This is a response to Bruce Anderson's article.
I did not bomb Judi Bari, or write any of the letters.
There is no credible evidence that I did. Ed Gehrman can string together as many lies as he wants, but there are no facts at the bottom of it.
Any so called "literary detective" who claims to identify me as a "plausible" author of the bombing letters is just wrong.
Don Foster looked at only what Gehrman gave him, whatever that might have been. To his credit, Foster admits that his study offers "no guarantee that the Flatland archive includes writing by the actual bomber of Judi Bari" and that similarities among the three letters are "inconclusive."
Foster's study isn't evidence. It's just a trendy new way to score points in the old feud between Irv Sutley and Judi Bari.
Ditto for the remark about the typewriters. If somebody has a genuine typeface match-up, go straight to the police. Don't talk about "the same brand" of typewriter. Smith-Corona probably made ten million typewriters.
Judi Bari isn't around any more to deal with disinformation from Irv Sutley and his friend Gehrman. So I'll say a few obvious things on her behalf.
Judi spent the last seven years of her life looking at every detail of the bombing. Judi was convinced that she was bombed because she was an Earth First! leader. Judi uncovered police dirty tricks from start to finish. She sued the FBI for false arrest and slander. It was one of the biggest disappointments of her life not to live long enough to see victory. Judi told the FBI: "Find the bomber. Then fire him."
Accusing me is another way for Sutley to continue his feud against Judi. It's a way for Sutley and Gehrman to draw attention to themselves and a way for Flatland magazine to sell more publications about "alien abductions, UFOs, and conspiracy theories," among its other specialties. So it looks like this slander campaign will go on for a long time. Anyone who seriously thinks I could be the bomber should think about these facts:
Judi and Darryl went off to the Bay Area at least 18 hours before the bomb exploded. The police say the timer on the bomb couldn't run more than 12 hours. I wasn't in the Bay Area. It's well known that I was home in Redwood Valley the whole time taking care of our two daughters, then ages 9 and 4.
—Mike Sweeney, February 9, 1999
Be First to Comment