Sacramento Bee: Student's path to FBI informant

Student's path to FBI informant
Using alias, woman tells of alleged terrorism plot.
By Denny Walsh - Bee Staff Writer September 12, 2007
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B5

An FBI undercover informant spun a compelling account Tuesday for a
Sacramento federal court jury of how she went from being a 17-year-old
Florida college student four years ago to the government's key witness in
the trial of a man accused of plotting domestic terrorism.

To shield her true identity and protect her from retribution, the woman
testified only as "Anna," the alias she used in her undercover work. The
judge knows her real name, as does the defense attorney, who agreed to the
unusual procedure.

Dressed in a white suit and pale blue blouse, the dark-haired 21-year-old
told her story in a cool, matter-of-fact manner.

She said that in the fall of 2003, as research for a class project, she
dressed in "grunge" clothes and mingled with protesters at an
international free trade conference.

After she presented a report to the class, the witness recalled, a fellow
student who was a state law enforcement officer asked for a copy of the
paper she had written about her experiences.

The paper found its way to the FBI in Miami, and she was recruited to
infiltrate the "anarchist movement" that consistently has a presence at
anti-establishment demonstrations, she said. The bureau's proposition that
she report all violent and criminal activity she witnessed at these events
"intrigued" her, she said.

"Anna" was instructed "never to assume a leadership role, never suggest
anything, and give information only when asked," she testified. She kept
in touch with FBI agents primarily by cellular telephone.

Between January 2004 and January 2006, the FBI paid her $31,000 in
compensation and $35,000 to cover her expenses traveling the country from
protest to protest and from one "anarchist" meeting to another. She said
she wore the "dirtiest, smelliest" clothes she could find, dyed her hair
every color of the rainbow, and never wore makeup or jewelry.

Her first assignment was the 2004 Group of Eight, or G8, summit in
Georgia. The organization is a forum for the governments of eight major
countries, including the United States. Its annual summit is attended by
the heads of government of the member countries.

"Anna" next was a demonstrator at the Democratic National Convention in
Boston and later the Republican National Convention in New York City.

She met the defendant in the Sacramento trial, Eric McDavid, at an
"anarchist" conference in summer 2004 in Des Moines, Iowa. The main item
on the conference's agenda was "sharing skills on how to spot undercover
law enforcement people."

"At that time, I thought he was inconsequential," the witness said of
McDavid.

The 29-year-old McDavid, of Foresthill, is charged with conspiring to
damage and destroy property, including government facilities, by means of
fire and explosives. His alleged targets included a U.S. Forest Service
genetics tree lab in Placerville and the Nimbus Dam and nearby fish
hatchery in Rancho Cordova.

"Anna" testified that McDavid envisioned a nationwide bombing campaign
against perceived enemies of the environment for which he would credit the
Earth Liberation Front. The FBI has identified ELF as a terrorist movement
dedicated to violent attacks on what its followers believe are symbols of
society's destruction and exploitation of the environment.

"Anna" testified that McDavid invited her into his conspiracy, along with
Zachary Jenson, a transient and regular on the demonstration circuit who
was then 19, and Lauren Weiner, a student at the Philadelphia College of
Arts who was then 18.

Wearing a body recorder, driving a car rigged with video and audio
recording equipment, and living with the trio in an isolated cabin in
Dutch Flat that the FBI wired for video and audio recording before they
moved in, "Anna" recorded hours of conversations about possible bombing
targets, recipes for homemade explosive devices and the purchase of
material needed to make the bombs.

Jenson and Weiner have pleaded guilty for their roles in the conspiracy
and are expected to testify against McDavid in return for leniency when
they are sentenced.

On Jan. 12, 2006, "Anna" had a bad day. On a trip in her car from Dutch
Flat to Auburn a recording device popped out of the dashboard. McDavid
cradled it in his hand and looked at it with some curiosity.

She grabbed the device from him and shoved it back in the dashboard and
used a profanity to describe her vehicle's mechanical state.

It was especially unnerving because McDavid had once told her he would
kill her with the hunting knife he always carried if she turned out to be
an undercover law enforcement operative, she testified.

On the return trip, "Anna" ran a stop sign on the Interstate 80 offramp at
Dutch Flat and was pulled over by a California Highway Patrol officer, who
let her go with a warning.

The others were apoplectic at having been stopped by a law enforcement
officer so close to where they were living.

Back at the cabin, "Anna" and Weiner quarreled, and the witness testified
she felt like she was being treated as an outsider.

"My stress level was such that I didn't feel like I could continue in my
role," she recalled.

That evening she walked to where FBI agents were watching the cabin and
told them she didn't believe she could go on. They assured her they would
arrest her three companions the next day, and they did.

The Bee's Denny Walsh can be reached at (916) 321-1189 or dwalsh@sacbee.com.