Who Bombed Judi Bari?

A Commentary by Noelle Hanrahan of "Prison Radio"

This week marked the anniversary (May 24th 1990) of the assassination attempt against Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney of Earth First! 

I met Judi Bari in 1990.  I interviewed her for KPFA at her rehab hospital, shortly after the car bombing that almost took her life.  She courageously continued her work.  In the early 90's she was one of the few broadcasters to air Mumia's commentaries, she featured him on her radio show on KMUD in Garberville CA.  

Judi Bari and Tanya Brannan founded the Redwood Justice Fund after the car bombing so that folks like us could fight for justice and expose political repression.  I worked closely with Judi on her case "Bari vs. USA", and planned her Bay Area memorial when she passed away from breast cancer.  We continued her lawsuit on the behalf of her estate. Prison Radio is part of the Redwood Justice Fund because of Judi's amazing organizing, her work with across race, class, and cultural divides, and her willingess to expose the FBI's CointelPro in the 90's.  Viva Judi Bari!

Judi was nearly killed in a still-unsolved assassination attempt on May 24, 1990, when a motion-triggered pipe bomb wrapped with nails exploded directly under her driver's seat. She and Darryl Cherney were driving through Oakland, California when the bomb exploded. They were on a speaking tour to recruit college students for Redwood Summer, a campaign of nonviolent mass protests against corporate liquidation logging.

 

Judi was seriously injured and disabled by the bombing, while Darryl eardrum burst and he was injured as well.  

But instead of investigating the bombing as attempted murder, as the evidence clearly showed, the FBI, with the willing collaboration of the Oakland Police, tried to frame Judi and Darryl for the bombing, further victimizing them by false arrest and accusing them of knowingly transporting the bomb that nearly killed them.

It was a deliberate, politically motivated effort to target and "neutralize" Judi, Darryl and Earth First!, and to discourage people from joining Redwood Summer.

When it was finally time for the District Attorney to present evidence in court, the FBI and Oakland Police didn't actually have any, and no charges were filed. The Oakland Police closed their "investigation," but the FBI continued theirs, telling the media that Judi and Darryl were their only suspects.  

 The FBI then used the pretext of investigating the bombing as cover for a nationwide investigation of Earth First!, creating dossiers on over 500 people.
A year after the bombing, when it was clear that the FBI and OPD were making no genuine effort to solve the bombing, Judi and Darryl filed a federal civil rights suit against the FBI and OPD. The suit claimed false arrest and unlawful search in violation of the Fourth Amendment. It also claimed a politically-motivated conspiracy in violation of the First Amendment which attempted to suppress their free speech by discrediting them in public perception as violent extremists.

The evidence was presented in a jury trial that began on April 8, 2002, and ended June 11 with a stunning vindication of Judi and Darryl, and a $4.4 million award of damages.

“This case is not just about me or Darryl or Earth First!,” Judi said. “This case is about the rights of all political activists to engage in dissent without having to fear the government's secret police.”

Prison Radio works today to honor Judi's legacy.