Oregon terror: DA says Fossil fires "declaration of war" against U.S.
District attorney alleges Ethan Burlingame set fire to electric transmission pole "as an act of war and terrorism to burn down the empire," wrote he was "joining the wars in Cuba, Palestine and Iran"
Photo of Ethan Noble Burlingame issued by Wheeler County Sheriff’s Office
Ethan Noble Burlingame, 28, the man charged with two counts of domestic terrorism related to the attempted burning on June 1 of a main electrical transmission powerline pole near, and a building in, Fossil, Oregon emailed a “declaration of war” against the United States and intended to “cause suffering, destruction and terror as an act of war and terrorism to burn down the empire,” according to charging documents filed by prosecutors in Wheeler County Circuit Court last week.
Burlingame’s alleged terror aims in allegedly setting a series of fires in and around the north-central Oregon town of Fossil, population 455, have not been previously reported.
In a Motion for Arrest Warrant filed with the court June 3, Wheeler County District Attorney Gretchen Ladd alleges that on June 1 Burlingame emailed what Ladd describes as a “‘declaration of war’ against the United States and others and expressed intent to cause suffering, destruction and terror as an act of war and terrorism to burn down the empire.”
Source: Motion for Arrest Warrant, signed and filed by Wheeler County DA Gretchen Ladd June 3
According to the Motion, law enforcement were contacted by an unidentified Floridian regarding a “concerning exchange” he had with Burlingame “AKA Rottenheart” at 6:35 am Eastern on June 1. Shortly after that exchange, the Motion continues, a fire destroyed an unoccupied building near Burlingame’s Fossil residence. Two hours later, “a main transmission pole was ignited, causing $25,000 in damage and a day without power to replace it.”
Source: Motion for Arrest Warrant, signed and filed by Wheeler County DA Gretchen Ladd June 3
District Attorney Ladd alleges another fire was started south of Fossil the evening of June 1. Then, around 2 a.m. June 2, Burlingame “republished his manifesto to [Wheeler County] Sheriff [Jeremiah] Holmes and wrote ‘cool drone btw.’” The Sheriff’s Office announced it had used aircraft in its manhunt for Burlingame in the immediate aftermath of the fires.
Source: Motion for Arrest Warrant, signed and filed by Wheeler County DA Gretchen Ladd June 3
Also on June 2, according to the Motion, Burlingame sent Sheriff Holmes an email that Burlingame “was joining the wars in Cuba, Palestine and Iran and would peacably surrender when those ended. He wrote that he had obtained a firearm and would shoot combatants, including the Sheriff, who was on the wrong side.”
Source: Motion for Arrest Warrant, signed and filed by Wheeler County DA Gretchen Ladd June 3
District Attorney Ladd ultimately charged Burlingame with two counts of domestic terrorism, two counts of burglary in the first degree, arson in the second degree, criminal mischief in the first degree, theft in the first and second degrees, two counts of interfering with a firefighter and five counts of reckless burning. Burlingame is scheduled for arraignment today at 1:15 p.m., according to court records.
Those charges, and the facts on which they’re based, are alleged only and have not been proven in a court of law. Burlingame remains innocent of all charges until proven guilty.
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