Catalyst Infoshop

Last updated
The infoshop in 2009 The Catalyst Infoshop (4034651673).jpg
The infoshop in 2009

The Catalyst Infoshop was an infoshop and bookshop at 109 N. McCormick Street, Prescott, Arizona, founded in 2004. It had closed by 2010.

Contents

Foundation

Catalyst Infoshop was founded in an old railroad cabin in Prescott, Arizona in 2004, by Katie Rose Nelson and William C. Rodgers. [1] The space was used for a reading group, a philosophy salon, a knitting circle, a high school girl club, a free school and an all ages venue. [2] It was fostered by Prescott College. [3] By 2010, the infoshop had closed down. [4]

Raid

On December 7, 2005, Catalyst Infoshop was raided by federal agents working on information provided by Jacob Ferguson. Rodgers and Nelson were both arrested. The raid was part of Operation Backfire investigating an eco-terrorist unit within the Earth Liberation Front that caused upwards of $20 million in damage across numerous states. Rodgers was charged by Federal Bureau of Investigation with masterminding the arson that destroyed the Two Elk Lodge in Vail, Colorado in 1998. [1]

Rodgers committed suicide by self-asphyxiation, in jail, two weeks after his arrest and before standing trial. [5]

Related Research Articles

Yavapai County, Arizona County in Arizona, United States

Yavapai County is near the center of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Prescott.

Black Canyon City, Arizona CDP in Yavapai County, Arizona

Black Canyon City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The population was 2,837 at the 2010 census, up from 2,697 in 2000.

Congress, Arizona CDP in Yavapai County, Arizona

Congress is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. Once a gold-mining center for the Congress Mine and then a ghost town, Congress now serves as a retirement and bedroom community for nearby Wickenburg. The population was 1,717 at the 2000 census.

Dewey–Humboldt, Arizona Town in Yavapai County, Arizona

Dewey–Humboldt is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The population of the town was 3,894 according to the 2010 census. The Dewey–Humboldt area was a census-designated place (CDP) at the 2000 census, at which time its population was 6,295.

Craig Rosebraugh

Craig Rosebraugh is an American writer, filmmaker and activist advocating for political and social justice, and environmental and animal protection.

THERMCON was the code name of an FBI operation which was launched in response to the sabotage of the Arizona Snowbowl ski lift near Flagstaff, Arizona, in October 1987 by three people from Prescott, Arizona, Mark Davis, Margaret Millet and Marc Baker. In a November 1987 letter claiming responsibility, the group called themselves the "Evan Mecham Eco-Terrorist International Conspiracy" (EMETIC). The group named themselves after Evan Mecham, the then-Governor of Arizona. The Arizona Snowbowl spent $50,000 repairing the damage.

Yavapai-Prescott Tribe Federally recognized tribe

The Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe, formerly known as the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe of the Yavapai Reservation, a federally recognized tribe of Yavapai people. Fewer than 200 people are enrolled in the tribe.

The Freedom Shop is the name of an anarchist infoshop which distributes books and information, based in Wellington, New Zealand. It operates on a non profit basis, injecting any income back into the project. The shop has been based in different locations and mainly sells books on anarchism, feminism, indigenous rights, ecology and a range of activist issues. It also carries patches, badges, clothing and music.

Findlay Toyota Center Multi-purpose arena in Prescott Valley, Arizona

The Findlay Toyota Center is a 5,100-seat multi-purpose arena located at 3201 North Main Street in Prescott Valley, Arizona.

Operation Backfire is a multi-agency criminal investigation, led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), into destructive acts in the name of animal rights and environmental causes in the United States described as eco-terrorism by the FBI. The operation resulted in convictions and imprisonment of a number of people, many of whom were members of the Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front.

Federal Correctional Institution, Tallahassee, is a minimum security United States federal prison for female inmates in Tallahassee, Florida. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the Department of Justice. The facility also has an adjacent detention center that houses administrative security level male inmates.

William Courtney Rodgers, also known as Bill Rodgers and Avalon, was an environmental activist, animal rights activist and a co-proprietor of the Catalyst Infoshop in Prescott, Arizona, US. He was one of six environmental activists arrested December 7, 2005 as part of the FBI's Operation Backfire. His charge was one count of arson for a June, 1998 fire set by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) at the National Wildlife Research Center in Olympia, Washington. He was found dead in his jail cell on December 21, 2005. According to police, Rodgers committed suicide using a plastic bag.

KNOT Radio station in Prescott, Arizona

KNOT is a radio station licensed to Prescott, Arizona. Its signal is relayed on FM translators K280GH (103.9) Prescott, Arizona and K300CI (107.9) Flagstaff, Arizona. In October 2015 KNOT changed their format from oldies to Contemporary Christian music, branded as "Arizona Shine".

The Brian MacKenzie Infoshop, named for an American University student active in the radical community who died of a heart condition in 1999, was a radical book and record shop located in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C.. The lease was co-sgned by Ian MacKaye of Fugazi. The infoshop served as a bookstore, as well as a community center, hangout, and meeting place for area radicals.

Wickenburg Massacre

The Wickenburg Massacre was the November 5, 1871, murder of six stagecoach passengers en route westbound from Wickenburg, Arizona Territory, headed for San Bernardino, California, on the La Paz road.

Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University campus

Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott is a residential campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. The university offers bachelor, master's, and PhD degree programs in arts, sciences, aviation, business, engineering, and security & intelligence. The Prescott campus also offers a master's degree in Safety Science, Security & Intelligence, and Cyber Intelligence & Security.

Verde National Forest was established by the U.S. Forest Service in Arizona on December 30, 1907, with 721,780 acres (2,920.9 km2). On July 1, 1908, the forest was combined with Prescott National Forest and the name was discontinued.

Randall Amster American author, activist and educator (born 1965)

Randall Jay Amster is an American author, activist, and educator in areas including peace, ecology, homelessness, and anarchism. He is the director of the Program on Justice and Peace at Georgetown University, and writes for outlets ranging from academic journals to online news media.

Catoctin in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States was a small gold mining camp. The camp was established circa 1902 and received a post office on December 29 of the same year. It is located on upper Hassayampa River, sixteen miles southeast of Prescott. Only a handful of mining buildings and homes were constructed and on average the town was home to about twenty people. The Catoctin and Climax mines were nearby. On July 15, 1920, the post office was closed.

On August 5, 1969, the Atlanta Police Department led a police raid on a screening of the film Lonesome Cowboys at a movie theater in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The raid targeted members of the city's LGBT community, and the aftermath of the raid let to the creation of the Georgia Gay Liberation Front and an increased push for gay liberation in the area. The event has been compared to the Stonewall riots, which occurred a little over a month before the raid. Atlanta Pride, one of the largest pride parades in the United States, was started in part as a response to the raid.

References

  1. 1 2 Grigoriadis, Vanessa (2011-06-21). "The Rise and Fall of the Eco-Radical Underground". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  2. Amster, Randall (2006). "Perspectives on Ecoterrorism: Catalysts, Conflations, and Casualties". Contemporary Justice Review. 9 (3): 287–301. doi:10.1080/10282580600827991. S2CID   144582327.
  3. Malic, William (2013-03-13). The Journey – Bean Town to L.A. ISBN   9781105940057.
  4. "Tip of an iceberg of community: Infoshops and radical community centers". Slingshot. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  5. Rovics, David (2007). "Notes From a Wandering Minstrel – Pivotal Moment in the Green Scare" (PDF). CNS. 18 (3). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2019.

Coordinates: 34°32′22.57″N112°28′26.04″W / 34.5396028°N 112.4739000°W / 34.5396028; -112.4739000