When David "Gypsy" Chain died on September 17 in a steep clearcut on Pacific Lumber (PL) land, he became the first Earth First!er killed in action in a dozen years of challenges to logging of ancient redwoods in Northern California.

PL immediately put its spin on the case, saying it was "deeply saddened by what appears to be a tragic accident on its property this morning." PL president John Campbell told reporters that loggers didn't know the activists were there.

But videotape from the scene recorded the voice of the logger, A.E. Ammons, shouting profanities and threats. "Get outta here! Otherwise I'll fuckin' make sure I got a tree comin' this way!" Carey Jordan, Erik "Ayr" Eisenberg, Zoe Zalia, Mike Avcollie, Jason Wilson, Jeremy Jensen and Mike McCurdy, the seven EF!ers that were in the forest with Gypsy when he was killed, all said loggers were intentionally felling trees in their direction.

"The loggers were aware of our presence, as we had engaged them in conversation throughout the day," Zoe Zalia told reporters, "What I witnessed yesterday was a very angry and violent logger. He told people, 'Better get a hard hat, 'cause this one's comin' for you." "The body was lying underneath the tree," said Zoe. "It was very painful to see. From the way it looked, the limb hit him first and then the tree hit him, and it was an instantaneous blow to the head. My fellow activists and I prayed next to him... The logger came down and prayed on his knees and asked forgiveness."

Gypsy and the other EF! activists were in the woods trying to talk the loggers out of cutting the ancient redwoods. The EF!ers believed the logging was illegal because no surveys had been conducted for marbled murrelets as required by federal law. They asked the loggers to wait for an inspection promised for that day. A day after Gypsy's death, the California Department of Forestry (CDF) confirmed EF!'s charges by issuing two citations to PL for operating within a murrelet buffer zone and operating before the official end of murrelet nesting season.

One EF!er said, "Once (the logger) saw us, his first reaction should have been to turn off his chain saw, and that's what the company should be telling their workers, not telling them to try to scare us." One of the slogans on posters now being held up at EF! protests reads, "Gypsy died doing CDF's job."

"Pacific Lumber has one of the finest records in the industry," said spokesperson Mary Bullwinkel. "But despite all our precautions, a trespasser was apparently killed by a falling tree at one of our logging sites on our private property." EF!ers, however, assert that there is a "pattern and practice" of PL loggers threatening and harassing them. According to longtime EF! activist Darryl Cherney, Campbell confided to him shortly before the fatality that he was having difficulty restraining some of his men's desires to attack EF!ers.

Hours after Gypsy died, the sheriff's investigator told reporters his preliminary finding was that the death was accidental. This was "based on the physical appearance of the scene and the relationship of the fallen tree and victim's body." The detective had not even interviewed the eyewitnesses. It was apparent that he was not considering the possibility Ammons willfully felled the tree in the activists' direction, which would make the fatality at least involuntary manslaughter, even if he only meant to scare them. If he intended to kill them, he could be convicted of first degree murder.

Earth First! attorney Jay Moller wrote to Humboldt District Attorney Terry Farmer demanding an unbiased investigation. "There is a documented history of PL's violence towards environmental protesters, with David Chain's death only the culmination of an increasingly violent response towards the protesters... a look at [case law] will show that a corporation and high-level employees can be charged and convicted of negligent homicide and involuntary manslaughter... If your office does not see fit to charge this crime, we will seek help either through the [state attorney general's] office or the US Attorney's Office, as was necessary in the South in the 1960s, when law enforcement and juries sided with KKK members accused of violence."

One EF!er told of being caught and threatened by Ammons the day before Gypsy's death. Ammons said he would not hesitate to kill him if he was in or near a tree he intended to cut. Darryl Cherney said that "the day before Gypsy died, Ammons had complained that he couldn't travel to Australia because of a felony conviction for shooting a deputy."

Deputies did nothing to keep the loggers from removing the fatal tree and other evidence from the scene. But EF! blockaders arrived the next morning just in time to prevent loggers from resuming work. Five people formed a human barrier across the logging road by chaining their wrists to each other inside steel and concrete "super lockboxes." Others locked down to a junked car blocking a gate. They excavated trenches to stop any wheeled vehicles. Tripods blocked the road near the ridgetop. They renamed it Gypsy Mountain, declared the territory the Gypsy Free State and called for its permanent preservation as a memorial.

The blockade has weathered drive-by harassment beyond shouted insults and gestures to thrown bottles and raw eggs. One night, three people were shot with a paintball gun, drawing blood from one. Not all passersby are hostile, however, and some return the peace sign flashed by the blockaders.

Police raided the blockade before sunrise on October 7, taking it by surprise. They used heavy equipment to remove the blockade and fill the road trenches as they made their way to the ridgetop. Sheriff's deputies poured pepper spray from cups directly in the faces of two women, Noel and Christiane, who were locked down to logging equipment, before taking them to jail.

By that evening, EF!ers were rebuilding the barricade next to the state highway. The next morning found nine defenders locked down across the logging road. Police set up a barrier of vehicles and tarps to block the media and onlookers from witnessing another use of pepper spray torture.

They chose the youngest of three women in the line, Carrie "Liz" McKee, 20, and wiped the concentrated red pepper extract on her eyes with gauze pads. She bore the pain and refused to unlock even after second and third applications. Supporters, who had been kept across the highway by police, rushed to the centerline of the highway, linked arms and lay down to protest the use of pepper spray. They moved back voluntarily later when the pepper spray use stopped.

In a flagrant abuse of Constitutional rights, police declared the peaceful assembly unlawful and ordered everyone, including the media, to disperse out of sight of the action. Three observers refused to disperse and were arrested, vowing to make it a test case.

Police cut two people free by late afternoon and eventually agreed to cite and release the remaining seven rather than jailing them if they would unlock. So ended an 11-1/2 hour lockdown that prevented PL from logging for one more day.

One week after Gypsy's death, his funeral and burial took place in Houston, Texas. Simultaneously, an estimated 300 people took part in a memorial rally and march to the courthouse in Eureka, California, seat of Humboldt County. Speakers at the rally called for an end to more than a decade of violent attacks targeting forest activists. Local Arcata City Council member Connie Stewart's voice faltered as she said, "I have a great respect for people who are willing to put their life on the line for what they believe in. I'm really sorry that someone had to lose his life for this, and I'm really glad that the Earth First!ers are still committed to doing this kind of activity. They've had a big impact on the way the world feels about the redwoods in Humboldt County."

Gypsy's family traveled to Northern California to attend a series of memorial services. Gypsy's mother Cindy Allsbrook, of Pasadena, Texas, said the family felt driven to meet the people and see the place that Gypsy cared so passionately about. On September 29, they went to the scene of the blockade and the shrine dedicated to Gypsy.

That evening at a standing room only memorial service, a Veterans for Peace spokesperson said "We honor David 'Gypsy' Chain, not as a conqueror, not as a victor, not even as a martyr... we honor him for his commitment to nonviolence even in the face of hatred and destruction. We honor him because he answered the call of justice, and for his courage he paid the ultimate price. We honor him because he took a stand against plunder and greed. He gave selflessly of all that he had to give. He walked the path of his convictions. He lived out his vision for a better world, and to that vision he gave the last full measure of his devotion. David's body is gone from our ranks, yet his spirit lives on in each of us. His name will not be forgotten. To his surviving kin, we offer our deepest condolences. You can be proud of David. He never hurt anyone; he died while standing against senseless destruction."

The veterans group presented a citation posthumously to David's family. "To David 'Gypsy' Chain: In honor of your courage and perseverance in the face of grave personal and physical harm, the Veterans for Peace award you with the Wage Peace Purple Tear Award for your injuries received in the front lines of the timber wars Headwaters campaign. We respect and acknowledge your service and dedication to your country." The audience responded with a sustained standing ovation and wolf howl.

Gypsy's mother thanked the crowd for helping the family heal their grief. Her voice choked with emotion as she said, "I know there are going to be times when I feel crushed because I can't pick up the phone and talk to David... and I can't put a present under the Christmas tree... but y'all will never, never know how much we love you."

Thanks to Albion Monitor (http://www.monitor.net/monitor), and to Estelle Fennell, KMUD News, Garberville. Strong Wood participated in the civil rights and anti-war movements in the '60s. He crewed on anti-whaling voyages in the early days of Greenpeace and has been involved in forest defense in Northern California for 25 years.