Alleged Earth Liberation Front member Marie Mason pleaded guilty Thursday to aggravated arson and conspiring to commit arson for her role in a New Year’s Eve 1999 fire that destroyed part of Michigan State University’s Agriculture Hall. Mason and her co-defendant (who has already pleaded guilty) were accused of pouring gasoline on and around records relating to the university’s government-supported research of genetically modified plants; the resulting fire caused some $1 million in damage to the building and set Mason’s hair ablaze, preventing her from completing the message “No GMO” on a nearby wall. U.S. Attorney Charles Gross called the arson “domestic terrorism, plain and simple,” though Mason and her attorney were quick to point out that no one was hurt in the MSU blaze nor in any of the other 12 acts of property damage that Mason admitted to in her plea.
