Fugitive Animal‑Rights Activist Arrested in Wales Faces Extradition Over 2003 Pipe Bombings

Overview

Twenty‑two years after vanishing from San Francisco, Daniel Andreas San Diego — a one‑time IT specialist, committed vegan and animal‑rights campaigner — has been arrested in Wales and is fighting extradition to the United States. U.S. federal prosecutors accuse him of involvement in three pipe‑bomb attacks in the Bay Area in 2003 that damaged corporate offices but injured no one. If convicted, he could face decades behind bars.

Background And The 2003 Attacks

In late August and September 2003, timed pipe bombs detonated outside buildings occupied by Chiron Corporation and Shaklee Corporation in the San Francisco Bay Area. Communiqués posted to an animal‑rights website claimed the blasts — which shattered windows and caused superficial damage but did not injure people — were intended to protest those firms' ties to Huntingdon Life Sciences, a British contract testing company.

Investigation And Disappearance

Federal investigators identified Daniel Andreas San Diego — then 25 — as a principal suspect. He was briefly stopped by police near one targeted site the night of the Shaklee blast; a contact card from that stop later triggered intensive FBI surveillance. On 8 October 2003, according to court records and former agents, San Diego drove into San Francisco while being tailed by an FBI vehicle and aircraft, slipped out of aerial surveillance after crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, parked downtown with the engine running and walked into a Muni station, vanishing from view and never reappearing in the United States.

Alleged Evidence

When agents searched San Diego's home and car, prosecutors say they found copies of the magazine that published the bombing claims and material they describe as a mobile bomb‑making kit. Authorities reported fingerprints on some chemical containers. At his UK extradition hearing this year, crown prosecutors told the court that a wire stripper recovered from his vehicle matched crimp marks on copper wiring from the bombing debris.

Life On The Run And Arrest

San Diego was added to the FBI's Most Wanted list in 2009 with a $250,000 reward. His whereabouts remained unclear for years until his arrest on 25 November 2024 in Maenan, a village in northern Wales. He was carrying an Irish passport issued in the name "Danny Stephen Webb". British reporting indicates he arrived in the UK around 2005, worked in IT roles in London and Manchester, and bought a house in north Wales in 2018. Tattoos from his activist years reportedly helped authorities confirm his identity.

Extradition Fight

In London, San Diego's legal team — including human‑rights barristers — has argued that he would not receive a fair trial in the United States and faces disproportionate sentencing and serious risks in U.S. custody. They argue his prosecution is politically sensitive, that charges have been "stacked" in a way that encourages plea deals, and that prison designation and conditions could endanger him. Defence counsel have invoked European human‑rights precedents on sentencing, political prosecution and detention conditions in support of their extradition challenge.

“People don’t know this history, and now we’re seeing attacks on social movements and anti‑fascists ramping up quickly,” said Will Potter, author of Green Is the New Red. “Now, the government’s powers of going after social movements as terrorists have been inherited by an authoritarian, and measures that were considered radical after 9/11 are now viewed as normal.”

Context: The Post‑9/11 “Green Scare”

The case has renewed scrutiny of the post‑9/11 era often called the "green scare," when U.S. federal law enforcement prioritized militant animal‑rights and environmental activists as domestic terrorism threats. Critics say that period institutionalized aggressive surveillance and prosecutions of political movements — a trend they argue has continued and intensified.

Next Steps

The extradition hearing continued in late 2025. The final days of evidence are scheduled for 8 December, with closing arguments set for 23 December, and the Westminster magistrate’s court is expected to rule on extradition in early January 2026. If ordered extradited, San Diego would be returned to the northern district of California to face federal charges; if not, he may remain in the U.K. or pursue further legal avenues.

Why This Matters

The case raises questions about how justice systems balance national security concerns, political activism and defendants’ rights — particularly when prosecutions involve charged labels like "domestic terrorism." Observers say the outcome may shape future cross‑border cooperation on politically sensitive cases and how Western democracies manage activism that edges into criminality.