In a letter to the Auburn Journal, the Earth Liberation Front allegedly claimed its members left five firebombs last week at a newly constructed Auburn building and planted similar devices at homes under construction in Lincoln, Calif., in December.
The FBI says the Earth Liberation Front, or ELF, has caused more than $100 million in damage since 1996, including an arson at a five-story condominium under construction in San Diego in August 2003 that caused $50 million in damages.
Five firebomb-type devices were found by a construction crew working in the office building Jan. 12. The devices were disarmed, but investigators said they were capable of causing extensive fire damage.
FBI investigators confirmed that the devices were similar to those found Dec. 27 in three homes under construction in Lincoln.
The letter purporting to be from ELF said its goal was to cause economic damage to the Lincoln developer. The Auburn office building was targeted as "a statement against work and the horror of the cubical."
Auburn Police Sgt. Chris Reams said investigators were taking the letter seriously.
"I was told by experts that this is uncharacteristic of the group, but as it is an anarchist-type group, it's still being investigated," Reams said Wednesday.
The newspaper turned the letter over to the joint task force investigating the bombs, which includes the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and local agencies.
The letter warned of more terrorist attempts to come. "We are setting a new precedent, where there will be at least one or more actions every few weeks," it read.
