{"id":561077,"date":"2021-06-11T14:51:11","date_gmt":"2021-06-11T18:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=561077"},"modified":"2021-06-11T14:51:19","modified_gmt":"2021-06-11T18:51:19","slug":"biden-bureau-of-land-management-nominee-tracy-stone-manning-was-involved-in-eco-terrorism-case-resulted-in-college-roommates-conviction-prison-sentence-court-records-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-bureau-of-land-management-nominee-tracy-stone-manning-was-involved-in-eco-terrorism-case-resulted-in-college-roommates-conviction-prison-sentence-court-records-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden Bureau Of Land Management Nominee Tracy Stone-Manning Was Involved In \u2018Eco-Terrorism\u2019 Case, Resulted In College Roommate\u2019s Conviction, Prison Sentence, Court Records Show"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">46<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-bureau-of-land-management-nominee-tracy-stone-manning-was-involved-in-eco-terrorism-case-resulted-in-college-roommates-conviction-prison-sentence-court-records-show%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=561077&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><ul>\n<li><strong>President Joe Biden\u2019s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management, Tracy Stone-Manning, testified in federal court in 1993 that she sent a threatening letter to the Forest Service warning that a local forest had been sabotaged with tree spikes.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Stone-Manning told a local news outlet in 1993 that she could have faced conspiracy charges had she not struck an immunity deal with a federal prosecutor in return for her testimony.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Court documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation show that Stone-Manning testified that her friend and former roommate John Blount, who was found guilty and sentenced to 17 months in prison over the matter, asked her to send the letter to the Forest Service on his behalf.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Stone-Manning told a local news outlet that she mailed a copy of Blount\u2019s letter that she typed using a rented typewriter \u201cbecause my fingerprints were all over the original and I was scared.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Stone-Manning has provided differing accounts to the media and lawmakers of her involvement in the case in the years since her testimony.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Senate Energy &#038; Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Sen. John Barrasso told the DCNF that Stone-Manning\u2019s involvement in the tree-spiking incident should disqualify her from serving as Biden\u2019s BLM director.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>President Joe Biden\u2019s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management, Tracy Stone-Manning, received legal immunity to testify in a 1993 criminal trial, court documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation show. The trial resulted in a 17 month prison sentence\u00a0for tree spiking, a violent tactic used to prevent logging.<\/p>\n<p>Stone-Manning testified that she sent an anonymous and threatening letter to the Forest Service in 1989 on behalf of John P. Blount, who she <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/stone-manning-friends-blount.pdf\">identified<\/a> as her former roommate and a member of her circle of friends, court documents show. The letter warned that a local forest in Idaho set to be logged had been sabotaged with tree spikes, according to the documents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cP.S. You bastards go in there anyway and a lot of people could get hurt,\u201d the letter stated.<\/p>\n<p>Tree spiking, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/archive\/local\/1990\/03\/05\/tree-spiking-an-eco-terrorist-tactic\/a400944c-a3a0-4c03-ab99-afada6f44e7a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Washington Post<\/a> and other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heraldsun.com\/news\/local\/counties\/orange-county\/article212658729.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">news outlets<\/a> have described as an \u201ceco-terrorism\u201d tactic, is a form of sabotage in which metal spikes are nailed into trees to make them unsafe to log. If gone unnoticed, tree spikes can cause serious injuries for workers.<\/p>\n<p>A 23-year-old mill worker in California, for example, had his jaw cut in half in 1987 when his saw exploded upon striking an unnoticed tree spike, The Washington Post reported.<\/p>\n<p>Stone-Manning told local media outlets at the time of the trial she waited until 1993 to inform federal authorities of her role in sending the letter because she was scared Blount would threaten her life. She also said she has always denounced tree spiking.<\/p>\n<p>If confirmed as Biden\u2019s BLM director, Stone-Manning would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.doi.gov\/blog\/8-things-you-didnt-know-about-bureau-land-management#:~:text=BLM%20oversees%20245%20million%20surface,the%20landmass%20of%20the%20U.S.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">oversee<\/a> 245 million acres of public lands, equivalent to about 12% of the U.S. landmass.<\/p>\n<p>Senate Energy &#038; Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Sen. John Barrasso told the DCNF that Stone-Manning\u2019s involvement in the tree-spiking incident should disqualify her from serving in the position.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTracy Stone-Manning collaborated with eco-terrorists,\u201d Barrasso said. \u201cShe worked with extreme environmental activists who spiked trees, threatening the lives and livelihoods of loggers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile she was given immunity from prosecution to testify against her companions in court, her actions were disgraceful,\u201d the Wyoming Republican told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>The anonymous letter Stone-Manning said she sent on Blount\u2019s behalf stated that \u201ca total of five hundred pounds of spikes measuring 8 to 10 inches in length\u201d were unloaded in a local forest to prevent an upcoming logging sale, court records show.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe sales were marked so that no workers would be injured and so that you assholes know they are spiked,\u201d the letter stated. \u201cI would be more than willing to pay you a dollar for the sale, but you would have to find me first and that would be your WORST nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7212012\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"33\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7212012\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-7212012 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Stone-Manning-letter.jpg\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Stone-Manning-letter.jpg 649w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Stone-Manning-letter-132x120.jpg 132w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Stone-Manning-letter-620x565-1.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Stone-Manning-letter-768x700-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Stone-Manning-letter-1536x1401-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Stone-Manning-letter-2048x1868-1.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 649px) 100vw, 649px\"  style=\"display:none\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7212012\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The anonymous letter Tracy Stone-Manning told a federal court she sent to the Forest Service in 1989 on behalf of John Blount. (Screenshot)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Stone-Manning testified that she was \u201csomewhat shocked\u201d by the contents of the letter Blount asked her to send but decided to mail it to the Forest Service after thinking it over for a night, court records show.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted people to know those trees were spiked,\u201d she testified. \u201cI didn\u2019t want anybody getting hurt as a result of trees being spiked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stone-Manning <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/stone-manning-testimony-computer.pdf\">testified<\/a> that she retyped the letter word-for-word, but also said she removed profanity.<\/p>\n<p>But before Stone-Manning sent the letter, she <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Stone-Manning-Testimony-Sent-Letter.pdf\">testified<\/a> that she retyped it from a rented typewriter because she \u201cdidn\u2019t want it on my personal computer.\u201d She also began to explain \u201cbecause my fingerprints,\u201d before a defense attorney cut her off.<\/p>\n<p>Stone-Manning told the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/image\/350874240\/?terms=%22stone-manning%22&#038;match=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Missourian<\/a> in June 1993 that she retyped the letter \u201cbecause my fingerprints were all over the original and I was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat I really feel, though, is that I reported a crime, although anonymously,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>The federal jury found <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokesman.com\/stories\/1995\/jul\/22\/bill-quadruples-tree-spiking-penalty\/\">Blount<\/a> guilty of spiking trees. He was sentenced to 17 months in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Stone-Manning has provided differing accounts to the media and lawmakers of her involvement in the case in the years since her testimony.<\/p>\n<p>Stone-Manning informed the Senate Energy &#038; Natural Resources Committee in writing in May that she has never been the target of any federal criminal investigation. However, she disclosed to the committee that she testified before a federal grand jury in 1989 as part of an investigation into an \u201calleged tree-spiking incident,\u201d and later testified in a trial that resulted in the conviction of a \u201cresponsible individual\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/stone-manning-subpoena.pdf\">written testimony<\/a> obtained by the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>Stone-Manning did not disclose to the Senate committee that, according to reporting at the time by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/image\/350799955\/\">Missoulian<\/a>, she told reporters she could have been charged with conspiracy in the matter had U.S. prosecutors not granted her immunity from prosecution in exchange for her testimony. She also didn\u2019t disclose that, according to the Missoulian, prosecutors investigating the matter subpoenaed her in 1989 and required her to give handwriting and hair samples to a federal grand jury.<\/p>\n<p>Assistant U.S. Attorney George Breitsmater wrote in a <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/stone-manning-subpoena.pdf\">pre-trial memo<\/a> that the individuals who were subpoenaed in 1989 \u201cwere believed to be involved in the spiking.\u201d Breitsmater added that the individuals were subpoenaed as part of a \u201ccriminal investigation,\u201d but the evidence collected at the time was not sufficient enough to identify the individuals responsible for the tree spiking.<\/p>\n<p>Stone-Manning told the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/image\/447316380\/\">Casper Star-Tribune<\/a> in May 1993 that Blount had a shotgun in his possession and had threatened to kill anyone who spoke to authorities about the tree spiking. Stone-Manning said Blount left the state shortly after law enforcement officials launched their investigation in 1989.<\/p>\n<p>Also in May 1993, Stone-Manning told the Missoulian newspaper that upon reading news of Blount\u2019s arrest, she felt safe enough to inform federal authorities that she mailed the letter to the Forest Service on Blount\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce he was in jail, I was safe,\u201d she told the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/image\/350800366\">Missoulian<\/a>. \u201cIt was time to come forward. It was my responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Missoulian also reported: \u201cStone-Manning said she could have been charged with conspiracy because she mailed the letter for Blount, were it not for her agreement with the U.S. attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The outlet reported that U.S. Attorney Maurice Ellsworth sent a letter to Stone-Manning\u2019s lawyer stating she \u201cwill be granted use immunity for the statements which she makes to the degree that it may incriminate her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stone-Manning offered a different version of events in 2013 after then-Montana Gov. Steve Bullock nominated her to serve as the director of the state\u2019s Department of Environmental Quality.<\/p>\n<p>The Missoulian <a href=\"https:\/\/missoulian.com\/news\/local\/montana-deq-director-testified-against-tree-spiker-as-um-student\/article_a1c8086e-7f0c-11e2-bd63-0019bb2963f4.html\">reported<\/a> in 2013 that Stone-Manning said Blount\u2019s ex-girlfriend unsolicitedly contacted her in 1993 and said Blount was soon to be released from jail due to an unrelated domestic abuse matter. She told Stone-Manning that she wanted him to stay imprisoned and that Stone-Manning\u2019s testimony in the tree spiking incident would keep him behind bars.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe knew everything about the tree-spiking story and she knew if she told everything that could keep him in jail,\u201d Stone-Manning said in 2013, according to the Missoulian. \u201cShe asked if I would testify, and I said yes, and he went to jail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Neither version of events presented by Stone-Manning align completely with the timeline presented in Breitsmater\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/stone-manning-subpoena.pdf\">pre-trial memo<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Breitsmater wrote that Blount\u2019s ex-girlfriend contacted a Forest Service agent in December 1992 and told the agent that Blount was responsible for the 1989 tree spiking incident. She also said that Stone-Manning was the individual who mailed the threatening letter, according to the memo.<\/p>\n<p>Neither BLM nor the White House immediately returned requests for comment. The National Wildlife Federation, where Stone-Manning served as a senior advisor for prior to her nomination, did not immediately return a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Joe Biden\u2019s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management, Tracy Stone-Manning, testified in federal court in 1993 that she sent a threatening letter to the Forest Service warning &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2280047,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Stone-Manning-letter.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Biden Bureau Of Land Management Nominee Tracy Stone-Manning Was Involved In \u2018Eco-Terrorism\u2019 Case, Resulted In College Roommate\u2019s Conviction, Prison Sentence, Court Records Show","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-561077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Stone-Manning-letter.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Biden Bureau Of Land Management Nominee Tracy Stone-Manning Was Involved In \u2018Eco-Terrorism\u2019 Case, Resulted In College Roommate\u2019s Conviction, Prison Sentence, Court Records Show","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2280047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}