On April 8, 2002, Judi Bari and Derryl Cherney's case vs the FBI will finally open after years of disinformation and what can be described as criminal malfeasance by the bureau. On May 24, 1990, the EarthFirst! activists were almost killed when a bomb exploded in their car. FBI agents, some of which had been to a car bombing course held at the Louisiana Pacific lumberyard just one month before the blast, arrived on the scene immediately. Subsequently, the bureau along with the Oakland police dept accused the EarthFirst! activists of blowing themselves up with their own bomb and charged them with the crime.

EarthFirst! is well known for its reverence for life and its staunch opposition to violence vs other human beings. The bomb was not placed for transport in the trunk or the back seat, but under the driver seat where it could pose the maximum possible danger to the car's occupants. That is just one of many holes in the FBI story that inevitably resulted in the district attorney throwing the case out of court for lack of evidence. A year after the bombing the pair filed several civil rights and criminal charges against the bureau that has been delayed, mostly by FBI legal maneuvering until this coming monday. San Fransico indymedia has prepared an excellent, convincing, and succinct feature on the bombing and the upcoming case:

 http://sf.indymedia.org/features/judibari/

Judi has since died of breast cancer in 1997 and the court case is moving forward.