After nearly 20 years on the run, the FBI announced yesterday that an alleged vegan “extremist” suspected of being responsible for two bombings in the San Francisco area more than two decades ago was arrested in the United Kingdom.
Daniel Andreas San Diego, 46, was arrested in Wales after 20 years on the run after he was charged with carrying out bombings in Emeryville and Pleasanton.
San Diego was first indicted in July of 2004 and has been on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist List since 2009.
“Daniel San Diego’s arrest after more than 20 years as a fugitive for two bombings in the San Francisco area shows that no matter how long it takes, the FBI will find you and hold you accountable,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said.
“There’s a right way and a wrong way to express your views in our country, and turning to violence and destruction of property is not the right way.”
CAPTURED MOST WANTED TERRORIST#FBI Director Wray says Daniel San Diego's arrest after 20+ years as a fugitive for two San Francisco bombings shows the Bureau’s commitment to justice, stressing that violence is never the right way to express views. https://t.co/a759SMivCz pic.twitter.com/9C6MnUvKZI
— FBI (@FBI) November 26, 2024
The bombing in Emeryville took place at the Chiron biotechnology corporation on August 28, 2003, and involved two bombs that went off within an hour of each other, according to the FBI. The attack in Pleasanton was at the Shaklee nutritional products corporation on September 26, 2003, and involved a bomb packed with nails.
While no one was injured or killed, authorities said that San Diego intended to target first responders with the second bomb at Chiron.
According to his FBI wanted poster, San Diego was connected to animal rights extremist groups.
The radical organization, “Revolutionary Cells of the Animal Liberation Brigade,” took credit for the bombings and warned that more attacks were coming at the time.
“It is time for this war to truly have two sides. No more will all the killing be done by the oppressors, now the oppressed will strike back,” the group said after the second bombing, according to the FBI.
San Diego has a tattoo that reads “It only takes a spark” and another tattoo of “burning and collapsing buildings,” the FBI said.