GANDALF trial

GANDALF was an acronym (Green Anarchist aND ALF) for the 1997 UK trial of the editors of Green Anarchist magazine, as well as two prominent British supporters of the Animal Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front Supporters Group, on charges of "Conspiracy to Incite Criminal Damage".

Overview and background

Starting in 1995, the Hampshire police under "Operation Washington" began a series of at least 56 raids, which eventually resulted in the August to November 1997 Portsmouth trial of Green Anarchist editors Steven Booth, Saxon Wood, Noel Molland, and Paul Rogers, as well as the ALF UK press officer Robin Webb and Animal Liberation Front Supporters Group newsletter editor Simon Russell.

The defendants organised the GANDALF defence campaign. Three of the editors of Green Anarchist — Molland, Saxon Wood and Booth — were sentenced to three years in jail for Conspiracy to Incite Criminal Damage. After four and a half months, all three were released on appeal. The presiding judge at the original trial was Justice David Selwood.

Since the dismissal of the state's case against the GA 'editors', GA have discovered that they had less support than before the trial. Counter Information has also issued a statement particularly attacking Steve Booth's article 'The Irrationalists'. Here Booth predicted further attacks on the public such as the Oklahoma City bombing and the AUM Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system. Generally Molland and Wood were not regarded as holding the more controversial views at one time espoused by Booth and Rogers.