4 Convicted Of Blocking Forest Road Four Others Plead Guilty In Protest Of Idaho Timber Sale

Four Cove-Mallard environmental protesters have been convicted of obstructing a road leading into a timber sale area in the Nez Perce National Forest.

And four others have pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge in connection with similar activities.

Gordon Gatewood, 23, Boise; Marcus Baker, 22, Yonkers, N.Y.; Kristin Gustafson, 26, Boise; and Gregory Mack, 38, Fort Washington, Md., were convicted Tuesday in a trial in U.S. District Court in Moscow.

They were charged with blocking a U.S. Forest Service road and building an illegal structure in the road to the Jack Timber sale area. Forest Service officers said the four secured themselves by various means to an interlocking series of slash piles and wooden bipods. They were arrested last Sept. 17.

The four, all charged with Class B federal misdemeanors, face a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Co-defendant Allan Liiv, 26, of San Francisco, pleaded guilty Tuesday to blocking a roadway. He received 14 days in jail.

Jonathan Coop, 24, Moscow; Adrienne Thompson, 20, San Francisco; and Mark Jordan, 27, San Francisco, pleaded guilty Tuesday to blocking a Forest Service road in connection with a protest in October.

Coop was sentenced to one year of probation and a $500 fine. Thompson and Jordan each received seven days behind bars.