Jeff “free” Luers is one of the most well known Earth Liberation prisoners in America. He has been in prison now for 8 years and was facing a 22 year sentence for a simple act of arson. His sentence was recently reduced to 10 years. I decided to catch up with him after I read his letter in the last issue of PE.

Interviewed by Abigale D.

PE: So Jeff, tell us a little about yourself.

I’m 29 yrs old. I came to prison when I was 21. I grew up in the L.A. area before moving to Eugene, OR when I was 19. I got into politics and radicalism at a young age, about 14. A lot of it revolved around anti-fascist and anti-police brutality issues. But at 18 I was exposed to Animal and Earth Liberation struggles. That has really become my passion. After moving to Oregon I got heavily involved in forest defense and local anarchist struggles, spending months at a time living in old growth forests and swinging from the tree tops.

PE: What is the crime you are incarcerated for?

To hear the state tell it, I’m doing time for three counts of Arson One, two attempted counts of Arson One, four counts of manufacture and possession of destructive devices, one count of criminal mischief and one count of attempted criminal mischief. My version is much simpler. I torched three light pick-up trucks on a commercial lot and was convicted of an attempted arson on an oil tanker truck at a Unocal 76 depot.

PE: Why did you do it?

I really love the simplicity of that question. I did it because we are destroying our world and because the people responsible for the majority of that damage aren’t being held accountable. I was in a position to be able to take direct action in that way and I felt a responsibility to do so. I wanted to raise awareness about global warming and climate change. Of course, the political reasons are even more cut and dry. Global warming is the biggest threat to face humanity in history. We are currently experiencing Earth’s sixth mass extinction period. Upwards of 40,000 species are going extinct each year. The oceans are becoming more acidic and inhospitable to life. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, made up of the world’s leading scientists, are now saying the absolute best case scenario on climate change is that only half a billion people will die and that we will only lose 30% of all the world’s known species. And that’s if we take action now to curb greenhouse emissions. But it gets worse. Because those projections aren’t for some far away date. They are expected to occur within the next 25-40 years, with many already happening now.

PE: What were/are some of the influences that shaped your thinking, both as an adolescent and now?

This is probably going to sound really cliche within the pages of PE but I was really influenced by anarcho punk bands like CONFLICT and CRASS and RESIST AND EXIST. I was really fortunate to have some awesome open minded and intelligent friends growing up that shared similar beliefs, so we had lots of discussions on theory and practicality. I’m still fortunate to have really amazing friends and peers who challenge me and help me grow and learn.