Alex Hall Pleads Guilty to Fur Farm Raid
Accused mink liberator pleads guilty, two year sentence expected
Over 18 months after the release of 650 mink from a Utah fur farm, Alex Hall plead guilty this week for his role in the action.
Earlier this year, Hall’s codefendant William Viehl plead guilty to the same action, accepting a deal for “6 to 12 months”, with the prosecutor recommending six. The judge quadrupled the recommended sentence, giving Viehl two years. It is expected Hall will receive the same exorbitant sentence.
The case, called “The AETA 2”, has brought the first sentences handed down under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. The AETA 4 case, in which activists face federal charges for home demonstrations, is still pending.
Hall accepted a plea deal in exchange for prosecutors dropping another charge, for an alleged attempted raid at Blackridge Farms in Hyrum, Utah. In that incident, the FBI alleges Hall and Viehl were seen surveilling a mink farm by the farmer after midnight. They were identified after being followed by the farmer and subsequently stopped by police.
Hall will be sentenced on June 30th.
– Peter Young
Write Alex:
Alex Hall
Inmate #2009-06304
Davis County Jail
800 West State St.
Farmington, UT 84025
