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The suspect, an animal-rights activist, was sought in connection to the bombings of two San Francisco-area businesses in 2003.
An animal-rights activist suspected in bombings at two locations in Northern California over two decades ago — and who landed on the F.B.I.’s list of most-wanted terrorists — was caught in Wales on Monday, the F.B.I. said on Tuesday.
The activist, Daniel Andreas San Diego, 46, was sought in connection with the bombings of two San Francisco-area buildings that housed companies with ties to animal testing.
Mr. San Diego was accused of planting two bombs at Chiron Corporation, a biotechnology company in Emeryville, Calif., on Aug. 28, 2003, and another on Sept. 26 that same year at Shaklee Corporation, which makes health, beauty and household products in Pleasanton, Calif.
The F.B.I. said that Mr. San Diego targeted those corporations because they had worked with a company that had conducted experiments on animals.
No one was injured in the attacks, but the F.B.I. said that the construction, placement and timing of the devices made it clear that Mr. San Diego intended to cause serious harm. The bombings caused minor property damage.
At Chiron, the first bomb detonated early in the early morning, the F.B.I. said, and the second bomb was set to detonate an hour after the initial blast, which the agency said was likely intended to kill or injure emergency medical workers. The second device was found before it was to go off and the area was cleared.
At Shaklee, the bomb that was detonated was wrapped in nails, the F.B.I. said, which could have caused more substantial injuries to anyone within range of the shrapnel.
A federal arrest warrant was issued for Mr. San Diego on Oct. 5, 2003, but the next day he was able to elude F.B.I. agents who were on his tail in San Francisco. He had been on the run ever since.
In January 2006, the F.B.I. offered a $250,000 reward for information leading directly to his arrest, and the agency put him on the list of most-wanted terrorists in 2009. At the time, Mr. San Diego was only the second United States citizen, and the only domestic terrorist, to have appeared on the list, the F.B.I. said. Adam Gadahn, a former resident of Orange County, Calif., was added to the list in 2006 after he was charged with treason for his connection to Al Qaeda.
“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 F.B.I. will find you and hold you accountable,” Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, said in a statement on Tuesday.
“There’s a right way and a wrong way to express your views in our country,” he added, “and turning to violence and destruction of property is not the right way.”
Mr. San Diego had worked at In Defense of Animals, an animal-rights organization in Mill Valley, Calif., where he was a computer network specialist, the agency said. After getting laid off in February 2003, he tried to start a vegan bakery in Schellville, Calif. The F.B.I. said that it believed he had ties to an international network of animal-rights extremists, and it suspected at one point that he had fled to Costa Rica.
When the F.B.I. added Mr. San Diego to its most-wanted list, it emphasized that he belonged alongside other violent extremists like the leaders of Al Qaeda, who had killed tens of thousands.
The F.B.I. said that it had coordinated with British authorities to arrest Mr. San Diego, but did not give any more details on how he was found, or whether the reward money would be shared. The federal authorities did not immediately say where he was being held.
Adeel Hassan is a reporter and editor on the National Desk. He is a founding member of Race/Related, and much of his work focuses on identity and discrimination. He started the Morning Briefing for NYT Now and was its inaugural writer. He also served as an editor on the International Desk. More about Adeel Hassan
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