Kicked in the Arson

"Eco-terrorists" indicted in connection to Vail ski-resort arson

Four people -- dubbed "eco-terrorists" by the authorities, who aren't at all trying to scare you -- were indicted Thursday and face eight counts of arson in connection to fires set at a Vail, Colo., ski resort in 1998. A communiqué apparently released by the arsonists said the fire, which caused $12 million in damage, had been set in the name of the Earth Liberation Front. Suspects Chelsea Gerlach and Stanislas Meyerhoff are already in custody awaiting trial on charges related to another case of arson in Oregon; suspects Josephine Overaker and Rebecca Rubin are on the lam. Reporting in Colorado's mainstream press hewed to strict standards of objectivity, as one reporter wrote that the Vail arson set "a destructive new standard for audaciousness in the shadowy world of eco-terrorism." Each count of arson brings a possible five to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of $250,000, though it would be no surprise if the feds, desperate for new enemies they can actually catch, just went ahead and lynched 'em.