I admit, I often think of caltech as a more sane place than the real world. There are so many people here who are concerned with kindness and respect for their fellow man, despite differences of religion or political opinions.

This, then, comes as quite a shock. I'm quite dismayed by this, and I can only imagine what kind of nasty publicity the institute will get as a result. Never mind that this guy completely disregarded what the institute stands for *and* the Honor Code - whatever happened to "No member of the Caltech community shall take advantage of any other member"? As a result of his actions, it's quite likely that the communities around us will not trust us as much.

What kind of person could think that violent acts are the way to convince people that they're wrong? Doesn't he know that no one listens if you fail to present your views on calm, noncombative terms? Violence and idiocy just riles everyone else and makes them less likely to listen. -sigh-

And I think to myself: What a wonderful world.
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FBI Arrests Student In SUV Vandalism Case

Pasadena Man Held For Damage To 125 Vehicles

Mar 9, 2004 1:26 pm US/Pacific
LOS ANGELES (CBS) A California Institute of Technology graduate student was arrested Tuesday in connection with last summer's vandalism of 125 sport utility vehicles and fires set at a San Gabriel Valley auto dealership in apparent support of the Earth Liberation Front, the FBI said.

William Cottrell, 23, of Pasadena was arrested for investigation of arson and vandalism. He was scheduled to be arraigned in federal court later in the day. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for each act.

Cottrell, a graduate student in the physics department at Caltech, allegedly used an alias when he contacted the Los Angeles Times by e-mail and informed the newspaper he was involved in the SUV firebombings, the FBI said in an affidavit.

In messages sent to the newspaper, Cottrell also confirmed that he was affiliated with the Earth Liberation Front, a radical group of environmentalists that has claimed responsibility for other acts of arson and vandalism, the affidavit said.

In one e-mail, Cottrell using the name Tony Marsden, allegedly wrote "I was amongst those responsible for the SUV attacks ... The FBI hasn't seemed to pick up on any of them (clues), which makes this whole ordeal rather boring for us, the true culprits," according to the affidavit.

Cottrell offered specific details of the attacks to the newspaper to prove his involvement, the FBI said.

Cottrell was interviewed by authorities in January and denied being an ELF member or contacting the Times, the affidavit said.

Authorities searched Caltech classrooms and were able to track the e-mails to Cottrell, according to an affidavit. They also seized six computers from the campus.

The August spree hit car dealerships in West Covina, Duarte and Arcadia, as well as at least four privately owned vehicles in Monrovia. The communities are all just east of Pasadena, where Caltech is located and Cottrell was arrested at a residence. The fire set at the West Covina dealership destroyed or damaged 72 vehicles, mostly SUVs, and a parts warehouse.

"Those who set fires, like those at the Hummer dealership in West Covina, are misguided zealots," FBI Assistant Director Richard Garcia said in a statement. "The FBI respects, encourages and protects people who peacefully exercise their right to free speech.

"However, when extremists resort to arson attacks, which inevitably will lead to a loss of life, they have gone too far and the FBI will investigate aggressively and relentlessly to bring those who set such fires to justice."

Authorities initially arrested Josh Connole, 25, of Pomona but he was later released because of lack of evidence. He has denied any involvement in the attacks and denounced the ELF actions since his release.

The FBI affidavit stated that Cottrell's 23-year-old girlfriend also was interviewed and told authorities that Cottrell admitted he was responsible for the vandalism but she believed he was joking about it. When pressed further, she said one of the men seen in a surveillance videotape at one of the dealerships looked like Cottrell.