Pressespiegel:
Veganer Terrorist?

21.04.2009

FAHNDUNG
FBI setzt erstmals US-Bürger auf Terrorliste

Er steht in einer Reihe mit Osama Bin Laden: Zum ersten Mal steht ein amerikanischer Staatsbürger auf der Liste der meistgesuchten Terroristen. Daniel Andreas San Diego soll aus Protest gegen Tierversuche mehrere Anschläge verübt haben. Sein Kopfgeld - eine Viertelmillion Dollar.

Washington - Zum ersten Mal hat die US-Bundespolizei FBI einen amerikanischen Staatsbürger als Terrorverdächtigen auf ihre "Most Wanted"-Terrorfahndungsliste gesetzt. Auf Platz 24 der Liste steht seit Dienstag der 31-jährige Daniel Andreas San Diego, ein Computerspezialist aus dem kalifornischen Berkeley.


Fahndungsbild des FBI: "Er lebt streng vegan und ist im Besitz einer 9mm-Waffe"

San Diego soll für zwei Bombenanschläge im Jahr 2003 verantwortlich sein. Damals explodierten mehrere Sprengsätze in den Büros des Biotech-Unternehmens Chiron Corp. und der Kosmetikfirma Shaklee Corp in Nordkalifornien. Verletzt wurde dabei niemand.


Eine Aktivistengruppe namens "Revolutionary Cells", die eigenen Angaben zufolge gegen Tierversuche kämpft, bekannte sich zu den Anschlägen. Der Haftbefehl gegen San Diego wurde noch im selben Jahr wegen "mutmaßlicher Beteiligung" an den Attentaten erlassen.

Die Bundespolizei vermutet San Diego in Costa Rica und hat ein Kopfgeld von 250.000 Dollar ausgesetzt. Das ist in etwa das Fünffache der Summe, mit der sogenannte "Ökoterroristen" in den USA üblicherweise gesucht werden.

FBI-Sprecher Richard Kolko äußerte sich zunächst nicht zu den laufenden Ermittlungen gegen San Diego, die Behörde kündigte aber ein offizielles Statement für Dienstag an. Auf der Internet-Seite des FBI findet sich bereits ein vollständiges Fahndungsprofil des mutmaßlichen Terroristen.

"San Diego ist ein bekannter Tierschutzaktivist mit engen Kontakten zu Tierschutzorganisationen. Er lebt streng vegan, trägt eine Brille und ist im Besitz einer 9mm-Waffe", heißt es in der Beschreibung zu San Diegos Profil. Auf seinem Rücken sind Abbildungen von brennenden und einstürzenden Häusern zu sehen. Ein anderes Tattoo trägt den Schriftzug "Ein Funke genügt".

Dass das FBI einen Linksradikalen auf seine Terrorliste setzt, ist ungewöhnlich. Das amerikanische Heimatschutzministerium hatte sich in der Vergangenheit vor allem auf die Radikalisierung von Muslimen und die Gefahren des islamischen Terrorismus konzentriert. Doch der Fokus scheint sich auch in Richtung links- und rechtsradikaler Strömungen zu verschieben: Im Januar hatte die Behörde eine Warnung vor linksradikalem Cyber-Terrorismus publiziert. Am vergangenen Donnerstag warnte das Heimatschutzministerium in einer Studie vor einer Zunahme "rechtsextremer Aktivitäten".

Die "Most Wanted"-Liste des FBI ist nicht zu verwechseln mit der internationalen Fahndungsliste der Behörde, das "Ten Most Wanted"-Ranking. Qaida-Chef Osama Bin Laden findet sich auf beiden Listen. Auf Hinweise zu seinem Verbleib setzte der US-Senat im Juli 2007 ein Kopfgeld in Höhe von 50 Millionen Dollar aus.

amz/Reuters
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,620165,00.html

April 22, 2009

Vegan Daniel Andreas San Diego who tried to close British animal lab is put on FBI list

San Diego, who is shown on the FBI?s most-wanted poster with short brown hair and glasses, is said to have several unusual tattoos that depict burning buildings and dead trees
Chris Ayres, Los Angeles

An American vegan who has made it his life’s mission to shut down a British animal-testing company has become the first domestic terrorist to be listed on the FBI’s most-wanted list of terror suspects.

The name of Daniel Andreas San Diego, who is accused of carrying out the 2003 bombings of two US companies affiliated with Huntingdon Life Sciences, of Cambridgeshire, is listed alongside the likes of Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Adam Yahiye Gadahn.

A reward of $250,000 (£170,000) is being offered for information leading to his “location and arrest”.

San Diego, who is shown on the FBI’s most-wanted poster with short brown hair and glasses, is said to have several unusual tattoos that depict burning buildings and dead trees.

“San Diego’s criminal acts of violence were domestic acts of terror planned out and possibly intended to take lives, destroy property, and create economic hardship for the companies involved,” said Mike Heinback, the assistant director of the FBI. Huntingdon Life Sciences, founded in 1952, became linked with animal cruelty in the late 1990s when an undercover video showed employees holding a beagle puppy by the scruff of the neck and repeatedly punching it in the face.

Two of the employees were prosecuted under the Animals Act 1911 and were punished with court costs and community service. On its website, Huntingdon devotes a number of pages to its ethical position.

“Scientists have strong ethical, economic and legal obligations to use animals in research only when absolutely necessary,” it says. “A lot of effort goes into trying to reduce the numbers of animals used, and trying to develop new methods to replace animals. As a result, the number of laboratory animals used annually in the UK has halved in the last 30 years.”

The FBI yesterday described San Diego as “a well-known San Francisco Bay area animal rights extremist involved with the Stop Huntington Animal Cruelty campaign, commonly referred to as SHAC”.

SHAC was formed in England in 1999. The campaign spread to the US about nine years ago when activists began confronting US-based Huntington employees and clients.

In 2003 San Diego allegedly rigged explosives to the entry door of the Chiron Life Science Centre Building in Emeryville, California. When the authorities showed up a second set of explosives went off before they could be defused. A month later San Diego allegedly set off a nail bomb outside the front lobby of a company in California. There were no fatalities.

Both companies were understood to be carrying out work for Huntington. Claims of responsibility were posted on the internet demanding that the businesses end their relationships with the British animal-testing company.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6143652.ece

April 23, 2009, 6:30 pm

By Robert Mackey


Mandel Ngan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
The newest member of the F.B.I.’s “Most Wanted Terrorists” list is an American animal rights activist, Daniel Andreas San Diego.

This week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that it had added a 31-year-old American animal rights activist named Daniel Andreas San Diego to its list of “Most Wanted Terrorists.” Describing Mr. San Diego as a “domestic terrorist,” the F.B.I. warned that he “should be considered armed and dangerous.” According to the bureau, Mr. San Diego is wanted for the role he may have played in the bombings of two San Francisco-area office buildings.

The F.B.I. was careful to stress that it considers Mr. San Diego, and other extreme animal rights activists, worthy of being placed on a list headed by violent extremists like the leaders of Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al Zawahiri:

Zitat:

Animal rights and environmental extremism pose a significant domestic terror threat. To date, extremists have been responsible for more than 1,800 criminal acts and more than $110 million in damages. Currently, we are investigating approximately 170 such extremist incidents across the country.

San Diego, known to be involved with a group called SHAC — Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty — is wanted for his alleged involvement in bombing two biotech facilities that did business with Huntingdon Life Sciences, a company that conducts
animal experimentation for the medical
and pharmaceutical industries.

Huntingdon Life Sciences is a research company based in Cambridgeshire, England. The Times of London reports that the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty campaign began “in the late 1990s when an undercover video showed employees holding a beagle puppy by the scruff of the neck and repeatedly punching it in the face.” According to SHAC.net, the Web site of the animal rights group, the disturbing footage of animal abuse was captured by a woman who worked undercover at the facility while making a documentary for a British television series called “Countryside Undercover.”

In the latest episode of the “Wanted by the F.B.I.” podcast, available on the F.B.I.’s Web site, or on iTunes, F.B.I. Special Agent Joe Schadler says that Mr. San Diego “advocated violence in connection with animal rights issues,” and may have planted a nail bomb alongside another bomb at a research facility “intended to harm or kill the first responders.”

On the Most Wanted poster for Mr. San Diego, the F.B.I. says that he may now be living in Costa Rica and explains what citizens wanting to claim the $250,000 reward for finding him should be on the look out for:

Zitat:

He is a vegan, and avoids consuming or wearing anything made with animal products. He also has distinctive tattoos — one on his chest is round and shows burning hills and plains with the words “It only takes a spark.”

The F.B.I.’s character sketch also notes that he “is skilled at sailing” and “has worked as a computer network specialist and with the operating system Linux.”

This is not the first time animal rights activists have been called terrorists. In 1990, The Associated Press reported that Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, then the Secretary of Health and Human Services, said before a march in Washington by animal rights groups, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals: “I am saddened and a bit angry… that we have to put up with major disruptions to science by so-called animal activists who are, in fact, nothing more than animal rights terrorists.”

In an editorial on Wednesday, headlined “In defense of people,” the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board supported the F.B.I.’s pursuit of Mr. San Diego, a Marin County native, arguing that, “Activists who resort to deadly violence are terrorists, and should be treated as such.”

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/fbi-calls-animal-rights-activist-terrorist/?ref=us

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The FBI expanded its list of "Most Wanted Terrorists" Tuesday to include domestic "terrorism" for the first time, adding a US citizen wanted for bombings of two corporate offices in California in 2003.

Daniel Andreas San Diego, 31, a fugitive animal rights activist, was put on the list because the FBI hopes the public will provide tips leading to his arrest, said Michael Heimbach, assistant FBI director for counter-terrorism.

"One of the main purposes of putting him in the Most Wanted Terrorists list today is the hope it will generate new, fresh leads. We've run our course, and basically have come to a dead end."

San Diego, who the FBI believes may be hiding out in Costa Rica, is sharing a roster that includes Al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri as well as the lists only other American, Adam Gadahn, an Al-Qaeda propagandist.

Heimbach noted that the list, created in 2001 after the September 11 attacks, previously had been reserved for international terrorists indicted on charges of violence against US interests.

San Diego was indicted in July 2004 with possession of an explosive device and "maliciously" damaging and attempting to damage property with explosives.

He was accused in two bombings -- in August and September 2003 -- of San Francisco Bay area biotechnology companies targeted for their association with a British-based company that performed laboratory testing on animals.

The bombings, which occurred in the early hours outside the companies' front lobbies, caused damage but no deaths or injuries.

"Does he rise to the stature of Osama bin Laden? No," Heimbach said.

"But indeed, three acts of (violence) in which explosives were used, potentially where somebody could be injured or killed, is quite concerning," he said.

Heimbach said he knew of no recent or current plotting involving San Diego but the FBI was concerned about a spike in extremist violence in the United States.

"Animal rights-environmental extremism remains a significant threat based on the economic damage and widespread nature of this threat," he said. He estimated the damage from past attacks at 110 million dollars.

He said other domestic terrorist suspects were under consideration for the the list but the FBI decided to focus first on San Diego before expanding it further.

The California bombings came amid a campaign against Huntington Life Sciences, the British-based research company, that has included death threats, vandalism and harassment of employees, according to the FBI.

San Diego became a suspect in the 2003 bombings when investigators found that he had been stopped by police for a traffic violation an hour before the second bombing in Pleasanton, California.

Apparently aware he was under FBI surveillance, he vanished before authorities issued a warrant for his arrest October 5.

A search of his residence in October, 2003 turned up bomb-making components and animal rights literature, according to the FBI. He was formally indicted in July 2004.

Heimbach said the FBI is "pretty confident he's not in the United States" and leads from its investigation indicate he has ties to Germany and Costa Rica.

He said the FBI was in close contact with the Costa Rican government.

Calling him a "committed vegan," the FBI said San Diego possessed a 9-mm handgun and should be considered armed and dangerous.

It said he had tattoos that include a medallion in the middle of his chest with a scene of burning hills and the legend: "It only takes a spark."

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g88CaLhpwe_WWlag3e0FVigHgHIQ

Henry K. Lee,Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff Writers

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

(04-21) 08:16 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- The FBI added an alleged animal rights bomber from Sonoma County to its list of "Most Wanted" terror suspects Tuesday, underscoring the agency's increasing focus on such activists by lining him up next to Osama Bin Laden and 22 other Islamic extremists.

Daniel Andreas San Diego, 31, a former resident of tiny Schellville who is believed by authorities to be hiding out in Costa Rica, is the first domestic terror suspect to be added to a list that officials created a month after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

San Diego is accused of detonating pipe bombs in 2003 at a pair of firms, Chiron Corp. in Emeryville and Shaklee Corp. in Pleasanton. No one was hurt in the early morning attacks, though the FBI contended Tuesday that San Diego "intended to cause serious injury or death."

Investigators believe the firms were targeted because they had done business with Huntingdon Life Sciences, a New Jersey laboratory that conducts experiments on animals for clients.

San Diego disappeared in October 2003, giving the slip to federal agents who, after obtaining a warrant for his arrest, had been following him from a distance to try to gather more evidence.

He was put on the terrorist list because his actions "have set an example to other extremists in the animal rights movement," the FBI said in a statement.

The "Most Wanted Terrorists" list is distinct from the much longer-running "Ten Most Wanted" list, which also includes Bin Laden.

"As a society, we cannot sit idly by and allow violence to become an acceptable solution for social and political problems," said Special Agent in Charge Charlene Thornton of the FBI's San Francisco office. "Mr. San Diego and those like him are every bit as great a threat to the peace and security of the United States as any foreign terrorist."

The FBI action comes a month after four animal rights activists were indicted on federal terrorism-related charges for allegedly harassing and threatening researchers at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz. Those protesters said their free-speech rights had been violated.

The FBI said San Diego has three distinctive tattoos, one each on his chest, stomach and back. The tattoos depict buildings and a pastoral scene on fire and include the words, "It only takes a spark."

There is a $250,000 reward for information leading to San Diego's capture. Anyone with information is asked to call local police, the FBI or 911.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/22/BABH176A4V.DTL

By VOA News
21 April 2009

An alleged animal rights extremist from the western U.S. state of California has been added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Most Wanted list.

Daniel Andreas San Diego is accused of bombing two California companies in 2003. Both businesses were connected to Huntingdon Life Sciences, a company that conducts experiments on animals for medical and pharmaceutical industries.

No one was hurt in the blasts. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $250,000 for information directly leading to San Diego's capture.

The 31-year-old is the first domestic terror suspect added to the list of the bureau's 24 most wanted, which includes al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

The FBI says animal rights and environmental extremists have been responsible for more than 1,800 criminal acts and more than $110 million in damages.

Another U.S. citizen and California native, Adam Yahiye Gadahn, also is on the list for his overseas work with al-Qaeda.

Some information for this report was provided by AP.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-04-21-voa72.cfm

• Daniel Andreas San Diego linked to California explosions
• Suspected Islamic terrorists fill out list
Daniel Nasaw in Washington
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 21 April 2009 20.44 BST
Article history

The FBI today placed a suspected animal-rights bomber on its list of most-wanted terrorists, which until now has included only alleged Islamist terrorists.

Daniel Andreas San Diego, a 31-year-old vegan computer specialist, is wanted in connection with summer 2003 explosions at a California biotechnology research laboratory, Chiron Life Sciences Centre and another facility. The FBI says he aimed to destroy property and inflict economic hardship on the companies.

San Diego is the third American citizen on the FBI's list, joining Adam Gadahn, an al-Qaida propagandist, and Abdul Yasin, who was born in Indiana and is wanted in connection with the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York. Most of the others are Lebanese, Saudi or Egyptian.

San Diego was interdicted in a California federal court in 2004, accused of causing property damage with an explosive device.

According to the FBI, which has offered a $250,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, one of the bombs was laced with metal nails intended to harm people. No one was injured in the explosions.

The FBI said San Diego, who has been on the run since October 2003, was stopped for a traffic violation about an hour before one of the explosions. Police later searched his home and found bomb-making materials similar to those used in the attacks, the FBI said. The FBI said San Diego may have fled to Costa Rica. He has worked as a computer network specialist and Linux operator.

The most wanted terrorists list was created in October 2001 in the wake of the September 11 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. The list contains 24 names, including Osama bin Laden and others connected to the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. Several others are wanted in connection with the August 7, 1998 bombings at US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and other deadly attacks.

"Animal rights and environmental extremism pose a significant domestic terror threat," the FBI said in a press statement. It said that animal-rights extremists have caused more than $110m in damages.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/21/fbi-most-wanted-animal-rights-activist

WASHINGTON, April 21 (UPI) -- Animal rights activist Daniel Andreas San Diego became the first U.S. terror suspect on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list, the bureau said Tuesday.

"San Diego's criminal acts of violence were domestic acts of terror planned out and possibly intended to take lives, destroy property and create economic hardship for the companies involved," said Michael Heimbach, FBI assistant director. "The FBI is announcing today a reward of up to $250,000 for information leading to the location and arrest of Daniel Andreas San Diego."

San Diego, indicted for two bombing incidents in California, was charged with destroying property and possessing materials to further a crime of violence, the FBI said.

"San Diego is the first domestic terrorist to be included on the Most Wanted Terrorist list," Heimbach said, "a list that has historically been reserved for international terrorists indicted for various acts of terrorism against U.S. interests."

The San Francisco activist has been on the run since 2003, Heimbach said, "and we need the public's assistance to locate and apprehend this violent, domestic terrorism fugitive and bring him to justice."

San Diego may have ties in San Francisco and Germany and could be living outside of the United States, the FBI said.

Heimbach said animal rights and environmental extremists "remain a significant threat" and have been responsible for more than 1,800 criminal acts and causing more than than $110 million in damages.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/04/21/First-homegrown-activist-lands-on-FBI-list/UPI-24651240341875/

Last Updated: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 | 12:56 PM ET


CBC News

A 31-year-old San Francisco man described as an animal rights extremist has become the first accused domestic terrorist to be included on the FBI’s most wanted terrorist list, the agency announced on Tuesday.

Daniel Andreas San Diego, a computer specialist, now joins the ranks of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and other top al-Qaeda operatives on the list, which is usually reserved for alleged international terrorists.

San Diego is wanted for his alleged involvement in the bombing of two office buildings in San Francisco in 2003.

"Nominations to our Top 10 or our top terrorist lists is a well thought out process. We ran this investigation for the past almost six years where the leads have gone stale on us," Michael Heimbach, FBI assistant director of the counterterrorism division, said in a news conference. "So now we're seeking the public's awareness, the public's assistance to see if we can flush out additional leads."

Asked whether San Diego poses the same kind of threat as bin Laden and others on the list, Heimbach said, "Yes, in a different way."

"Does he rise to the stature of Osama Bin Laden? No. But indeed, three acts of [violence] where improvised explosive devices were used — potentially someone could have been seriously injured and or killed — is quite concerning to us and we think he’s most deserving of being on this list."

San Diego is wanted in connection with three bombings. On Aug. 28, 2003, two bombs exploded approximately one hour apart at the biotechnology firm Chiron Corporation in Emeryville. Almost a month later, one bomb strapped with nails exploded at the Shaklee Corporation, a nutrition and cosmetics company, in Pleasanton.

There were no injuries.

Heimbach described San Diego’s alleged acts as domestic acts of terror planned out and possibly intended to take lives, destroy property and create economic hardship for the targeted companies.

Heimbach said that in 2003, bomb-making materials were found in San Diego's home and vehicle. But he has been on the run since 2003.

San Diego was indicted in 2004 and is believed to be somewhere outside the U.S., Heimbach said.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/04/21/fbi-list.html

FBI Adding Fugitive and Alleged Eco-Terrorist to Most Wanted List
By JASON RYAN and THERESA COOK
April 21, 2009

His tattoos appear to illustrate his mission. The flaming landscape surrounded by the words "It only takes a spark" on his chest. The progression of images on his abdomen, showing buildings burning and collapsing. A lone, leafless tree emerging from a road on his lower back.

Daniel Andreas San Diego is wanted for his alleged involvement in the bombings of two corporate offices in California.
(fbi.gov)

But animal rights activist Daniel Andreas San Diego, 31, allegedly carried out acts similar to those depicted in his tattoos -- and that has landed him a spot on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list alongside Osama bin Laden.

The FBI claims the slight, eyeglass-wearing computer network specialist carried out two destructive bombings in California in 2003, alleged acts of eco-terrorism in furtherance of his anti-animal testing convictions.

Officials announced San Diego's addition to the list in a rare press conference at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. today. Law enforcement sources said it's the first time a suspected domestic terrorist has earned a spot on the list, which the bureau developed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"San Diego's criminal acts of violence were domestic acts of terror planned out and possibly intended to take lives, destroy property and create economic hardship for the companies involved," Michael Heimbach Assistant Director for the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, said at the news conference.

The bureau is offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.


In August 2003, two bombs exploded at the corporate headquarters of Chiron Corp., a firm specializing in blood screening technology, in Emeryville, Calif.

Heimbach said the first bomb exploded, and that authorities searched the scene and discovered a second explosive. "Before the second device could be rendered safe, the device detonated," he said. "It is possible that this device was planted to target first responders."

A month later, a single explosive detonated at Shaklee Corporation, a natural products company headquartered in Pleasanton.

"The investigation revealed metal nails were used in the construction of the device to create a more forceful shrapnel effect," Heimbach said.

Fugitive Part of Suspected Eco-Terror Group

The incidents didn't result in any injuries but caused extensive property damage. Heimbach said authorities believe San Diego targeted the firms because of their ties to another company, Huntington Life Sciences, and that he operated as part of a larger San Francisco Bay area animal rights extremist organization, the Stop Huntington Animal Cruelty campaign.

The group's "single goal," said Heimbach, was putting the company out of business and interrupting its animal experimentations.

In October of that year, agents say they searched San Diego's home and vehicle, finding bomb-making materials similar to those used in the attacks.

A federal grand jury in California indicted San Diego in 2004, charging him for his alleged role in the bombings, but he has eluded authorities.

The FBI believes San Diego could be in Costa Rica, but admits that leads in the case have been sparse. "The leads have gone stale on us," Heimbach conceded.


The FBI description of San Diego paints him as a committed vegan and knowledgeable computer specialist who "is a known animal rights activist with ties to animal rights groups" and "is known to possess a 9 mm handgun."

His wanted poster bears the hallmark fugitive warning "should be considered armed and dangerous."

"Animal rights and environmental extremists remain a significant threat based on the economic damage and widespread nature of this threat," Heimbach added, noting that eco-terrorists have carried out more than 1800 criminal acts and caused more than $110 million in damages.

The FBI is currently investigating about 170 animal rights or environmental extremism incidents, he added.

The FBI asks anyone with information on San Diego to contact a local FBI office or American embassy or consulate.

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/FedCrimes/story?id=7385146&page=1

By Terry Frieden
CNN Justice Department Producer

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI for the first time has placed an animal rights activist on the bureau's "Most Wanted Terrorists" list.

The FBI announced Tuesday the addition of Daniel Andreas San Diego to the list, hoping a burst of international publicity associated with the move will help investigators find him after six years on the run.

San Diego, 31, may appear to be out of place on a terrorist list with familiar names like al Qaeda's Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Adam Yahiye Gadahn. The "strict vegan," according to the FBI, is charged with bombing two corporate offices in California in 2003. The blasts caused extensive property damage but no deaths.

Vegans eat no meat or any other food containing animal products.

Authorities allege San Diego bombed facilities in Emeryville and Pleasanton, California, because he believed the Chiron and Shaklee Corporations had ties to animal-testing labs.

The sophisticated homemade bombs had ammonium nitrate brand explosives and relied on "kitchen timer style mechanical timer devices," according to an FBI affidavit.

After both bombings, e-mails from a group called "The Revolutionary Cells-Liberation Brigade" claimed responsibility for the acts.

Photographs of San Diego, who grew up in suburban San Francisco, California, show a well-groomed, bespectacled man.

But the computer network specialist also sports several elaborate tattoos. According to an artist's rendering of the body art, San Diego has one in the center of his chest of a burning hillside and the words "It only takes a spark" in a typewriter-style font.

An abdominal tattoo shows burning and collapsing buildings, while his back features a leafless tree rising from a road above buildings that are burning but still standing, the FBI says.
Last year, agents pursued reports that San Diego was hiding in Costa Rica. They also received a report he was spotted in rural southern Virginia.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/21/fbi.domestic.terror.suspect/

Daniel Andreas San Diego is 31 years old and a "strict vegan," the FBI says.

Press Release

For Immediate Release
April 21, 2009 FBI San Francisco
Contact: Joseph Schadler, (415) 553-7450
Contact: Patti Hansen, (415) 553-7450

Marin Man Added to FBI’s ‘Most Wanted Terrorists’ List

Today the FBI announced the addition of animal rights extremist Daniel Andreas San Diego to the Most Wanted Terrorists list. Mr. San Diego is wanted in connection with two animal rights-related bombings in Northern California in 2003. He eluded capture and has been on the run ever since. Mr. San Diego is only the second United States citizen, and the only domestic terrorist, to appear on the Most Wanted Terrorists list.

Mr. San Diego, the son of retired Belvedere City Manager Edmund San Diego and his wife Heike, grew up in San Rafael, California. He graduated from Terra Linda High School in San Rafael and briefly attended Los Medanos College in Brentwood, California. After losing his job at a high tech firm in February 2003, he attempted to launch a vegan bakery in Schellville, California, but the business never got off the ground. He professed to be active in the animal rights movement, and expressed extreme views advocating the use of violence to achieve the goals of the movement.

On August 28, 2003, Mr. San Diego put his views into practice when he allegedly planted two bombs at the offices of Chiron, Incorporated in Emeryville, California. The first bomb detonated early in the morning, but the second bomb—set to detonate an hour after the initial blast and likely intended to kill or injure first responders—was located and the area was cleared before it went off. Less than a month later, on September 26, 2003, San Diego allegedly planted another bomb at a Pleasanton, California, company. This device was wrapped in nails to cause more substantial injuries to anyone within range of the shrapnel. Although no one was injured in either case, the construction, placement, and timing of the devices indicated Mr. San Diego intended to cause serious injury or death.

A federal arrest warrant based on a criminal complaint was issued for his arrest on October 5, 2003, but he disappeared before he could be taken into custody. In 2004 a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Mr. San Diego with two counts of destroying or attempting to destroy property with explosives (18 U.S.C. § 844(i)) and two counts of use of a destructive device in a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. § 924(c)). In January 2006, the FBI offered a $250,000 reward for information leading directly to the arrest of San Diego, but he remains a fugitive today.

Placing Daniel Andreas San Diego on the Most Wanted Terrorist list signifies the seriousness with which law enforcement takes acts of domestic terror. The FBI believes Mr. San Diego’s actions have set an example to other extremists in the animal rights movement. In fact, in August 2008 individuals espousing similar beliefs set off two fire bombs in Santa Cruz, California. Although some in the animal rights movement have characterized these acts of violence as mere property crimes, firebombing occupied homes and detonating explosive devices in public areas to further political or social causes are, by definition, acts of terrorism.

“As a society we cannot sit idly by and allow violence to become an acceptable solution for social and political problems,” said Special Agent in Charge Charlene B. Thornton of the FBI’s San Francisco office. “Mr. San Diego and those like him are every bit as great a threat to the peace and security of the United States as any foreign terrorist.”

At the time of his flight Mr. San Diego was a committed vegan. If he has maintained this discipline, people around him may notice that he avoids consuming or wearing anything made with animal products. And although he may have altered his appearance in some way, Mr. San Diego has several distinctive tattoos on his body. Because of the unique nature of the tattoos on his chest, stomach, and back, he may be obviously reluctant to remove his shirt, even in situations where it is the norm.

Due to the sensitivity of explosive materials, individuals engaged in the unlawful manufacture and storage of explosives pose a particular risk to themselves and the public. Accidental detonations with disastrous consequences are common among bomb makers.

San Diego is a known extremist with ties to animal rights groups. He wears eye glasses, travels internationally, and possesses a 9mm handgun. He is described as follows:

Date of Birth: February 9, 1978
Place of Birth: Berkeley, CA
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 160 lbs
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Sex: Male
Race: White

Daniel Andreas San Diego should be considered armed and dangerous. If you have information concerning his whereabouts, please do not take any independent action, but rather immediately notify local law enforcement or the FBI. Mr. San Diego’s Most Wanted Terrorists poster can be viewed at http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/tersandiego_da.htm.
Media inquiries may be directed to FBI Special Agent Joseph M. Schadler or Public Affairs Specialist Patti Hansen at 415-553-7450 or by e-mail at joseph.schadler@ic.fbi.gov.

http://sanfrancisco.fbi.gov/pressrel/2009/sf042109.htm

Dana Hull
Posted: 04/22/2009 07:28:09 PM PDT

The FBI hoped to elicit new tips when it added former Marin resident Daniel Andreas San Diego to its "Most Wanted Terrorists" list this week, but the move was also partly political: by adding its first domestic terrorist to the notorious list - which includes Osama bin Laden - authorities are equating animal rights extremists such as San Diego with the type of people who terrorize nations.

San Diego, 31, has been a fugitive for nearly six years and is wanted for the 2003 bombings of Chiron and Shaklee, two Bay Area biotechnology firms. While no one was killed in those incidents, animal rights protests have grown increasingly violent in recent years - one of the bombs linked to San Diego was wrapped in nails, and animal rights activists have been arrested for fire-bombing a Santa Cruz biologist's home last year.

"Mr. San Diego and those like him are every bit as great a threat to the peace and security of the United States as any foreign terrorist," said Special Agent in Charge Charlene Thornton of the FBI's San Francisco office.

It's still to be seen whether the move - with its reminder of the $250,000 reward - would inspire new tips, but reaction was swift and mixed about whether it would intimidate activists, who've been increasingly targeting scientists who experiment on animals.

"It's absurd," said Christine Garcia, a San Francisco attorney who regularly represents animal rights activists. "By putting San Diego on this list, the FBI is basically supporting
animal cruelty."

Animal rights activists in the Bay Area and beyond are outraged that San Diego is on the same list as Muslim terrorists from around the globe. San Diego, a 1996 graduate of Terra Linda High School in San Rafael, is only the second U.S. citizen to appear on the list. While thousands of people died in the Sept. 11 attacks and the bombings of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, activists note no one was injured in the blasts allegedly set by San Diego.

"This is an activist who has compassion for animals who made a statement with nothing more than a large firecracker," said Jerry Vlasak of the North American Animal Liberation Press Office. "To equate him with the likes of terrorists who destroy buildings full of people is ridiculous at best."

However, those supporting the FBI's action argue that scientists live in constant fear that they or their families will be attacked, and that acute fear is a form of terrorism itself.

"Terrorism is defined by the use of violence to force change - certainly that was the intent in the Chiron and Shaklee bombings," said Jacquie Calnan, president of Americans for Medical Progress. "The inclusion of San Diego on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist list underscores the terroristic nature of the violence and threats that a small number of animal rights activists use against scientists who use laboratory animals in their quest for new treatments and cures."

Federal agents say they have evidence that ties San Diego to the two bombs that exploded outside Chiron in Emeryville on Aug. 28, 2003, as well as one bomb that blew up outside of Shaklee in Pleasanton on Sept. 26, 2003. The FBI says that the construction, placement and timing of the incendiary devices makes it clear that San Diego intended to cause serious injury or death.

In recent years, extremists have increasingly targeted university researchers. Last August, a University of California at Santa Cruz molecular biologist, his wife and two young children fled their home from a second-story window after a firebomb detonated at their house. On Wednesday, a Pro-Test rally was held at UC Los Angeles to show solidarity with scientists subjected to increasing harassment by anti-animal research extremists.

San Diego's parents, retired Belvedere City Manager Edmund San Diego and his wife Heike, declined to comment Tuesday. "They love their son," said Jim Collins, a defense attorney hired by the family.

San Diego worked at the Mill Valley offices of In Defense of Animals, an animal-rights organization, and was a networks operations specialist at Critical Path, a wireless software company in San Francisco. After being laid off, San Diego tried to launch a line of vegan baked goods but it never got off the ground.

At the time of the bombings, San Diego was living in Sonoma County, and federal agents soon had him under 24-hour surveillance. But he eluded them. The FBI now assumes that he has slipped into an underground network of fellow activists, and thought at one point that he was in Costa Rica.

San Diego is described as having brown hair and brown eyes, is 6 feet tall, weighs about 160 pounds, and has several distinctive tattoos depicting burning buildings and a valley on fire.

http://www.marinij.com/sanrafael/ci_12203170