Earth First! activist David Chain was killed Thursday, September 17, when a tree felled by a Pacific Lumber logging crew struck him in the head. North Coast Earth First! says the angry logger cursed activists in the forest and aimed his falling trees at them.
Statement from David "Gypsy" Chain's family
The family of David Nathan Chain would like to express thanks to all of those who have held us in their thoughts and prayers. We are so proud of Dave and the work he was doing with Earth First! We believe his death will not be in vain. It gives us great peace knowing that he died fighting for what he believed in.
The Death of David Chain
Does this sound like an accidental killing to you?
The voice of "A.E." (the logger who felled the tree which killed Earth First! nonviolent civil disobedience activist David Chain later the same day). "A.E." is yelling at another activist in the small group protesting in the forest with David:
AE: (Raging) Get the fuck out of here! You've got me hot enough now to fuck!
Activist: (Apologetically) We don't want to cause you any problems.
AE: (Angrily) You already have! So get out of here! You cock suckers! I mean it!
[snip]
AE: (Threateningly) Get outta here! Otherwise I'll fuckin', I'll make sure I got a tree comin' this way!...
AE: (Raging) Ohhhhh, fuck! I wish I had my fuckin' pistol! I guess I'm
gonna just start packin' that motherfucker in here. 'Cause I can only be
nice so fuckin' long. Go get my saw, I'm gonna start fallin' into this fuckin'
draw!
September 18, 1998
The following is the statement issued to the media by the nonviolent activists who were present in the forest with David "Gypsy"
Chain when he was killed by a falling tree cut by a hostile Pacific Lumber Co. logger on September 17.
Those of us who were present during the death of our friend and fellow activist David "Gypsy" Chain would like to make the
following statements and clarifications.
Gypsy was a strong warrior who fought nonviolently for the forest. His dedication and commitment to defending the Earth is an
inspiration to all of us.
Gypsy's death is not an isolated incident of violence. In the last several months trees have been intentionally fallen at nonviolent
activists at the Luna tree sit and in the Mattole watershed in Humboldt county. This is part of an escalation of violence against
nonviolent forest defenders in the Northwest and all over the world.
The loggers were aware of our presence as we had engaged them in conversation throughout the day. In fact, the logger that
felled the tree which killed our brother Gypsy had repeatedly threatened us with violence and chased us. He also purposely
felled other trees in our direction. We never contrived a call and answer system. In truth, we ran for our lives.
This is part of a series of lies and cover-ups to benefit MAXXAM Corporation, including, but not limited to, the "domino
effect" in regards to the falling tree that killed Gypsy, the "call and response" communications, the claim that they didn't know
we were present and the overall claim that Pacific Lumber operated safely.
In closing we would like to send our deepest sympathies to Gypsy's family, friends and supporters and all those beings killed by
MAXXAM's destructive and greedy forest practices.
Ongoing memorial services will be held off of Highway 36 just past Grizzly Creek Campground on the north side of the road.
We are asking for the area to be preserved as a memorial site for David "Gypsy" Chain with all logging activities ceased.
In defense of the Earth,
RELATED LINKS:
WITNESSES STATEMENT
Carey Jones
Erik "Ayr" Eisenberg
Zoe Zalia
Mike Avcollie
Jason Wilson
Jeremy Jense
Mike McCurdy
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