Fugitive linked to ecoterrorist firebomb arrested

SEATTLE – A fugitive wanted in connection with the 2001 firebombing of the University of Washington's horticulture center is now in federal custody.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle says 31-year-old Justin Solondz was arrested in Chicago on Wednesday following his expulsion from China, where he had been serving a prison sentence on drug charges.

Solondz is alleged to have built the firebombs that started the $6 million blaze in Seattle. He faces charges including conspiracy and arson.

He will make his first appearance in federal court in Tacoma once he is transported from Chicago.

The UW firebombing was part of a string of arsons across the West by the radical environmental groups, the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front.