The secret history of the Earth Liberation Front

Soundside · Jul 1, 2026 · 29m

In May of 2001, a building on the University of Washington’s Seattle campus went up in flames, in the middle of the night.

It was the work of arsonists. An eco-sabotage group known as the Earth Liberation Front took credit for the attack. For group members, voting and publicly demonstrating wasn't enough to allay their fears of climate catastrophe.

The group had three core principles: public education, economic sabotage and to harm property, not people.

But members torched the UW building over unfounded claims that professor was making genetically modified trees.

The group committed a…