Activists plan resistance

Bloomington activists have planned a "week of resistance," starting Sunday, to coincide with Frank Ambrose's April 5 court appearance. \nPolice have charged Ambrose, a prominent local environmentalist, with driving nails into trees set aside for lumber in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest last June. Timber spiking, a class D felony in Indiana, carries a punishment of up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.\nAmbrose's arrest is the first in connection with the Earth Liberation Front, a shadowy ecoterrorist group that has claimed responsibility for more than $37 million in property damage across the country. Locally, the group took credit for the arson of a home in the Sterling Woods development on the west side early last year and several other acts of vandalism.\nAmbrose maintains his innocence and pleaded not guilty at his Feb. 2 arraignment.\nFellow activists said they also believe he's committed no crime.\n"It's still hard to believe all of this is happening," said Jeff Melton, an activist and friend of Ambrose. "The Frank they're talking about isn't the Frank I know."\nSome even think authorities singled out Ambrose -- who has since moved to Detroit to spend time with his wife's family -- to silence his voice.\n"We're planning this week of resistance so to show them that we aren't scared and we stand behind Frank," said David Agranoff, the activist organizing the week's events. "It shows them that we're carrying on the work he cares about, which I think is what he'd want us to do."\nSympathizers plan to rally every day during the week -- on issues ranging from logging to sweatshop labor in Third World countries. \n"A lot of things are coming together right now," Agranoff said. "And we need to show them that we won't back down when President (George W.) Bush is repealing all of these environmental laws and regulations."\nApril 5, activists plan to march from the Bloomington FBI office to the Justice Building, where Ambrose will appear for a pre-trial conference. Organizers expect sympathizers from Florida and Oregon to come for the protest.\nMonroe County Sheriff Steve Sharp said additional security would be on hand.\n"We've been working with local police and the FBI," he said. "Extra deputies will be present."\nWhile he isn't bothered by the added security detail, Agranoff said the rally won't be violent.\n"We're just planning on civil disobedience," he said. "Some seem to think that we'll be burning down buildings. But we'll just be carrying signs"