Forest Guardians, which was founded 10 years ago, often sues the federal government over logging, grazing and endangered-species issues.