Rob Coronado gets year in prison for arson talk

March 28, 2008

This poor guy just can't get a break. By Greg Moran UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER 12:57 p.m. March 27, 2008 A chastened and - by his own admission - changed Rodney Coronado was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison Thursday. The well-known activist and spokesman for animal rights and environmental causes pleaded guilty in December to a charge of demonstrating how to make a destructive device with the intent that someone would commit arson. The awkwardly worded federal charge stems from a speech Coronado made Aug. 1, 2003 in Hillcrest. In response to a question from the audience, he demonstrated how to make a crude device using an apple juice jug and other implements. The speech came hours after arsonists destroyed a huge apartment complex under construction in University City. The Earth Liberation Front, a loosely knit radical environmental group, claimed responsibility for the blaze. No one has been arrested or charged, and the fire remains unsolved. But in February 2006, Coronado was indicted on the demonstration charge. In September, a jury deadlocked on the charge with a majority leaning toward acquittal. Nonetheless, Coronado later agreed to plead guilty, in exchange for prosecutors not pursuing a charge in Arizona or a similar case stemming from remarks Coronado made at a college in Washington,

D.C. Coronado, 41, told U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller on Thursday that he accepted responsibility for his acts and wanted to move on with his life and focus on his family. In 2006, Coronado sent an open letter to the activist community where he said he renounced advocating violent "direct action" on behalf of the movement. "I love my new life," he said. "I love being a husband. I love being a father." Coronado, who lives near

Tucson, Ariz., will have to surrender to prison authorities by May 9. Full story: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080327-1257-bn27rod.html http://pets.Fortheanimals7/join