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An animal-rights activist known as "Lone Wolf" who admitted setting fire to the Tandy Leather Factory and Tiburon Fine Dining restaurant in Salt Lake County spoke up in U.S. District Court on Thursday — but not to apologize for causing thousands of dollars in damage to the businesses he burned down in 2010.
In a politically charged statement to U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart, Walter Edmund Bond said his actions were justified because one business sold "skins ripped from the dead" and the other "profits from the force-feeding of geese and ducks until their livers explode so that rich people can then use that as a pate for crackers and bread."
"I don't tell people to do anything except fight for animals as hard as they can," Bond said. "You can take my freedom, but you can't have my submission."
The speech apparently didn't impress Stewart, who sentenced Bond to 87 months in prison, a punishment the judge said should send a message to other animal activists who admire Bond for his behavior and deter them from committing similar crimes in the name of activism.
He cited writings by Bond on a website connected to radical environmental groups the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front, where Bond claimed he "wouldn't change a thing" about the arsons. Bond also posted on the website: "I will be the first to admit I am a serial arsonist."
"He does take pride in causing millions of dollars worth of damage," Stewart said, adding that he doubts that Bond will "ever have respect for the law."
A federal grand jury indicted Bond, 35, in September 2010 with two counts of felony arson and two counts of force, violence and threats involving animal enterprises. Bond pleaded guilty to the arson charges, and the other counts were dismissed as part of a plea deal in July.
Sherry Ramirez, a Tandy store manager, said in court that she doesn't believe Bond is remorseful for his actions. She told Stewart that Bond promised her he would return after being released from prison to burn her business down a second time.
"In my book, he's a terrorist," Ramirez said.
She said Tandy suffered $80,000 in losses, much higher than the $10,000 Bond has been ordered to pay in restitution. She said she views her business as a "recycler" in that it purchases hides after animals have been killed for use as food. Tandy also tutors Boy Scouts on working with leather through its business, she said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Huber told Stewart that Bond has emerged as a folk hero in the animal activist world. But, he alleged, Bond takes up only the "cause of the moment."
In 1996, he burned a pentagram in an Iowa church as a symbol of anti-religion, Huber said. In 1998, he torched the house of an Iowa meth dealer to promote his "straight-edge" ideals — a lifestyle that refrains from drugs and alcohol.
Bond then connected with the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), a move he claims was inspired by working in a pig slaughterhouse at age 19. That led to an arson case in Colorado shortly before the Utah fires. He pleaded guilty to burning down a Sheepskin Factory near Denver.
Bond's arson in Colorado led investigators to his actions in Utah. Huber cautioned that Bond has gained a worldwide audience through his website, which Bond's defense attorney, Nathan Crane, said gets 75,000 hits a month. Bond recruited more than 75 people to write letters of support to Stewart, including a woman in South Africa who said that Bond's writings inspired her to become a vegan and turn her house into an animal refuge for cats and dogs.
Crane acknowledged that his client is not repentant but said Bond — who has agreed to pay restitution — does take responsibility for his actions. He said his client isn't a serial arsonist because Bond doesn't enjoy burning all things — only things that have a connection to making a point about animal activism.
Crane said Bond took care that no one was injured in his Utah arsons. The first time Bond went to set fire to Tiburon, he left because he saw cars in the parking lot.
He returned two days later when it was apparently safer to torch the building, Crane said.
Huber scoffed at Crane's claim that Bond didn't injure people during his crimes.
"These are violent acts. To say, 'I tried not to hurt anybody,' misses the whole point," Huber said. "We need to have a reality check."
Extra security was on hand at the Frank E. Moss Courthouse during Bond's sentencing. A group of supporters filled a row in Stewart's courtroom, many clutching a paper sign that read, "Animal Liberation! Whatever it may take!!"
The paper included a biography of Bond on the back, which listed his "achievements," including having a song written by the band Earth Crisis about his actions, called "To Ashes."
Twitter: @mrogers_trib —
About 'Lone Wolf'
Walter Bond, arrested in Colorado in July 2010, has admitted to intentionally setting two Utah fires last summer:
• The Tandy Leather Factory in Sandy burned June 5, 2010, causing less than $20,000 in damage.
• The Tiburon restaurant in Sandy burned July 2, 2010, causing about $10,000 in damage.