State Terrorism Laws

Huffington Post: “What is Big Ag Trying to Hide?”

The Huffington Post just published my op-ed on new bills being considered to criminalize undercover investigators, and punish anyone who exposes what goes on at factory farms. Here’s an excerpt: Undercover investigations by the Humane Society, Mercy for Animals and other groups have exposed systemic animal cruelty at factory farms. The video footage has led […]

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Florida Senator Says Undercover Videos Exposing Factory Farms are “Terrorism”

Iowa, Florida, and Minnesota are all considering bills that single out animal and environmental activists who investigate cruelty and pollution at factory farms. Now, one Florida senator is going even further, and saying that these undercover investigations are “terrorism.” As I wrote recently in this article about the bills targeting investigators and whistleblowers, groups like […]

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Minnesota Bill Targets Anyone Who Exposes an “Image or Sound” of Animal Suffering at Factory Farms, Puppy Mills

New legislation proposed in Minnesota attempts to crack down on activists who have exposed repeated animal welfare violations. Among its provisions, the bill targets anyone who documents an “image or sound” of animal suffering in a sweeping list of “animal facilities,” including factory farms, animal experimentation labs, and puppy mills. But House File No. 1369 […]

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Iowa and Florida Ag-Industry Bills Target Animal Cruelty Investigations

The factory farming and agriculture industries in Iowa and Florida are trying to pass two bills that specifically target anyone who photographs, videotapes and exposes the animal cruelty that takes place behind their closed doors. In Iowa, Senate File 431 and House File 589 create new penalties for wide range of activities, including undercover investigations. […]

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Washington “Eco-terrorist” Bill Includes Civil Disobedience and First Amendment Activity

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, […]

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State-Level “Eco-Terror” Legislation Pushed by Corporate Front Groups

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 […]

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Utah Bill Would Make Environmentalists Like Tim DeChristopher “Eco-Terrorists”

Yesterday’s article on the sentencing of Marie Mason to prison, as a terrorist, for 22 years has made quite a buzz. Nearly everywhere the piece has been posted (news sites, environmental sites, Digg, punk forums) there has been a slew of angry comments (by “green” folks, no less) supporting her sentence and condemning illegal activity. […]

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South Dakota “Eco-terrorism” Law Shot Down as Unnecessary

Good news from South Dakota: a state House committee shot down an “animal rights terrorism” bill proposed by the university. The bill was nearly identical to new, sweeping “animal enterprise terrorism” legislation in California. Similar laws have been pushed around the country by right-wing groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council (you might remember the […]

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Humane Society Donates Money to “Eco-Terrorism” Witch Hunt, But Not Enough to Protect It From the Green Scare

This weekend two incendiary devices exploded at the homes of two UC Santa Cruz scientists who experiment on animals. One device destroyed a car. The other, left on a front porch, set the house on fire while the UC employee, his wife and two small children were inside. The arsons come after a similar attack […]

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Tennessee Politician: “Eco-terrorists are, uh, I guess left-wing eco-greenies”

“Eco-terrorism” is a buzzword that corporations and the politicians who represent them have been throwing around more and more since 9/11. But like the bigger T-word, it’s a term without much of a definition. “Eco-terrorism” has been used to describe burning SUVs, and other property crimes by the Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front. […]

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