Rod Coronado

Rodney Adam Coronado (born July 3, 1966 in San Jose, California)Family Tree Legends is a Native American (Pascua Yaqui) eco-anarchist and animal rights activist. He is an advocate and former activist for the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and a spokesperson for the Earth Liberation Front. He was a crew member of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and a member of the editorial collective of the Earth First! Journal.The Satya Interview: Freedom from the Cages 
A former proponent of the use of direct action to end what he sees as cruelty to animals and destruction of the environment, Coronado was jailed in 1995 in connection with an arson attack on research facilities at Michigan State University. The incident, which caused $125,000 worth of damage and destroyed 32 years of research data, was part of the ALF's "Operation Bite Back," a series of attacks on animal-testing and fur facilities in the U.S. during the 1990s.
In 2006, while imprisoned for felony conspiracy and awaiting trial on further charges, Coronado expressed a change in his personal philosophy inspired by fatherhood. In an open letter, he wrote, "Don't ask me how to burn down a building. Ask me how to grow watermelons or how to explain nature to a child," explaining that he wants to be remembered, not as a "man of destruction but [as] a human believer in peace and love for all.""Message from Rod Coronado in Prison", September 1, 2006. He was released on probation in December 2008, but was imprisoned again for four months in August 2010 for accepting a "friend request" on Facebook from an environmental activist, Mike Roselle, which was deemed a violation of his probation.Radford, Benjamin. "Facebook friending leads to jail", Discovery News, August 27, 2010, accessed October 10, 2010.
*Also see Goodman, Amy and Gonzalez, Juan. "Jailed for Facebook Friending", Democracy Now!, September 8, 2010, accessed October 10, 2010.
==Background==
Coronado is of Yaqui heritage and lives in Tucson, Arizona. He has a long history of activism. In 1985, at the age of 19, he joined the crew of the conservation ship, Sea Shepherd,About Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and on November 9, 1986, he and another activist, David Howitt, sank two ships, the Hvalur 6 and Hvalur 7, accounting for half of Iceland's whaling fleet. Before scuttling the ships, Coronado and Howitt caused $2 million worth of damage to the Icelandic whaling station. Coronado wrote about this action in the animal rights magazine No Compromise.Sinking the Icelandic Whaling Fleet by Rod Coronado http://www.nocompromise.org/issues/28sinkingwhalers.html Accessed 090801
In 1995, Coronado was convicted and sentenced to 57 months in prison in connection with the February 28, 1992 arson attack on research facilities at Michigan State University (MSU), which caused $125,000 worth of damage. He was also involved in an Animal Liberation Front (ALF) action, releasing mink from a nearby MSU mink research farm, wrecking equipment and opening animals' cages.Activists Uncaged As a condition of his sentence, Coronado was ordered to pay MSU $2 million in restitution.The Washington Times, 24 March 2002, "Law catches up to ecoterror" In 1992 the Animal Enterprise Protection Act (revised in 2006 to Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act), enacted largely in response to the MSU attacks, was "the first step toward equating non-violent acts of sabotage with eco-terrorism".CounterPunch, 19 June 2009, Firebrand: Rod Coronado's Flame War
==Indictments and convictions==
===Earth First! Lion hunt===
On December 2, 2004, Coronado was indicted on three charges related to Earth First! hunt saboteur actions to disrupt a hunt of mountain lions in Sabino Canyon, near Tucson by dismantling a lion trap and spreading mountain lion urine. On December 13, 2005, he and co-defendant Matthew Crozier, 33, were found guilty of felony conspiracy to interfere with or injure a government official, misdemeanor interference with or injury to a forest officer, and misdemeanor depredation (theft, destruction, or the attempt to do so) of government property. Coronado was sentenced on August 6, 2006 to eight months in prison, three years supervised probation, and fined $100. Crozier was sentenced to 100 hours community service, three years probation, and a $1,000 fine.
===Demonstrating an incendiary device===
In February 2006, Coronado was arrested on a felony charge of demonstrating the use of an incendiary device at a public gathering in the Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego."Self-proclaimed member of the Earth Liberation Front charged with demonstrating the use of a destructive device", Dept of Justice. The indictment indirectly relates to an August 1, 2003 fire in San Diego that destroyed an apartment complex causing an estimated $50 million worth of damage.Feds arrest environment radical over S.D. speech A banner was found at the scene inscribed with the initials of the ELF. Coronado, a self-described "unofficial ELF spokesman," gave a talk on militant environmental activism in San Diego 15 hours later, where he explained how to make incendiary devices. He denies any role in the incident, and investigators do not consider him a suspect in starting the fire.Environmentalist Charged With Teaching Arson in San Diego - Associated Press, Seth Hettana February 24, 2006
His arrest was associated with the FBI's Operation Backfire,'Operation Backfire' Nets 11 a sweep of grand jury indictments against alleged ALF and ELF members,FBI Green scare continues more arrests this week termed the "Green Scare" by activists.FBI Continues Crackdown on Environmentalists Some alternative media sources say Coronado was simply exercising his constitutional right to freedom of speech when "in response to a question from an audience member" he "demonstrated how he had constructed a non-explosive, incendiary device out of a plastic jug filled with gasoline to commit the old arson for which he did his time."The Green Scare and the Government’s “Case” Against Rod Coronado 
In September 2006, Coronado sent an open letter to supporters from his prison cell in Florence, Arizona, before his release on March 23, 2007.A Week on the Outside at Support for Rod Coronado In the letter, he announced his commitment to social change through non-destructive means. Citing his desire to raise his young son without teaching him that "violence is a necessary evil", Coronado expressed hope that others in the earth and animal liberation movements would consider more peaceful methods:
===Hillcrest trial===
In 2007, Coronado stood trial in San Diego on charges related to his speech in 2003 in Hillcrest. After two days of deliberations, the jury remained deadlocked, and on September 19, 2007, Judge Jeffrey Miller declared a mistrial.Hoffman, Alison. "Mistrial Declared for Environmentalist", Associated Press, September 19, 2007. Coronado subsequently entered a guilty plea, accepting a deal for a one year prison term, as a result of which he was sentenced on March 27, 2008 to one year and one day. He was released from El Reno FCI on December 25, 2008.Moran, Greg. "Animal Rights Activist Tells of Regret before Sentencing", San Diego Union-Tribune, March 28, 2008. Regarding his guilty plea, he said in an open e-mail on his website: 
===Parole violation===
In August 2010, Coronado was sentenced to four months in federal prison in Michigan for violating the terms of his probation. Coronado, who had been on parole since his release from prison, joined the social networking site Facebook. He was sentenced for the use of an unauthorized computer, and for "friending" former Earth First! co-founder Mike Roselle. Coronado entered the Federal Correctional Institution in Milan, MI on September 16.
== Strong Hearts == 
Strong Hearts was a zine written and published by Coronado during his prison sentence for crimes committed on behalf of the Animal Liberation Front. The zine had a typewriter cut and paste collage format. It was printed on 8" by 11" paper that was folded in half. There were a total of four issues published.
Some of the topics covered included Coronado's experiences with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, the EZLN, animal rights, and indigenous issues. Excerpts from the zine are included in Flaming Arrows: A Compilation Of Works By Rod Coronado, a collection of Coronado's writings currently published by Warcry Communications.
==See also==
*Earth Liberation Prisoners Support Network
*Deep ecology
==References==
==Further reading==
*Kuipers, Dean (2010). Operation Bite Back: Rod Coronado's War to Save American Wilderness. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-59691-458-2
*Coronado, Rod (2011). Flaming Arrows: Collected Writings of Animal Liberation Front Warrior Rod Coronado. Warcry Communications. ISBN 978-0-9842844-5-0
==External links==
*"Activists Uncaged" by Steve Eder, The State News, Michigan State University, April 27, 2004, retrieved November 6, 2005
*"Animal rights duo guilty in Sabino case" by Tom Beal, Arizona Daily Star, December 14, 2005, retrieved December 20, 2005
*"Prof reflects on past ties to eco-underworld", The State News, Michigan State University, April 20, 2004
*"Living the Truth: an Interview with Rod Coronado" by Sprig, Earth First! Journal, March–April 2003
*"Ecoterrorism: Extremism in the Animal Rights and Environmentalist Movements", Anti-Defamation League
*"The Threat of Eco-Terrorism", Testimony of James F. Jarboe, Domestic Terrorism Section Chief, Counterterrorism Division, FBI Before the House Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, February 12, 2002, retrieved January 17, 2006
* SupportRod.org, a website set up by Coronado's supporters following his February 2006 arrest; now archived only.
* SupportRodCoronado.info, a website set up by Coronado's supporters following his 2010 reimprisonment.
* Rod Coronado: A Voice for Liberation, 5-minute video (via YouTube)
* Scarce, Rik. Eco-Warriors (2006) (ISBN 1-59874-028-8)
* Living the Truth: An Interview with Rod Coronado
* Live interview with Rod Coronado on Animal Voices Radio
*Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?: Reflections on the Liberation of Animals, Lantern Books, 2004. ISBN 1-59056-054-X. With an essay contributed by Rod Coronado.
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Category:American activists
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