KIRO Team 7 Investigators take you inside the shadowy world of domestic terrorism.

Criminal extremists from the Animal and Earth Liberation Fronts tell Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne that despite a massive federal crackdown on its members, they will not quit.

A-L-F. It's an organization whose members operate in extreme secrecy, often under the cover of darkness. They use homemade firebombs and bolt cutters to send their messages: Promoting veganism, protecting animal rights and punishing environmentally unfriendly businesses.

The Pacific Northwest remains a hotbed of volatile, illegal action in the name of the ELF and ALF. The FBI is investigating arsonists here who have burned local research labs, a slaughterhouse and expensive homes near sensitive habitat. Black-hooded vandals also continue to release captive animals by the thousands.

It's that subculture which launched Seattle-area native Peter Daniel Young to cult-hero status. A "Support-Peter" Web site, T-shirts, even a fan club -- all for a man currently in federal prison for violations of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.

Halsne: “Any regrets?”
Young: “The only thing I can say I regret is that I got caught. I don't regret anything else.”

KIRO Team 7 Investigators spoke with Young from inside the Victorville Medium Security prison in California. The Justice Department wouldn't allow us to videotape. His voice alone, however, carries plenty of passion for his cause.

Young: “You have to understand that what happens to animals in this country is so egregious and so violent, so gory, so horrific, that it warrants extreme action. It is a tremendous risk to take. Prison is a extreme risk to take. Possibly getting shot is a tremendous risk to take. But, the severity of what happens to animals is so extreme, that I believe a lot of people are willing to take that risk.”

Young grew up on Bainbridge and Mercer islands. As a teenager, he stopped eating meat and progressed from peacefully protesting animal rights to criminal actions.

Federal prosecutors just handed him two years in prison for freeing millions of dollars worth of mink from fur ranches. Additional charges could keep him behind bars eight more years. Still, he is unrepentant.

Young: “So long as an animal has the capacity to feel pain, I'm going to be there to protect it.”

Doug Kelly is executive director of the American Mink Council. He says activists like Young are dangerous and "in danger" every time they take action.

He warns, “Somebody comes into your million-dollar house and you're watching them pour gasoline all over and starting to throw a match on it, you're going to do something about it. You're going to stop them however you can stop them.”

Animal Liberation Front raids on Washington fur farms, like one in Snohomish County, have financially devastated some local farming families. However, overall, Kelly says eco-terrorists have failed to hurt the market. Pelt prices this season are at an all-time high.

“Fur. Not only is it nice, it's exquisite. It's warm. Nothing is warmer. That's why God put the animals on the earth, is for us to use.”

You might not agree with Kelly's views or with the shouts of animal rights protesters, but both are legal expressions. Arson and burglary break-in actions committed in the name of ALF and ELF are not.

To find out more about how and why they conduct their illegal terror campaigns, KIRO Team 7 Investigators spoke with admitted criminals within both organizations.

Members showed me how they slip through unnoticed onto farms, how they scare animal researchers, even handed us the firebomb-building blueprints they use.

KIRO Team 7 Investigators constructed and tested the simple time-delayed device.

Arson experts supervised the process, wanting you to see what just $4 worth of fire building materials can be do to a building.

U.S. Attorney General for Oregon Karin Immergut is leading way in an attempt to dismantle ALF and ELF.

“If you follow the advice, and create incendiary devices and commit arsons, we'll hunt you down a prosecute you.”

Immergut says the two eco-groups are intertwined. Just this year, secret grand juries in the Pacific Northwest have indicted 14 alleged eco-terrorists, the most serious round-up of suspects ever.

“The risk to other persons is enormous. In addition, we've seen arsons set next to propane tanks, next to gas meters. Again, that clearly poses a danger to human life.”

Charges of arson and conspiracy could put some activists, who call themselves "The Family," in prison for up to 35 years. Several members are accused of burning down the University of Washington Horticultural Center in 2003 because they didn't like the way tree research might alter Mother Nature.

Peter Young says he was not part of that cell. However, he understands when he gets out of prison, the FBI still has a file that labels him a domestic terrorist.

“I'm marked for life. There's no question about that. I imagine I'll probably be a suspect in just about anything that ever happens illegally for animals for the rest of my life. I'm very well aware of that.”

The FBI says Peter Young is definitely a member of ALF, but it was interesting, when we asked him about it from federal prison, he denied it.

There may be a legal reason for that. The Justice Department has some new "conspiracy" rules. If they can prove you're a member of ALF or ELF, you might get an extra 10 years behind bars.