Disproportionate Sentences

Animal Rights Activist Sentenced to 30 Months in Jail for Having Bolt Cutter in His Prius

Most of us can have those things in our cars and not worry about being charged with a felony. According to the FBI, Olliff and Lang are not most people, though: They’re animal rights activists.

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From Tim DeChristopher to Tar Sands Protests, the Environmental Movement Steps Up Civil Disobedience

One month ago, environmental activist Tim DeChristopher was sentenced to two years in prison for non-violent disobedience. The sentence was harsher than those handed down to people who burned churches and threatened black leaders. It was a sentence intended — like so many disproportionate sentences against activists — to send a message. But what message? […]

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Tim DeChristopher Received Longer Sentence Than People Who Burned Churches and Threatened Black Leaders

Environmentalist Tim DeChristopher has received a longer prison sentence for non-violent civil disobedience than people who have burned churches, threatened African-American leaders, and plotted to kill people. DeChristopher was sentenced to two years in prison today for disrupting an illegal oil and gas lease auction. Meanwhile: Yesterday (and also in Utah), a man who set […]

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Tim DeChristopher Sentenced — What’s Next for the Environmental Movement?

Environmentalist Tim DeChristopher was sentenced to two years in prison for using non-violent civil disobedience to disrupt a sham oil and gas auction. He had been found guilty on two felony counts for making fake bids in the auction, costing corporations hundreds of thousands of dollars, and faced up to ten years. He increased the […]

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Jake Ferguson Sentenced to 5 Years on Drug Charges

Jacob Ferguson was the lead arsonist in the Earth Liberation Front cases dubbed “Operation Backfire,” but the heroin addict avoided any prison time by wearing a wire and recording conversations with his former friends that could be used against them in court. By being an informant, Ferguson got a free pass on all of his […]

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Why Isn’t The Jury Allowed to Hear About Tim DeChristopher’s Motivation?

The judge has prevented jurors from hearing anything about climate change, or why Tim DeChristopher would be compelled to non-violently disrupt an oil and gas auction.

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Animal Rights Protesters Face Higher Sentences than Racist Cross Burners

Four animal rights activists are facing charges under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act for chanting, demonstrating with masks covering their faces, and chalking defamatory slogans on the sidewalk. If convicted, the “AETA 4,”—Joseph Buddenburg, Maryam Khajavi, Nathan Pope, and Adriana Stumpo—could be sentenced to 5-10 years in prison. The AETA 4 case is a startling […]

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Environmentalist Receives Higher Prison Sentence than Al-Qaeda Operative

An Al-Qaeda operative charged with creating a weapon of mass destruction has received a lesser prison sentence than an environmentalist who set fire to an empty building. Christopher Paul, aka “Abdul Malek,” is an Ohio native who joined Al Qaeda in the early 90s. According to the FBI, he: received training in “the use of […]

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Environmentalist Sentenced to 21 Years as a “Terrorist”; Violent Racists Receive Half That

I’ve written a lot of articles like this, when prison sentences are handed down to activists who have been labeled “terrorists” for property crimes, and instead of getting easier it just keeps getting harder. It’s getting harder to write about this rationally, calmly. These cases are getting worse, folks. The government is growing increasingly aggressive […]

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