These are the true news stories that inspired songs like 'The Gnome Liberation Front'. All of these were found on ABCNews.com
July 11, 2001
'Free
the Gnomes'
S
T R A S B O U R G, France, July 11 - More than 100 garden gnomes and other gaudy
statues were discovered today assembled on a roundabout, or traffic island, in
eastern France, a police spokesman said.
Some
of the statues were set up to spell out "Free the Gnomes." No one
claimed immediate responsibility for the stunt, but police said it bore all the
hallmarks of the shadowy Garden Gnome Liberation Front.
The
kitsch little creatures were reported stolen from numerous gardens around the
town of Chavelot overnight and subsequently gathered together on the roundabout.
"It
was a bit like a giant crèche. Everything had been carefully set
up," a police spokesman said. A crèche is a Nativity scene.
An
Unrepentant Movement
The
Gnome Liberation Front rose to prominence in the mid- 1990s following a series
of raids on gardens to "free" gnomes and "return them to the
wild."
The
group suffered a setback in 1997 when a court handed its ringleader a suspended
prison sentence and fined him for his part in the disappearance of some 150
gnomes.
Last
year, the group struck Paris, stealing around 20 gnomes during a night raid on a
Paris garden exhibition.
Copyright
2001 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
August 1, 2001
150
Garden Gnomes Planted
on
Steps of the Central Bank
S
Y D N E Y, Australia, Aug. 1 - Pranksters deposited about 150 garden gnomes on
the steps of Australia's central bank today before the bank's board was to
gather for its monthly policy-making meeting.
The
board's meetings are closely watched for any hint of a move in official interest
rates.
But
today, Sydney residents were more interested in who was behind the gnome
planting than any rate rise.
"We
think the gnomes may have been the victims of a student prank," Sydney
police spokesman Paul Jackson told Reuters.
Local
media has reported several recent cases of gnome-napping.
Stuck
on the Steps
Sydney
City Council spokesman Craig Middleton said street cleaners discovered the
gnomes before dawn but the little plaster statues, fixed to the steps with a
building adhesive, refused to budge until confronted with the professional
cleaning equipment.
The
gnomes were hauled into custody at the Sydney City Council's depot.
"They
are now in gnome-man land and we've had loads of calls claiming them,"
Middleton told Reuters.
"But
with them all wearing red hats, white beards and green trousers it is hard to
tell who belongs to who."
Most
economists do not expect a further move in monetary policy and the earliest
announcement on the fate of interest rates was not expected till Wednesday.
June 13, 2002
I-gnome-minious
Defeat for the G.L.F.
M
I S S O U L A, Mont. - It looks like it's the end of the line for the Gnome
Liberation Front.
After
a yearlong string of garden gnome thefts in Missoula police say they've
recovered more than a dozen of the small, kitschy statuettes and have identified
the culprits.
"We
had a Crimestoppers tip come in last week indicating these gnomes were being
held in an apartment," says Detective Annie Norby.
Police
obtained a search warrant for the residence and found 18 apparently stolen
figurines inside.
The
gnome-nappers had confessed to authorities, saying the thefts were simply a
prank, Norby said.
"The
guys were cooperative," she said. Police have not released the suspects'
names, since they have not yet been charged. Charges were pending, however,
Norby said.
The
gnome heists began last summer, with the thieves leaving notes signed by the
"Gnome Liberation Front" in many cases. Several of the gnomes later
turned up on the lawns of local schools.
Even
though the thefts were intended as a harmless prank, Norby said some victims had
been distressed.
"I
do remember an elderly woman who had a 2 ½-foot-tall figure that was set on
fire," she said. "It was actually made by a family member, so there's
a lot of sentimental value."
Other
victims will be invited to the police station to try to identify their statues
in a gnome lineup.