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including potassium nitrate (an explosive chemical), 75 grams of marijuana, some chemistry books, handwritten notes which police believed detailed the location of hidden weapons, and notebooks full of information on Dawson Creek, the
Canadian government, oil pipelines, and the oil and gas industry. Ludwig explained that the potassium nitrate was for toy rockets, that the marijuana was an anaesthetic, and that the chemistry texts were for homeschooling the community's children. A book on property terrorism was also found on Ludwig's nightstand, but Ludwig explained that it had been a gift. Ludwig was held in custody for a day. He was told that he would be charged with extortion, but was eventually released without being charged.
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shot at the truck. Ludwig called 911, explaining to the operator that shots had been fired. The subsequent police investigation suggested that the bullet hit the bottom of the truck, then ricocheted up and hit Willis in the chest. A bullet also hit a second teen in the arm, but he survived. Police were never able to identify the shooter, and were not able to recover the weapon. No one was ever charged with the death, and local residents still refer to the exact nature of events that happened on the night of the shooting as "a mystery".
348:, and close to Trickle Creek. Following these letters local pipelines were hit by six explosions. Because these explosions were similar to other acts of vandalism which had occurred around Ludwig's farm, police suspected his involvement. Following the bombings Encana offered a reward of up to a million dollars for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the bomber. In September 2009 Ludwig wrote an open letter to the bomber(s) supporting their cause but encouraging them to stop their bombings.
241:, the main company operating near Trickle Creek. The company negotiated with Ludwig in an attempt to buy his farm; but, two days after these negotiations failed, two of its wells 30 km from the farm were destroyed by explosions. A few days after these explosions, Ludwig stated: "If the oil companies run roughshod over your lives, you have to take defensive action against them, whatever is necessary... You can't just let them kill your children."
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officers asked his family if they could open Ludwig's coffin to take his body's fingerprints in order to verify his death, but Ludwig's family refused, calling the request "'odd,' 'invasive' and 'a terrible disrespect and interference' with human remains". RCMP officers explained that it is common for police to take fingerprints from a recently deceased person if that person has a criminal record, but third-party experts disputed this claim.
181:(160 acres), eventually added another, and grew into a self-sustaining community. The property contains several dozen buildings, including a biodiesel refinery, a greenhouse, and a mill. After the addition of windmills and solar panels, the community became capable of generating its own power, and a large computer-controlled boiler generates heat for the community's houses. Ludwig named the community "Trickle Creek".
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Ludwig died two months later, on April 9, in his log cabin. His last words were a request that his family not quarrel, and that they keep their faith. He was buried almost immediately in an above-ground crypt in a forest near his home. The funeral ceremony was private. The day after Ludwig died, RCMP
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in Grande
Prairie, where Ludwig had been invited on the pretext of helping with the investigation. After arresting Ludwig the RCMP then conducted a four-day search of Trickle Creek involving over a hundred RCMP officers. The RCMP found evidence which they believed was incriminating during the search,
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In April 2000 Ludwig was convicted and sentenced to 28 months in jail. He was convicted of five offenses, including blowing up one well, vandalizing another by pouring concrete into it, and counseling an undercover police officer to buy dynamite. In
October 2000 he attempted to run for the leadership
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well that occurred days after one of Ludwig's grandchildren was delivered stillborn. At a
January 1999 bail hearing, the lawyer for Ludwig and another defendant revealed that RCMP officers had bombed an oil installation as part of a dirty tricks campaign during their investigation of acts against oil
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sour gas and leaks from the wells with stillbirths, deformations, and miscarriages that began to occur in the community at the time, and began to protest sour gas development near his community. He appealed to both levels (eg.) of government to regulate sour gas extraction near the community, but the
273:
A teenage girl, Karman Willis, was killed in
Trickle Creek in an incident that occurred in 1999 when a pickup truck full of adolescents trespassed on the Trickle Creek farm. Some residents of the farm, who were camping in the path of the truck, feared for their safety, and an unidentified person
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After Ludwig completed his pastoral education, his initial application for ordination was rejected, possibly because his leadership style was perceived as being too authoritarian. He successfully appealed the decision and went on to lead two churches in
216:
Latterly, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health
Administration has acknowledged that "hydrogen sulfide in the air is an irritant and a chemical asphyxiant that can alter both oxygen utilization and the (human) central nervous system". In 2013,
225:'s permission to refuse delivery of any oil with hydrogen sulfide that exceeded 5 parts per million, half the maximum exposure recommended by federal regulators, finding levels as high as 1,200 parts per million in some crude oil shipments from
169:. Ludwig's leadership of the churches was controversial. In 1985, he led a group (His wife, their kids with another married couple and their children.) of his supporters to settle in a remote farming community near
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government did not respond. Ludwig then produced a video titled "Home Sour Home" in order to gain broader attention. In an effort to gain the attention of the government he appeared at the government offices of
386:, which treated his life and conflict with the oil and gas industry sympathetically. In February 2012, Ludwig built his own coffin, and he did his final media interview with journalist
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He was sentenced to 28 months in jail. At the time in Canada, sentences of over 24 months required that time be spent in a
Federal penitentiary.Boonstra was sentenced to 21 days.
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wells. From the early 1990s until the time that he died, Ludwig consistently accused the industry of poisoning his family and farm through their attempts to extract toxic
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261:, but was forced to withdraw from the leadership contest after a judge refused to waive the conditions of his bail. He served time at a minimum security prison in
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380:. He also received conventional pain relievers and a stent in his throat enabling him to swallow. In the same year Ludwig was also the subject of a documentary,
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On 11 February 2000, 18 charges were laid against Ludwig and
Boonstra. Of these charges, on 20 April Judge Sanderman found that Ludwig had:
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There were hundreds of acts of vandalism against natural gas sites across northern
Alberta in the 1990s. Many of these attacks were against
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shortly after the war. He had seven older siblings. The family maintained strong religious beliefs and most kept ties with the
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beliefs. In his early life, Ludwig worked as a carpenter and as a drywaller. He later studied pastoral ministry at
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89:(19 December 1941 – 9 April 2012) was the leader of a Christian community named Trickle Creek, just outside
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After forensics experts found Ludwig's DNA on two of the letters, Police arrested Ludwig in 2010 at a
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105:. He was convicted in R v Ludwig AJ v509 at 293 on several counts (see infra) for sabotaging oil and
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well within a 2-mile radius of
Trickle Creek; in the intervening 15 years, there were at least 10.
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566:"Oilpatch bomber Wiebo Ludwig, warrior to some, terrorist to others, dead at 70 | Globalnews.ca"
416:"A Dead Man's Prints: RCMP request to fingerprint Wiebo Ludwig's corpse refused | The Dominion"
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After being released from prison Ludwig largely faded from media attention. In 2002 journalist
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In 2008, a series of letters threatening local gas companies was anonymously sent to the
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done mischief by interfering with the lawful use and enjoyment of property, sec 430.1.c;
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wells on land they owned near Trickle Creek. Ludwig believed he had linked the flared
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A reporter's blog, including recent pictures and reflection of life in Trickle Creek.
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on the lobby carpet. His appeals for government intervention were not successful.
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Ludwig was born during World War II and immigrated to Canada with his family from
751:"Oilpatch Bomber Wiebo Ludwig, Warrior to Some, Terrorist to Others, Dead at 70"
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101:. He was best known for his legal problems arising from his conflict with the
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440:"Who is Wiebo Ludwig? A thunder storm wrapped in the flesh of a man. Part 1"
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industry installations. The information was confirmed by crown prosecutors.
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In the early 1990s, oil companies in northern Alberta began building
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The Case Against Wiebo Ludwig: Reflections on a trial within a trial
173:, approximately 500 km northwest of the provincial capital of
826:"Eco-activist, Convicted Pipeline Bomber Wiebo Ludwig Dead at 70"
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805:"Wiebo Ludwig, polarizing figure in the oil patch, dies at 70"
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CBC Online: RCMP bombed oil site in 'dirty tricks' campaign
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Nikiforuk, "Saboteurs: Wiebo Ludwig's War Against Big Oil"
794:"Arrest Made in Connection with EnCana Pipeline Bombings"
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counselled another to possess an explosive substance;
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810:. September 6, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
821:. October 20, 2002. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
746:. October 22, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
740:"Wiebo Ludwig Picks Alternative Cancer Treatment"
601:"FERC approves sulfide gas limit in Bakken crude"
800:. January 8, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
778:. September 14, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
855:RCMP bombed oil site in 'dirty tricks' campaign
767:. March 16, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
756:. April 10, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
340:to cease its operations near the small town of
330:Dawson Creek Daily News and Coffee Talk Express
831:. April 9, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
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861:Saboteurs: Wiebo Ludwig's War Against Big Oil
177:. The small farming community started with a
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956:History of the petroleum industry in Alberta
735:. May 8, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
316:. In 2003 a made-for-TV movie was produced,
961:History of the petroleum industry in Canada
789:. April 10, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
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847:National Film Board of Canada webpage for
289:attempted the possession of fake dynamite;
79:2008–09 British Columbia pipeline bombings
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537:"Sour gas leaks and emissions in Alberta"
295:done mischief by destroying property; and
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311:Saboteurs: Wiebo Ludwig's War Against
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783:"Timeline: The Life of Wiebo Ludwig"
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372:regimen that included injections of
223:Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
503:Christopher, "Wiebo's Final Battle"
715:Christopher, "A Dead Man's Prints"
248:charged Ludwig for an attack on a
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951:Christianity and environmentalism
749:Canadian Press|Associated Press.
298:possessed an explosive substance.
815:"Film Set to Ignite Ludwig Tale"
906:20th-century Canadian criminals
697:Canadian Press|Associated Press
669:Text of Criminal Code of Canada
318:Burn: The Robert Wraight Story
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971:20th-century Canadian farmers
946:Deaths from cancer in Alberta
729:"Sympathy for an Eco-warrior"
589:Bloomberg report NP 13 August
192:Confrontations with authority
149:which is associated with the
986:People from Ooststellingwerf
901:20th-century Dutch criminals
543:. 1997-04-09. Archived from
184:In 1985, there was only one
129:in the northern part of the
278:Indictments and convictions
259:Alberta Social Credit Party
155:Calvin Theological Seminary
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926:Canadian environmentalists
364:Ludwig was diagnosed with
976:Dutch emigrants to Canada
151:Christian Reformed Church
869:article by Ian Urquhart.
309:wrote a book on Ludwig,
981:Dutch environmentalists
921:Canadian male criminals
336:The letters threatened
761:"Weibo's Final Battle"
344:, B.C., just south of
269:Death of Karman Willis
159:Grand Rapids, Michigan
772:"A Dead Man's Prints"
137:or held some form of
135:Dutch Reformed Church
966:Canadian evangelists
770:Christopher, Byron.
759:Christopher, Byron.
420:www.dominionpaper.ca
370:alternative medicine
368:in 2011. He used an
103:oil and gas industry
87:Wiebo Arienes Ludwig
887:feature on Ludwig.
824:Wittmeier, Brent.
808:The Globe and Mail
523:2005-08-06 at the
115:Peace River region
829:The National Post
733:The National Post
541:www.oag-bvg.gc.ca
388:Byron Christopher
378:hydrogen peroxide
366:esophageal cancer
233:AEC West bombings
167:Goderich, Ontario
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56:(2012-04-09)
54:9 April 2012
23:Wiebo Ludwig
916:2012 deaths
911:1941 births
873:Wiebo's War
849:Wiebo's War
754:Yahoo! News
570:Global News
383:Wiebo's War
229:crude oil.
221:won the US
209:and poured
131:Netherlands
44:Netherlands
895:Categories
611:2021-12-16
575:2021-12-16
551:2021-11-11
449:2021-12-16
425:2021-12-16
398:References
121:Background
36:Haulerwijk
638:Blackwell
485:Wittmeier
374:vitamin C
127:Friesland
113:from the
40:Friesland
877:CBC News
798:News1130
744:CTV News
521:Archived
342:Tomslake
239:AEC West
219:Enbridge
198:sour gas
186:sour gas
175:Edmonton
111:sour gas
605:Reuters
313:Big Oil
257:of the
139:Baptist
95:Alberta
885:'s
679:Wilton
659:Stueck
338:Encana
250:Suncor
99:Canada
67:Canada
650:Mertz
360:Death
91:Hythe
61:near
376:and
246:RCMP
143:Iowa
51:Died
29:Born
332:in
157:in
145:'s
107:gas
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