FBI charges student with arson

William Jensen Cottrell, a second-year Caltech graduate student in physics, was taken into custody by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation on March 9. Cottrell, 23, is suspected of involvement in incidents of arson and vandalism that occurred last year at four San Gabriel Valley automobile dealerships.

The vandals targeted dealerships that feature sport utility vehicles, which are denounced as gas-guzzling polluters by environmental groups.
During the early morning of August 22, 2003, approximately 125 vehicles, primarily Hummers and SUVs, and one warehouse were either damaged by paint or set afire. According to reports, the vandals had painted the words

“Polluter,” “I ? Pollution” and “ELF” on the vehicles. The damage was estimated at $3.5 million.

ELF is an acronym for the Earth Liberation Front, a group the FBI considers to be dangerous ecoterrorists. This group is not a Caltech student club nor is it affiliated with the Institute in any way.

Agents had visited Caltech earlier this year after tracing e-mails to a campus library computer. The e-mails, sent to the Los Angeles Times, purported to be written by someone involved in the attacks. The FBI maintains that the writer knew facts about the attacks that were not released to the public.

On the day of Cottrell’s arrest, Caltech issued a statement to staff and the media that read in part: “We have been aware that the FBI has been pursuing its investigation of these incidents and the Institute has been cooperating fully. In doing so, we have been mindful of the rights of our student as well as our legal obligations. There should be no question, however, that these acts of vandalism are neither supported nor endorsed by Caltech and are directly contrary to our mission.”
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