Man Sues U.S. Over Arrest in SUV Fires

A political activist who was arrested but never charged in arson attacks at four SUV dealerships in the San Gabriel Valley has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the federal government and six FBI agents who investigated and interrogated him.

Josh Connole, 26, of Pomona has accused the agents of falsely arresting and imprisoning him, using excessive force, falsifying information to obtain a search warrant, leaking defamatory information about him to the media and retaliating against him for taking part in lawful anti-government protests.

Connole’s lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from the government and the agents.

The FBI declined to comment.

In May, Connole received a written apology from the West Covina Police Department, which took part in his arrest after the August 2003 arsons that damaged or destroyed about 125 cars and a commercial building.

Connole was jailed for four days before being released for lack of evidence.

“The West Covina Police Department regrets the adverse effects of the investigation of Mr. Connole,” Chief Frank Wills wrote in his letter of apology, adding that the police were acting in good faith based on a federal warrant. Connole also was given $20,000 to pay for his legal expenses.

Six months after Connole’s release, federal authorities arrested Caltech graduate student William Jensen Cottrell, whose trial in the arson case is set to begin next week. Authorities have identified two fugitive suspects, a man and a woman who are believed to have left the country.

In his lawsuit against the FBI, Connole said he was targeted because he was living in a commune whose members participated in antiwar and environmental protests. Members of the group, calling itself the Regen V Cooperative, lived in three adjoining houses in Pomona, drove hybrid cars and grew vegetables.

Connole, who works as a solar panel installer, said he and his friends had no connection with the Earth Liberation Front, which claimed responsibility for the arsons. He disavowed their violent tactics.

After his arrest, Connole said, he tried to cooperate with the FBI and pointed out important differences between his appearance and that of an alleged arsonist whose image was caught on surveillance videotape.

The perpetrator had a short goatee and wore khaki trousers and laced sneakers with a V logo on the side, the lawsuit said. Connole said that his goatee was long and that he wore corduroy pants and Vans slip-ons that had no logo on the side.

The suit also accuses the FBI agents of “bizarre Red-baiting” for asserting in their search warrant affidavit that Connole was followed to a meeting of the International Action Center.

Connole described the group as a “mainstream” protest organization.