Posted in Terrorism Rhetoric on Mar 18th, 2010
Peter Young’s home was raided the FBI this week, and the search warrant repeatedly mentions his name in relation to “animal enterprise terrorism.” In the last article we looked at how this Utah raid is, ostensibly, related to the investigation of an Animal Liberation Front raid at the University of Iowa.
As with all of [...]
Posted in Legal Issues, Police Harassment & Abuse on Mar 15th, 2010
FBI raid of Salt Lake City house of animal rights activists. Photo by Jordan Halliday.FBI agents and law enforcement from multiple agencies have raided a well-known activist group house in Salt Lake City, Utah, today in connection with an investigation of Animal Liberation Front crimes in Iowa.
I just got off the phone with multiple housemates [...]
Posted in Legislation, State Terrorism Laws on Feb 17th, 2010
Fifty years ago this month, four black students sat at a Woolworth’s whites-only lunch counter and refused to move. The following day 25 students did the same. A few days later, more than 300 showed up. The sit-ins quickly spread across the South and were a critical component of the civil rights movement. Decades later, [...]
Posted in GNR, Media Coverage on Feb 2nd, 2010
I was interviewed by Dara Greenwald for the Journal of Aesthetics & Protest about the Green Scare, and labeling political activists as domestic terrorists.
One area that was particularly interesting, and has not been discussed much on this site, is the implications of all this for artists. Check out the interview for a bit more [...]
Posted in Terrorism Rhetoric on Jan 28th, 2010
A PETA activist pied the Fisheries Minister of Canada, as a publicity stunt to draw attention to Canada’s seal slaughter, and now a member of parliament says the pieing should be investigated as an act of terrorism.
The Globe and Mail reports that the member of parliament, Gerry Byrne, said:
“When someone actually coaches or conducts [...]
I recently interviewed with Dylan Powell about the AETA 4, Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, Obama, mainstream media, and DC hardcore. I think it turned out to be one of the most interesting radio discussions I’ve been part of, because Dylan is so well-versed on these issues and we had a great conversation trying to pull [...]
Posted in Federal Terrorism Laws, Legislation, State Terrorism Laws on Dec 15th, 2009
The National Lawyers Guild has a new report on state-level versions of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act that have been popping up around the country. As I’ve reported here previously, on laws such as the California Animal Enterprise Protection Act, they use sweeping, overly broad definitions of terrorism that are, in some cases, even worse [...]
Posted in Activists Arrested, Legal Issues on Dec 7th, 2009
The following is a guest essay written by David Naguib Pellow, a Professor of Sociology at the University of Minnesota and faculty advisor of Scott DeMuth:
On November 17, 2009, Scott DeMuth was jailed for contempt of court, since he refused to answer questions posed to him by a federal grand jury in Davenport, Iowa. They [...]
Posted in Federal Terrorism Laws, Legislation on Nov 30th, 2009
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has been classified as as a “terrorist threat” in a document created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The USDA created a new “APHIS Facility Security Profile” form to send to animal experimentation facilities. Recipients were asked to answer about their experiences, and return the form to the [...]
Posted in Activists Arrested, Federal Terrorism Laws, Grand Juries, Legal Issues, Legislation on Nov 20th, 2009
Scott DeMuth, a Minneapolis activist, has been indicted for conspiracy to violate the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, apparently in relation to a 2004 Animal Liberation Front raid at the University of Iowa. He faces up to 5 years in prison. His indictment marks a continued expansion of the scope of the new terrorism law, which [...]
The War on Terrorism has come home. Corporations and politicians are labeling activists "eco-terrorists" and national security threats. Think red-baiting, with a green twist. Here you'll find original reporting and analysis of the Green Scare, and history repeating itself.