In June 1989, an FBI agent named Jon Lipsky visited Rocky Flats for what staff at the nuclear weapons plant thought was a briefing on ecoterrorism. That was a pretext. Lipsky, with dozens of FBI and EPA investigators at the ready, in fact arrived at the Department of Energy property northwest of Denver to raid it. It was the first time the FBI raided another federal agency.
This story is part of Colorado at 150. Each Fifty for 150 story focuses on an event that helped define Colorado over 150 years of statehood.
The action was the culmination of a two-year investigation into environmental violations at the plant, which was managed by Rockwell International. The search warrant alleged that between 1980 and 1988 Rocky Flats had violated multiple environmental laws, even though Rockwell and federal officials had falsely stated it was in compliance…