Josh Connole, a 27-year-old member of a tiny environmentalist commune in southern Californiawho was arrested by the FBI on suspicions he was one of the eco-terrorists who had firebombed four nearby Hummer dealers dealerships in the summer of 2003.

A Joint Terrorism Task Force had targeted Connole, an anti-Iraq-war protester, and the Vegan commune he had been living with in a Pomona, Calif., and had developed a political profile of the group. The investigation discovered that the owner of the house and his father had posted statements on websites opposing the use of fossil fuels, that the owner had ties to a local chapter of Food Not Bombs, termed by the FBI as an “anarcho-vegan food distribution group.” In addition, the FBI found that the father of the owner had conducted a “one man’ daily protest” outside a Toyota office, was interviewed for an article called “Dude, Where’s my Electric Car!?” and posted info on a Web site announcing “Stop Norway Whaling!”

When Connole noticed the surveillance and went to authorities to report it, he was arrested and held for four days, often chained to the floor and repeatedly urged by FBI agents to confess.

He was released after William Cottrell, an environmental activist, wrote to a newspaper claiming responsibility for the attacks and mocking authorities for arresting the wrong man. Cottrell was ultimately convicted and sent to prison.

Civil libertarians have criticized cases like this where political information has been increasingly collected by agents since then Attorney General John Ashcroft relaxed FBI guidelines in 2002. As Connole’s lawyer put it; “How does advocacy of electric cars become the basis for suspicion?”

The FBI has agreed to a $100,000 settlement of the wrongful arrest suit brought against them by Connole, although a spokesperson for the FBI claimed that it was “a good faith mistake.”

Vegans and environmentalists should take note–you are now subject to political profiling!