Green Scare

"[2] The term has been used by activists to describe a sweep of arrests, convictions and grand jury indictments of ELF and ALF operatives on charges relating to acts of property damage, conspiracy, arson and use of destructive devices.

[8] His indictment indirectly related to an August 1, 2003 fire in San Diego that destroyed an apartment complex causing an estimated $50 million worth of damage.

Jeff "Free" Luers, a veganarchist from Los Angeles, California, who served a prison sentence of almost ten years for arson.

Young was arrested in San Jose, California on March 21, 2005 on charges of shoplifting from a local Starbucks and was extradited to Wisconsin to face trial for the fur farm raids.

SHAC 7, six animal rights activists, who were found guilty of using their website to incite threats, harassment, vandalism and attacks against the company Huntingdon Life Sciences and their business partners.

However, the US Attorney's Office described the convicts as "thugs who went far beyond protected speech and lawful protest to engage in and incite intimidation, harassment and violence.

Operation Backfire, a multi-agency criminal investigation into destructive acts in the name of animal rights and environmental causes in the United States, that resulted in the December 7, 2005 arrest of seven people.

[3][23] The Christian Science Monitor reports that the Operation Backfire indictments have elicited concern from activists that authorities have "cracked the super-secrecy of ALF and ELF".

The FBI disputed these claims, with former Director Robert Mueller stating in 2006 that the agency takes action "only when volatile talk crosses the line into violence and criminal activity.