Four environmental extremists pleaded guilty to arson and conspiracy Thursday for their part in a five-year wave of firebombings that caused $30 million in damage.

Under the plea agreement, prosecutors said they would ask for five years in prison for one of the defendants, and eight years for the others. One of the defendants is a wildland firefighter and animal rights activist.

Authorities said ecoterrorists committed firebombings around the Northwest between 1996 and 2001 to stop logging, wild horse roundups, genetic engineering of plants, SUV sales and the expansion of a Vail, Colo., ski resort into endangered lynx habitat.

The Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the attacks.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/ECOTERRORISM_PLEAS?SITE=ILMOL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[These people should be national heroes instead of put in jail: They have the moral backbone and character to defend the land from the consumerist terror the Americans espouse.]