Some notes on the sordid history of Washington State's "Criminal Sabotage" law.


1909: First criminal anarchy laws were first passed and targeted anyone espousing violent methods to overthrowing organized government. Moreover, the law also covers "unlawful methods"; that is to say, if you do anything illegal while organizing against the government, you're guilty of a felony.

1919: "Anarchy and Sabotage" law adopted by the Washington State Legislature to crack down on labor organizing by International Workers of the World (IWW). The law targets work "slowdowns" adopted by the IWW after striking timber workers are increasingly replaced by non-union labor. The city of Seattle's city council drafted a similar ordinance, reported in the Seattle Daily Bulletin on October 15, 1919 under the headline, "CITY COUNCIL PASSES ANTI-I.W.W. ORDINANCE--CURBS REDS."

1996: A group of activists supporting RAN that would be come known as the "Super Ruben Seven" are charged and convicted of ?Anarchy and Sabotage? after hanging a banner reading "Don't export our jobs/logs" from a timber ship in Longview, WA to protest Mitsubishi. (The charges are later dropped on a technical appeal). Read RAN's press release here.

1997: 75 activists with the Coalition to Repeal the Anarchy and Sabotage Statute (CRASS) march on Police Headquarters in Olympia, and ask to be charged.

1999: "Anarchy and Sabotage" statute renamed "Criminal Sabotage"

2002: Under pressure from mink farms in his district, Washington State Rep. Kirk Pearson (R-Monroe) attempts to expand the statute to include acts of so-called "eco-terrorism".

2004: Myself and 8 others are charged under the revised "Criminal Sabotage" statute

2005: Criminal Sabotage will be elevated to a class B Felony punishable by 10 years or $20,000 or both.