Paying it forward to the RNC8: Zombie 7 fights state terrorism

These Zombies rock!

----------from the Freedom Archives' Political Prisoner News--------

Minnesota 'zombies' give $4,000 to 'targets of state repression'

Minneapolis - One of the seven people who put on a zombie street performance in downtown Minneapolis in 2006 to protest mindless consumption announced Thursday he is donating a portion of his settlement to other anarchists who are fighting legal charges.

Infoshop News reported on a video announcement made by Raphi Rechitsky Thursday, when Rechitsky said he and the others who make up the group now known as 'the Zombie 7', would donate at least $4,000 of the $165,000 they will receive from the City of Minneapolis to other anarchists fighting legal charges.

The Zombie 7 have decided to donate the money to eight people known as 'the RNC8' and a separate activist, Scott DeMuth. Rechitsky explained the decision in his video release, saying

"... We wanted to hold the city accountable for suppressing political action. And this week we were awarded a 165,000 dollar settlement from the City of Minneapolis. In my opinion, this money doesn't just belong to me, but all those who work for a better world. For that reason, I'm asking winners of political settlements to pay it forward and donate to targets of state repression."

Rechitsky said he personally was giving $1,500 to the RNC 8 and Scott DeMuth. "Repression is not isolated," Rechitsky explained. "Neither is resistance." Playing on the zombie reference, Rechitsky concluded,

"Use your brains. Pay it forward and defend all targets of state repression."

A press release accompanied the video announcement posted at Vimeo, explaining the Zombie 7 had donated a minimum of $4,000 towards the RNC8 and Scott DeMuth. In the release, Rechitsky said the Zombie 7 were motivated to donate a portion of their settlement because

"The Zombie 7 were not slapped with criminal charges after being absurdly arrested for 'simulating weapons of mass destruction. But countless others are prosecuted for their artistic and political expression, views, and associations, much like the RNC 8 and Scott DeMuth. They face not only jail time and exhausting legal proceedings, but also costly legal defense. My fellow zombies and I have come to understand that with a flip of a coin, we could have been the ones to face criminal charges on outrageous accusations of 'violence.'"

The donation answers some of the questions asked by the public since the Zombie 7 settlement was announced earlier this week. The group also said it will split the $165,000 award with their lawyer.

The RNC 8 are a group of eight anarchist activists who were arrested pre-emptively for their organizing efforts. The group was preparing to launch political protests at the Republican National Convention, which took place in Minneapolis in the spring of 2008. Police zeroed in on the eight after they posted a video promoting protests at the convention in 2007 they called."We're Getting ready! RNC Welcoming Committee trailer ."

According to the website, Defend the RNC8, the eight face serious charges.

"... The “RNC 8 were originally charged with conspiracy to riot in the 2nd degree in furtherance of terrorism, a felony which was the first ever use of Minnesota’s PATRIOT Act.

In December 2008, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner (who is also running for Governor of Minnesota as a Democrat) added three more felony charges: 2nd degree conspiracy to riot (without the terrorism enhancement), 1st degree conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property in furtherance of terrorism, and 1st degree conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property (without the terrorism enhancement). Then, in April 2009, Gaertner dropped the two “in furtherance of terrorism” charges due to political pressure from RNC 8 supporters. The other two conspiracy charges still remain, and the RNC 8 still potentially face several years of prison time."

The eight charged, Luce Guillen-Givins, Max Specktor, Nathanael Secor, Eryn Trimmer, Monica Bicking, Erik Oseland, Robert Czernik and Garrett Fitzgerald, say their arrests are an attempt to 'criminalize activism.' In a press release issued in June, the group maintains they were arrested without probable cause.

Just prior to the 2008 Republican National Convention, St. Paul police arrested over 200 people. Common Dreams reported that 27 of those arrested filed a class action lawsuit against the city. In May this year, Democracy Now and journalist Amy Goodman also launched a lawsuit against Minneapolis for arresting Democracy Now journalists while they were covering the protests at the 2008 Convention.

In spite of the preemptive arrests, protests still took place. Attempts by police to control protesters resulted in at least one lawsuit filed against police for police brutality.

22 year old Scott DeMuth was arrested under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act in Iowa. He was arrested and charged with conspiracy after he refused to testify "... before a federal grand jury in Davenport that was investigating an Animal Liberation Front (ALF) raid at the University of Iowa in 2004." DeMuth is alleged to have participated in the 2004 raid of the University of Iowa.

During that raid, activists removed 401 animals from the University of Iowa, while vandalizing research labs and offices; destroying research. The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) claimed responsibility saying

"... If not for the brave efforts of these compassionate activists, these animals would have been forced to continue to face horrific treatment at the hands of the university’s researchers, having holes drilled into their head, being forced to suffer through severe dehydration, electrocution, and extreme cold, as well as the forced ingestion of cocaine, methamphetamine and PCP."

Those who support DeMuth say the charges against him are 'politically motivated.' A press release posted to Davenport Grand Jury explained

"... the prosecutor, Cliff Cronk, has repeatedly stated in court that DeMuth is a “domestic terrorist” because of his alleged political beliefs and associations."

The ALF alleges the investigation is fraudulent.

Preemptive arrests prior to major events have become a preferred way to police protests around the world. Denmark gave police power to arrest people preemptively just before the December 2009 UN climate change negotiations that took place in that country. The Guardian reported the new law meant police could arrest people solely on the suspicion that those arrested might commit a crime in the near future. Police were also allowed to detain people for 12 hours without charges.

The latest examples of preemptive arrests took place in Toronto, Canada during the G20 summit meeting. Toronto Star columnist Thomas Walkom summed up the issue as being a case where

"... those in charge of the police found civil liberties inconvenient."

Walkom concluded his article by saying preemptive arrests are "... the totalitarian’s recipe for public order."

Freedom Archives

522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org

Questions and comments may be sent to claude@freedomarchives.org

Green Scare / AETA 4 updates

---------------Via Freedom Archives Political Prisoner News------------

Surge in government repression: FBI visits, warrants, more

by Voice of the Voiceless ( info [at] voiceofthevoiceless.org )
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/08/31/18657228.php


Tuesday Aug 31st, 2010 1:30 AM

A roundup of recent FBI visits, subpoenas, and other government assaults on the animal liberation movement

A roundup of recent FBI visits, subpoenas, and other government assaults on the animal liberation movement:

New AETA 4 DNA warrant

This week, Joseph Buddenberg of the AETA 4 was the target of a warrant for his DNA. A quote from the agent who authored the affidavit:

"I believe probable cause exists that Buddenberg was involved in the February 24, 2008 altercation at the L.H./J.R. residence in Santa Cruz.... The samples from the bullhorn found in Khajavi's vehicle will yield evidence that Buddenberg was involved in force, violence, and threats involving animal enterprises, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 43 & 371"

Read the full affidavit here.

Buddenberg submitted himself to FBI agents this week, who took four swabs of DNA.

While the AETA 4 indictment was recently thrown out, this recent government offensive indicates the case is not yet over. The case , if continued, stands to be a precedent-setting Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act case with implications for all activists.

Carrie Feldman Re-subpoenaed

Last week, Carrie Feldman was approached by FBI agents in Rock Island, IL, and handed a subpoena,ordering her to testify at the trial of Scott DeMuth. DeMuth is charged with a conspiracy role in the A.L.F. raid of the University of Iowa, in which 401 animals were rescued. The trial is set to begin on September 13th.

Feldman was previously jailed for four months after refusing to testify to the grand jury investigating the Iowa raid.

FBI visit

The FBI reportedly visited a former east coast activist last week, inquiring about an animal rights activist in Utah. The questioning appears to be related to the recent raid of an activist house in Salt Lake City.

Rod Coronado sent back to prison

Rod Coronado has been sentenced to four months in prison for a probation violation. A judge found him guilty of adding well-known Earth First! co-founder Mike Rosselle as a friend on Facebook, which the judge found violated his probation conditions. The conditions bar Coronado from associating with anyone involved with Earth First. He was also found to have used a computer which was not approved by the probation department.

Another FBI Visit

An activist in Minneaoplis was approached by two FBI agents at a gas station August 16th. The report does not specify what the agents were investigating, or what information was sought. The person refused to speak to them, and drove away. Read the full report below.

****

Here’s what I recall about my encounter with the FBI today: I was topping off a full tank of gas at the Holiday Gas Station in Plymouth (Rockford Road and HWY 169) at 10:28am this morning when two FBI agents approached me. They identified themselves. One was heavset with dark short hair. The other was skinnier with a goatee and shorter dark hair. The skinnier agent did all the talking. I mostly ignored their presence by looking at them and stating, “I have nothing to say to you guys.” I then hung up my gas pump and walked into the Holiday Gas Station to pay. The two agents followed me as I walked across the parking lot to pay inside the gas station. They stopped at the door and waited for me when I went inside to pay.

After I paid and exited the building, the two agents followed me to my vehicle. They were persistenly asking me to cooperate with them and repeatedly mentioned that they wanted to give me an “opportunity.” Again, I ignored their presence as I walked to my vehicle, opened my door, and drove away. It was 10:32am when I left the parking of the gas station. To my knowledge, they did not follow me.

They were standing by a red (metallic red) four door (pontiac?) with licence plate # MNB 615 (or a combination of those letters and numbers).

Dialogue I remember them saying to me as I was ignoring them:

“Dominoes are starting to fall all around,” and “we want to give you an opportunity,” and

“it would be shame if you didn’t talk to us.” My daughter was concerned because she heard them say the word “kids” when I was getting into the car and shutting the door. I don’t know what exactly they said, but it was probably something to push my buttons. My two children were with me when the agents approached me today. All three of us are fine now.

Feel free to pass this info on to any lists or groups that you wish.

Dr. Toxic

If you have been conctacted by he FBI, call the National Lawyers Guild Green Scare Hotline at: 1-888-NLG-ECOL.

- Peter Young
http://www.voiceofthevoiceless.org/

Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org

Questions and comments may be sent to claude@freedomarchives.org

Feldman and DeMuth in Contempt of AETA

We need to watch their backs, folks - this is going to drag out for awhile. This AETA is going to come up and bite all of us in some form or another if we don't do something about it...Learn from its predecessor with the SHAC7. Arguably, they were just doing what I've been doing with Free Marcia - not even organizing so much as posting events and notices of how events went, some of which were illegal ALF activities. That constituted conspiracy, even though they were never directly tied to any of the criminal actions...

I wonder if that's why the Huntingdon Labs people keep dropping in on Free Marcia's site now; consulting with someone maybe - private industry - would have to be the corrections industry, I'd think. Corrections Corporation of America visits my sites pretty often; it wouldn't surprise me to know that the two were in cahoots - they represent the biggest evils of what man does to human as well as non-human beings (Huntingdon is most well-known for conducting vivisections on test animals and having animal rights activists prosecuted). Fortunately, I'm much too harmless for anyone to really bother with me.


-------

Minneapolis Activist Indicted for Conspiracy to Violate Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act

Nov 20th, 2009 by Will Potter

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 has already been used to target activists who release mink from fur farms, and the AETA4, who are accused of protesting and chalking on public sidewalks.

The indictment comes after DeMuth and another local activist, Carrie Feldman, were found to be in contempt of court refusing to cooperate with a federal grand jury investigated that ALF burglary and vandalism. They were handcuffed and taken to jail for refusing to testify about their political beliefs and political associations.
I have written previously about Feldman’s refusal, and her statement to the grand jury (Activist to Iowa Grand Jury: “We will not be intimidated. We will not cooperate.”).

In a statement prepared prior to the grand jury hearing, DeMuth said:

“Grand juries can be very disempowering for us all, and especially for those targeted by them. We face questioning without legal counsel present or a right to remain silent. We can be threatened, coerced, and jailed. However, no punishment could be worse than surrendering our values."

There has been some speculation about what, exactly, DeMuth’s conspiracy charges entail. Is the indictment for conspiracy to damage property? Or is it for conspiracy to instill a “reasonable fear”?

The truth: neither.

Bear with me for a moment. The indictment lists sections 43(a) and 43(b)(2) of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, and says the conspiracy was to commit economic damage in the amount exceeding $10,000. Section 43(a) is simply the offense section. Section 43(b)(2) spells out penalties for damages exceeding $10,000. The indictment does not specify whether the charges are for violating 43(a)(2)(A) (damaging property) or 43(a)(2)(B) (instilling fear). Does that make sense? I know it’s a little tedious, but I think it’s important to clear up. (I just spoke with Matthew Strugar, who was quoted on Peter Young’s blog, and he agreed.)

Local press has been speculating. But regardless of what, specifically, DeMuth is charged with conspiring to do, one thing is clear: conspiracy charges have been used throughout U.S. history as a catch-all when prosecutors can’t get anything else to stick. That’s exactly what happened in the case of the SHAC 7, under the previous version of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.

I have personally met both Scott DeMuth and Carrie Feldman, on multiple occasions. They were involved in organizing a Green Scare speaking event in Minneapolis. They are both incredibly kind, passionate, activists who are involved in a variety of local issues, including organizing public lectures and supporting the RNC 8. They are lawful, above-ground activists who have organized against the Green Scare. Now they, themselves, have become targets, and they need your support.

You can write letters to Carrie Feldman and Scott DeMuth, and email them to: davenportgrandjury@riseup.net. You can also donate to their legal support at http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com/

ALF: Sentencing the Voice of the Voiceless

Some of you may know that I had a website on political prisoner news for awhile: Thirteen Springs. Turned out to be more than I could handle with the campaign season upon us, though there are still ghost pages found in the cache of dead-end links. So, if you work at it you might actually find something of it now and then. But for all intents and purposes, it's gone.


Still, I'm getting all this news about political prisoners - the Cubans and Puerto Ricans and Mumia and Leonard, the guys at Angola, the MOVE 9 - and these folks, mentioned here - this one guy in particular who the judge wants to put away as long as he can. The author of this message did an incredible job communicating not only what was going on in the courtroom that day, but also what the bigger context was from multiple perspectives. 

I'll have a lot more to say about this at some other time - maybe when Huntingdon Labs (all the way in England) isn't following my blogs so closely. It makes me wonder if they aren't consulting with someone stateside - I sure hope I'm still within my constitutional rights. They helped prosecute the webmaster for the SHAC7 for organizing people in direct actions - or maybe they just threatened to do the actions. I can't remember, but the sentences were outrageous given that they were organizing resistance against vivisections, a particularly brutal practice in the animal experimentation industry that you can Google yourself.


Anyway, they called it terrorism here and in the UK. That's just so everyone's aware. And Huntingdon played no small role in helping make sure these kids were aggressively prosecuted. They seem especially intrigued with the Free Marcia Powell campaign. I wonder who they might be backing out here?



Here's what up these days with some of the Animal Liberation Front activists. This is very troubling. I'll reserve any further comment on BJ's case until after the sentencing.



--------------------
ELP Information Bulletin (15th of November 2009)

Dear friends

ELP has delayed its publication of our November edition of Spirit of Freedom whilst we awaited the sentencing of the American William 'BJ' Viehl.  We expected the sentencing a few days ago.  However we've just received this report (see below).

Important note, if you report this case please only use the below statement.  Do not try to interpret the actions of the mink release in any way other than how they are reported below.  BJ has not been sentenced and there is another defendant in this case, so its important people stick to the facts which are reported below.  Thanks.

http://voiceofthevoiceless.org/sentencing-day-for-bj-viehl-the-full-report/

Report From William “BJ” Viehl’s Sentencing November 12^th, 2009

On November 12^th, 2009, both activists and fur farmers converged on the federal courthouse on downtown Salt Lake City to attend the sentencing for William “BJ” Viehl’s. Having pleaded guilty, BJ was to be sentenced for the release of 600 mink from the nearby McMullin Fur Farm. This was the first sentencing under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, and the first for a non-turncoat accused A.L.F. activist (for an A.L.F. action) in over two years.

I had the good fortune of visiting BJ in jail the previous day in what we hoped we be his last jail visit ever. He explained to me the expectation of both himself and his attorney at the sentencing was a sentence of no more than six months.

In the plea agreement, the prosecution agreed to recommend the low end of the guidelines. The AETA has been the subject of much hype, among the criticisms being the harsh sentences imposed for property crimes. A close look at the guidelines however finds that, within a narrow margin of “damage” (the dollar amount being the prime determinate of sentencing guideline placement), the AETA still remains potentially a lesser threat than charges for the same crimes at the state level.

In BJ’s case, the guidelines called for six to ten months. With the prosecution recommending six months, and the judge’s history of adhering to the guidelines, BJ expected to be released from jail in no more than one month. While the guidelines were discretionary, BJ was hopeful for getting released that day.

Present at the hearing were approximately a dozen friends and supporters of BJ, as well as his wife and mother. The opposite side of the aisle was occupied by what we all speculated – by their weight and dress – were fur farmers. We would later learn Chris Valco (general manager of the Fur Breeder’s Agricultural Co-op) and Ryan Holt (3,000 mink released from his South Jordan farm in 1996) were among them.

Judge Benson entered the courtroom and the proceeding began.


He started by mentioning he had received numerous letters about the case, both in favor of BJ and against. He began by stating he had received a letter signed by numerous individuals, on the letterhead of an organization with an acronym he could not identify: “FBAC”. We all looked at each other with knowing looks. “FBAC”, most were aware, was “Fur Breeders Agricultural Co-op”, the largest mink feed cooperative in the country.

From the fur farmers, he received letters from Mike Willis (farm unknown, but worth an investigation), T. Matthews (Blackridge Mink Ranch, Hyrum, Utah), and Bryan Boyce (Boyce Mink Ranch, Morgan, Utah). Speaking in BJ’s defense, the judge said he had received letters from BJ’s mother, and BJ himself.

The judge asked the defense to address the court. BJ’s attorney approached the podium. She began by building a case for BJ’s immediate release by presenting the judge with a letter from an employer willing to hire BJ immediately on his release.

She continued by stating it was not her intent to downplay the seriousness of the “crime” of releasing mink, but she wanted the judge to take into account BJ’s character. She stated that when BJ was arrested, he was still deeply “imbibed in the ideology of the Animal Liberation Front”, but since having his bail revoked, he has had a change of attitude. He has disavowed direct action, she stated, and that when he raided the McMullin Mink Farm, he was “young an impressionable”. His time in jail (approx. 5 months) had changed him, she said. She stated he now realized he could be of greater benefit to animals by using legal channels. With that, she closed her statement.


U.S. attorney John Huber approached the podium. He mentioned the victim, Lindsey McMullin, was in the audience. The first item addressed was restitution. Since the last mink-release conviction, the Fur Commission USA had drafted a mink value / restitution chart for judges in mink release cases. The formula (described to me in a simplified way as multiplying the pelt value of every mink by three to five times) put the restitution amount for the approximately 650 released mink (all but 50 alleged to be recaptured) at $66,753.

He continued that while he was abiding by the terms of the plea agreement and recommending the low end of the guidelines, there were things he wished the judge to keep in mind before issuing his sentence. Since 2004, federal sentencing guidelines have been discretionary, and the judges are no longer bound by them. It was evident the prosecutor was angling for an upward departure.

It was at this point the shift occurred. Animal abusers who cannot rely on the merits of their argument, or don’t have a solid one, assign sinister motives to animal liberations as a desperate move to distract from the cruelty they are responsible for, and demonize liberators. It was clear it was the intention of the prosecution not to argue “misdirected compassion”, but to assign a motive of “terror” and “intimidation” to the release of animals into their native habitat.

Huber asked the judge to consider the crime from the victim’s perspective. The mink release “had a great impact on Lindsey McMullin, and the whole mink ranching industry.” While the statute classified it as a property crime, “property crime”, he said, “does not capture the seriousness of this offense”. Huber asserted the crime was “designed to intimidate and instill fear”.

The prosecutor asked if could use the projector, and referred the judge to a large screen beside the bench. The first slide, taken the morning after the raid, was of a mink shed at the McMullin Fur Farm. On the mink shed, in red ink, were the words: “We are watching” and “A.L.F.”.

The next slides were screen shots from websites, primarily the North American Animal Liberation Press Office site. Images of various arsons were depicted. While the A.L.F., he said, claimed to be a non-hierarchal group with no structure or leadership, he argued this was false. “They have handbooks, they have manuals, and they have websites”. Either deliberately or ignorantly, the prosecution failed to delineate between the A.L.F. and supporters of the A.L.F., referring to every website and group he mentioned as run by the A.L.F. An error tantamount to confusing every Christian for Jesus himself.

While no communiqué was ever made public for the McMullin action, the prosecutor alleged an email was sent (and apparently intercepted) to the North American Animal Liberation Press Office in the wake of the release.
Next, he mentioned BJ and his codefendant Alex Hall (trial scheduled for November 7^th) had been seen near the Blackridge Fur Farm in Hyrum at 4am one night in late-2008. The two were then charged with a misdemeanor for attempting to “disrupt” the farm. BJ had this charge dropped per his plea bargain, while the charge against Alex remains. Because two mink releases had occurred in Utah in the past two months during the fall of 2008, the farmer had taken to sitting up in her pickup truck overnight, watching the farm. During one of these watchdog sessions, the farmer alleged to have seen BJ and Alex in a car near the farm, wrote down the vehicle’s license plate number, and called police.

Mink raids, the prosecutor stated, had a “ripple effect”, placing farmers in “alarm mode”. “The whole industry was held hostage,” he stated.

Huber asked the judge to be mindful that his sentence would have a much broader impact on the industry. “Everyone is listening to what you’re doing”, he said. He requested BJ not be released that day, because “a message must be made”.

The next slide was a snapshot from BJ’s Myspace page, showing the full text of a communiqué from a mink release at the Ylipelto’s Fur Farm in Astoria, Oregon, in 2008. To illustrate the “intimidation” motive of the A.L.F., the prosecutor read the text of the communiqué, ending with the line “get out before you are forced out”.

He ended by continuing to insinuate BJ and Alex were responsible for another mink release they have not been charged with: the release of 7,000 mink from the Lodder Fur Farm in Kaysville in 2008. He alleged the two were stopped by police near the farm in the weeks before the raid. Police officers searched their car and found gloves, ski masks, and black clothing. The prosecutor mentioned this case was still very much under investigation.

He then asked if mink farmer Lindsey McMullin could make a statement.

A man emerged from the audience and approached the podium. McMullin began by thanking the FBI for their work on the case. Before finishing his second sentence, he began to go give the appearance of being “choked up”, asking the judge to forgive him while he composed himself. This was accompanied with further embellished sighs and tears.

He gathered himself and went on to state the farm had been in his family for “over 100 years” (though it is unlikely the family has raised mink this long), and that he was a third generation mink farmer. He prided himself in raising “the finest animals humanely”. Mr. McMullin also stated he was a high school teacher.

A wave of emotive language followed. He described the “feeling of violation” and “emptiness” after the release, and waking up that morning to see hundreds of mink running through his yard. He was grateful only 650 (one shed) of the farm’s 4,000 mink were freed.

He described first seeing the Animal Liberation Front graffiti on the mink shed, saying it was then “my feelings changed to anger and fear”. With long, dramatic pauses, he described the expression on his children’s face when they saw the graffiti reading “We are watching”. Fighting through tears, he described how, to this day, his daughter was afraid to go near the door of that shed.

“Mr. Viehl”, he said, turning to BJ, “I hope when you have a family that you never have to answer to them when they ask you ‘Daddy, are they watching us today?’”

He stated that all but 50 of the mink were recovered. However, because breeding records were destroyed, most future profits from every released mink were lost.

“The entire industry is affected by the Animal Liberation Front,” he said. “Their sole purpose is intimidation”. He quoted one mink rancher as saying it as though he is being “held hostage” by fear of A.L.F. raids.

There were other victims, he said, that so far had gone unmentioned. The victims were “all the mink that died”. “I feel [Mr. Viehl] should be charged with an animal abuse charge’.

His attempt to paint himself as emotionally distraught over the death over the “cruelty” of releasing mink must rank among history’s more obscene moments of courtroom theater – coming from a man who kills mink for a living. Mr. McMullin failed to mention every mink on his farm were to be killed three months after their release, by McMullin’s own hands.

The judge asked McMullin two questions.

The first: “Mr. McMullin, where do mink live? Are there mink in the wild?”

McMullin answered: “Mink are indigenous to the U.S.”, and proceeded to talk about wild mink populations in Utah, that his brother grew up trapping mink in Utah, and reiterated that mink were a native species.

Next: “What are these groups complaint with fur? What are they against?”

McMullin answered that it was not merely fur “these groups” were against, but all animal agriculture. “But why mink?” the judge asked. He responded that it wasn’t just about the fur; it was the use of all animals for human benefit.

Having told the first truths of his testimony, McMullin took a seat.

The judge then asked BJ if he had a statement. BJ – shackled at the hands and feet, in a striped jail uniform – approached the podium.

I feel it is important to stress here that an activist’s primary goal in the courtroom is to get back on the street to fight for animals. While I chose a different path than BJ when asked to address a judge, I find any courtroom statement to be wholly symbolic. And what BJ did at the McMulllin farm was in antithetical to symbolism – it was about a practical approach to an urgent problem. It was about the power of action over the symbolism of words. And the only role symbolic statements have in remedying the evils of the world is in the absence of any other option. That day, BJ had the option of using words that will ultimately achieve the desired result of his own freedom. I stand by the decision of anyone to say anything in court (short of implicating others). Because in the fight for animal liberation, words, very truly, mean nothing.

BJ turned to McMullin. He told him he apologized, and that he no longer had anything to fear. After a short statement, he sat down.

All parties having weighed in, it came time for the judge’s sentence.

He began by stating “I do a lot of sentencings, and this case is much more complicated for me than other crimes”. He then addressed what he called “the bigger picture”.

“Mink ranchers are terrorized by the people in the Animal Liberation Front” he said. “And I have a hard time seeing how this doesn’t fit the category of ‘terror’”. He stated that on 9-11, terrorists inflicted fear on an entire nation by bringing down the World Trade Center, and that was also the result of BJ releasing animals. “It was the same kind of fear,” he said.

He stated his history of approaching all sentencings of defendants who have no criminal record with lenience. He told BJ it seemed that he had changed, and while he appreciated his statement to the court, he can’t ignore that the sentence he imposes must be a deterrent to others in the future. I think we all sensed a shift in his tone, but didn’t anticipate something as unexpected as his next statements.

Given what I know “there is too much threat and terror, and I am inclined to go well above the guidelines”. The sentence must be a deterrent he said. For the sentence to be a deterrent, he must go above the recommended 6 months. He said to create a deterrent; he must go over 2 years. With these words, he expressed his intent to more than quadruple BJ’s recommended sentence.

He said that before entering the courtroom that day, he had not been aware the guidelines call for a sentence as low as 6 months. He stated he did not feel the sentence matched the severity of the crime, and that to do so he
must issue a sentence of over one year, and that he was inclined to sentence him to over two years.

He then began to build a circumstantial case against BJ and Alex as being guilty of much more than the McMullin farm raid. He mentioned they had been “chased” from a farm in Hyrum, and that it appeared their presence indicated they “were up to no good”. He also mentioned the two had been stopped near the Lodder mink farm weeks before 7,000 mink were released there in the fall of 2008. “This shows a connection,” the judge said, and that he can’t ignore they have been seen near other farms. “The picture is bigger than this”.

He stated he would allow the defense two weeks to prepare an argument against throwing out the plea bargain, but ended with - “I’m inclined to go well above the guidelines”.

The sentencing was set over for December 11^th at 3:30.

No one foresaw this outcome. It was expected by most BJ would serve no more than one additional month, while the judge expressed every intention of sentencing him to an additional 18 months or more. We all left in silence.

We were fortunate to do interviews with three newspapers and a TV station, explaining that the message that was lost today was that BJ’s actions were motivated by compassion, and not “intimidation” as asserted by the fur farmers, prosecutor, and judge. We also explained the true “terrorism” is what McMullin does for a living – murdering several thousand mink each year.

We found Lindsey McMullin and neighboring South Jordan fur farmer Bryan Holt (his farm was raided in 1996), among others, outside. He refused our invitation to a debate in front of the news station camera crew. Our parting words to McMullin came in front of the media and fur farmers. I locked him into eye contact, and told him what every person present with a conscience felt – “You’re a disgrace”.

It was a day of little to celebrate except the 50 mink still living as fugitives in South Jordan – and people like BJ for making animal liberation a reality.

We will be back on December 11^th.

-Peter Young

It will not return to business as usual for fur farmers in Utah. In two weeks we will be taking the fight to the belly of the beast, and converging on the mink farm capital of the U.S. – nearby Morgan, Utah, for Fur Free Saturday (Nov. 28^th). Our march that day will be dedicated to BJ and Alex, and all animals murdered on fur farms (and in slaughterhouses, labs, and everywhere) each day. It is our duty when any activist is imprisoned to pick up the slack for them threefold. Those from across the country wishing to join us on November 28^th, visit www.furfreeutah.com.

For more info on BJ & Alex, please visit www.supportbjandalex.com.

++++++

Earth Liberation Prisoners Support Network
BM Box 2407
London
WC1N 3XX
England
www.spiritoffreedom.org.uk

A Word on Political Prisoners

My abolitionist friends may wonder where I'm going on this - the answer is that I'm still finding my way. I received a comment on a recent post asking why I provide information on some political prisoners but not others - specifically those in the animal and environmental rights movements.

I honestly don't know. It's not for lack of information: I'm on all sorts of political prisoner mailing lists, and do have a particular concern about environmental and animal rights activists being prosecuted under terrorism laws. I was a pretty serious monkeywrencher myself, as a kid, engaging in acts of resistance against an encroaching subdivision near my home in North Carolina. Our wilderness was being destroyed; I was but one of her defenders. I was nine.

I have thought previously, while assembling this blog, that maybe I shouldn't have any information up about any political prisoners at all. After all, in a way just about every prisoner is political to me. I wondered if it might not distract people from the central content of the blog, or enrage people who think I support cop-killers and terrorists. I support Justice, and have tended just to post information about those cases I looked at where there appeared to be a grave injustice done.

And so, when I received this comment about the eco-prisoners, I wondered again if I should just take all my political prisoner links down. That would mean deleting links to Marilyn Buck's poetry, Leonard Peltier's art, Martin Luther King's "Letter From the Birmingham Jail", information about the Puerto Rican Independence Movement, the story of the Cuban Five, that incredible portrait of Dylcia Pagan, the Nelson Mandela center, and the call to free Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi. And that's just a small sampling.

After giving it some thought today, I decided not only to leave those links up, but to add more, which you'll find in the column to the left. Some of the political prisoners I've added are from elsewhere in the world, but many were convicted here in the states and Americans should know what use we are putting our courts and prisons to. Many are idealistic young people challenging corporate giants by committing acts of liberation, destroying vehicles of mankind's destruction, and publicizing the gruesome activities behind the manufacture of major consumer brands. Not all of them were sentenced for violent acts.

Some of those I included from the ELP List are peace activists, like Helen Woodson, one of the original Plowshare prisoners who was most famous for disarming a nuclear missle silo with a hammer. I believe she did twenty years for that, then came out and got in trouble all over again.

The list is not all-inclusive, and I would advise further investigation before deciding who, if any, to support and how. When I have more time I'll do a better job of remembering those who lack the celebrity status or threat of imminent execution to warrant Amnesty's intervention;or ELP's listing. The point right now is to know that politics and money - not justice - largely dictate who gets called a criminal or terrorist, your sociopathic killers notwithstanding. And that has something to do with how the Prison Industrial Complex stays in business.