Judi Bari (November 7, 1949 – March 2, 1997) was an environmental and labor activist. She made national headlines when a pipe bomb exploded in the car carrying her and fellow activist Darryl Cherney on May 24, 1990. The bomb went off near Park Blvd. and MacArthur, and while Cherney had minor injuries, Bari was serioisly injured because the bomb had been placed under her seat. She was taken to Highland Hospital.
Initially it was reported that it was their bomb and it had detonated prematurely; Bari was arrested in the hospital. 2 However, despite searches of Bari and Cheney's homes and offices, no evidence was found to support this. In July, 1990, the district attorney declined to press charges. The crime was never solved. 1
Bari died from breast cancer in 1997. In a subsequent civil rights trial, both the FBI agents and OPD officers involved were found liable, and the judge ordered a payout of $4.4 million to Bari's estate and Cherney. 1 After the gag order on the trial was lifted, one juror said, "The FBI and Oakland (police) sat up there and lied about their investigation. They messed up their investigation, and they had to lie again and again to try to cover up. I'm surprised that they seriously expected anyone would believe them." 3
In 2003, the Oakland City Council declared May 24th to be Judi Bari Day. 1,4
Links and References
- Judi Bari on Wikipeda
- Environmentalists Hurt, Then Held, in Blast New York Times May 26, 1990
- Cops, FBI lied about probe, juror says / Woman speaks out on Earth First trial after gag order lifted San Francisco Chronicle July 3, 2002
- JudyBari.org website
