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Title: Interview with Eric McDavid Author: Jeffrey Luers Date: June 11, 2011 Language: en Topics: prison, prisoners, ELF, informant, interview Source: Retrieved on October 26, 2012 from http://www.june11.org/intvwquestionsedits.docx
Jeff Luers set fire to three SUVs at a car dealership in Eugene, OR
during the summer of 2000 in response to the environmental devastation
that he saw occurring on a global scale. The court levied an egregious
sentence to make an example out of him, to send a clear message to
others who might share Jeffās outrage and will. In 2004 Jeff was three
years into his 22+ sentence. That year his support crew announced that
June 11^(th) was the International Day of Solidarity with Long-term
Anarchist Prisoner Jeff āFreeā Luers. In the following years, June
11^(th) served as a day for anarchists, environmental radicals and
forest defenders alike to show some kind of support for Jeff. After
years of struggle, Jeff and his legal team won a reduction in his
sentence and he was released from prison in December 2009. In the years
intervening Jeffās arrest and release, the FBI executed raids,
subpoenas, indictments and arrests in an attempt to dismantle the
radical environmental, anti-globalization and anarchist movements. Two
of the people caught up in this maelstrom of repression were Eric
McDavid and Marie Mason. Eric McDavid was arrested in January 2006. A
paid government informant ā āAnnaā ā created a crime and entrapped Eric
in it. He was charged with a single count of āconspiracy.ā Though Eric
carried out no actions and was accused of what amounts to āthought
crime,ā the State pushed forward with Ericās charges. He refused to
cooperate and took his case to trial. After a trial fraught with errors,
the jury reluctantly convicted Eric. He was subsequently sentenced to
almost 20 years in prison. Marie Mason was arrested in March 2008. Her
former husband ā Frank Ambrose ā turned informant for the FBI and
cooperated in a number of open cases including Marieās. Marie faced a
life sentence if she went to trial, so she accepted a plea agreement in
September 2008. She admitted her involvement in the burning of an office
connected to GMO research and the destruction of a piece of logging
equipment. At her sentencing in February 6^(th), 2009, the court
sentenced Marie to almost 22 years. Since Jeffās release, Marie and Eric
share the unfortunate distinction of having the longest standing
sentences of any environmental prisoners in the United States. Eric is
currently serving out his 19+ year sentence in Victorville, CA and,
after seemingly constant transfers, Marie is currently serving her 21+
years in Carswell, Texas. In 2010, both Marie and Eric lost appeals that
would have reduced their sentences. Thus, June 11^(th) resumes this year
as a day of solidarity with Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners Eric McDavid &
Marie Mason. Though June 11^(th) is one day; itās a specific time to
think and act with our friends who are in prison ā who are continuing
their struggles on the inside.
JEFF: Eric, you were convicted of conspiracy to damage or destroy by
arson or explosive public and/or private property. How did that happen?
What led up to it?
ERIC: What led up 2 my Bān convicted of conspiracy 2 damage &/or destroy
govt property & interstate commerce is a long path 2 travel ā but the
short version of it is how after high school i dabbled N a couple of
so-called carriers (serving tables/bartending, carpentry/framing) & N
each, i looked at the preceding generation 2 C where iād possibly B N
10ā20 yrs... not finding what i saw to be appealing, i chose 2 go bk 2
school & try 2 feel out another way... i was leaning toward teaching
philosophy when i ran across the anti-war movement pre-Iraq II & after
that 1^(st) march N San Fran on the 25^(th) of Oct. there was no holdān
bk... what i felt amongst those masses of people filling the streets
tapped N2 something that nurtured my Heart N a way that i hadnāt felt
since i was a kid... i joined a couple of peace grps & went 2 multiple
skill-shares on deescalation & dealing w/cops, so as 2 help out
w/security during marches... i soon became disheartened, finding out
that the people/grps putting on the marches werenāt just getting 2gether
2 āact now to stop war & end rapeā, but were some political vanguard ā
that piece made me reel it N & stay closer 2 home... i mostly helped out
through the students 4 peace grp at the J.C. i was attending... it was
at 1 of these meetings where i saw this scroungy kid stapling stacks of
paper copies 2gether dn the middle & folding them N Ā½ making a little
booklet... i quietly asked 2 C 1, & hardly picking up his head, he said
that i could keep it ā the ācoverā was this femminin face w/what looked
like metallic dreads & the words Species Traitor (donāt recall the #)...
my initial feeling was = āweirdā, so i stuffed it N my bag 4 later...
that zine was my 1^(st) intro N2 a social critique i felt 2B authentic &
it resonated w/how i felt N that becoming moment; after that, thresholds
began 2 appear everywhere, & my real journey began w/remembering who i
am...
J: You were the victim of a paid FBI informant. How did āAnnaā earn your
trust?
E: some may call it naĆÆve, but Bān my authentic self ā i naturally and
whole-heartedly trust every 1... so, āAnnaā never earned my trust, she
manipulated it, by tugging at heart-strings sheād woven whenever she
felt me drift from the course sheād chosen...
J: According to the State you are a convicted terrorist. How does that
make you feel? Are you a terrorist?
E: itās a trip 2 B labeled a terrorist by a grp of bureaucratic
terrorists; iād say it feels awkward, almost comical... iāve had all
sorts of folx attempt at sticking me N some category & iām pretty good
at duckān out of āem
J: There is a lot of contention in the Environmental movement about
snitches and how to deal with them. In many cases they have been
welcomed back into activist communities or continued to receive support.
What is your opinion on snitches and how do you think the activist
community should respond to them?
E: my opinion on snitches is that each is unique, & aught 2 B handled as
such... 4 those who create a great degree of damage, i believe the
severity of their treatment by their loved 1s & friends aught 2 B
reciprocal... some will B forgiven by some people, but their choices can
never be forgotten by any1...
J: Having been found guilty of thinking about property destruction what
is your opinion on that tactic? How does this movement and others work
toward a better future?
E: my opinion on the tactic of property destruction is that i havenāt
yet found a viable argument against it... (remembering that the Sedition
Act of 1917 has yet 2 B revoked) hypothetically speaking = itās possible
that the folx who choose 2 utilize the myriad of tactics that R out
there need 2 all Dance 2gether... for instance, if there were an action
done by some anonymous folx, those whoāve been working on the same
subjects w/the public could utilize that flow of energy towards their
own end, as well as those N the surrounding areas... let it B a ripple
effect that folx can ride the wave after the pebble hits the water...
J: What is your daily life like? Can you walk us through a typical day?
E: a typical day = up at 5/5:30 am 2 do joint rotations & a kundalini
yoga session... we get unlocked @ 10 2 6 am, & i go out N2 the pod 2
read the ticker on the news station (w/a cup of coffee every other day),
2 wait 4 the 1^(st) ārecreation moveā at 6:20am... outsd exercising
until @ 7:45, mwf an hr of yoga at 8, otherwise head bk 2 the pod 4 some
breakfast & reading/writing/letters/projects until our unit gets called
2 chow... eat light on tues/thurs bc of the beginnerās yoga class i
teach at noon 4 an hr; iām basically out at the yard until recall at
3pm... come bk 2 shower B4 we get locked dn 4 the afternoon count ā from
Ā¼ 2 4 til Ā¼ 2 5... when we get unlocked i sometimes play some dominoes
or read/write until chow... mon/fri i go out 2 ārec.ā & do
bloodpressure/body-fat readings until recall at 8pm, or on other days i
might go over 2 the library 4 some space & a ālil quiet... after that
itās lockdn at 9:15pm & i crash as soon as the door locks... āgroundhog
dayā barely scratches the surface where visits & mail R basically the
only things that change...
J: What do you miss most about being free or, as I like to think of it,
in minimum custody? E: what i miss most about minimum security is
DIVERSITY = of everything; Bān @ my Partner, trees, my family, dogs,
kids, rivers, elders, the ocean, stars ā fuckān stars, lakes... needless
2 say i could go on 4 a long time...
J: What is your advice to the next generation who want to be involved
and want to create change?
E: my advice 2 the next generation who wish 2 B involved, & wish 2
create change ā would B 2 seriously learn & explore who U R... not who U
think U R, or who society or some counter-culture says U R, but really
who U R... learn/explore who nurtures who UR (B they humyn or
non-humyn), & listen 2 Ur Heart & 2 those who nurture who UR; everything
else falls N2 place after that...
J: Clearly you canāt answer this without bias, but how important is
prisoner support to this struggle and others?
E: yes, iām totally biased ā i believe prisoner support is 1 of the
fundamental facets of the mosaic weāre all a part of ā esp. recognizing
& supporting p.o.w.s & political prisoners from other genres whoāve
moved contrary 2 the culture; N sharing support, we open ourselves 2 new
relations which R integral 2 nurturing change...
J: Do you have hope for the future and if so what gives you hope?
E: do I have hope 4 the future? i canāt say iād call it hope; but
despite what i feel Bān weaved N the coming pattern, i do have a crush
on the resonating idea that there will always B those who choose 2
listen 2 & follow their Hearts regardless of the programming all of us R
subjected 2 over our lives...
J: And finally what do you need or want? What would help make your time
inside easier? (This is your chance to unashamedly put it out there so
do it this is where it is absolutely ok to be selfish :))
E: what do i need or want 2 make my time go by easier? Other than the
obvious? ā¦ this isnāt something easy 4 me 2 do... <SIGH> ā¦ folx have
been continuously helpān out w/my requests 4 reading material which
helps a lot, & every once N a while i find a surprise deposit on my
books... mostly, my concern centers @ the monetary burden placed upon my
partner 4 hir costs 2 make it dn 2 C me 4 visits... oh, & itās always
beautiful 2 receive zines & rad publications...
More information on Ericās case can be found at
More information on Marieās case can be found at